Soapbox Road Show

NPR:Money To Run, But No Skills To Hide.

2009-05-25T10:04:00.001-07:00

"Executive fugitives" are leaders of industry and finance toppled by the economic crisis and, often, their own greed. Facing financial ruin and even worse; prison, they decide to make a run for it. But these days, officials say, life on the run isn't that easy, even with a suitcase full of cash.

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Stalemate in Afghanistan??

2009-05-25T07:34:00.001-07:00

The inability of the Marines to dominate the area is an extreme example of how limited troop numbers, especially in the country’s strategically vital south, have hampered the U.S. ability to eradicate the Taliban threat. The U.S. and NATO-led coalition has easily defeated the Taliban in battle, but struggled to prevent insurgents returning

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Wealth:Only Mexico & Russia More Unequal Than America.

2009-05-24T12:57:00.001-07:00

The wealthy are also feeling the pinch of the global recession. The extremes of wealth in the US & Britain had reached level not seen since the 1920's.The gains from recent economic growth flowed disproportionately to the wealthy.The top 10% earners received the vast majority of the growth of 1996-2005.It is not sustainable in the long run....

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MBA's Gone Bad; a Year of Infamy

2009-05-23T06:19:00.001-07:00

An unraveling economy is bound to generate its share of failures. But this one has generated an odd sort of culling of the herd. Instead of taking down the low-hanging fruit—executives with no business training -the current economic crisis has claimed as casualties some highly trained business practitioners who ought to know better: MBAs.

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Insurance Companies Are Already Screwing Obama on Health Car

2009-05-20T12:46:00.001-07:00

One week after the nation's health insurance lobby pledged to President Obama to do what it can to constrain rising health costs, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is putting the finishing touches on a public message campaign aimed at killing a key plank in Obama's reform platform.

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Homeless:Down And Out in America in Photographs.

2009-05-17T10:28:00.001-07:00

Homelessness & extreme poverty is one of the biggest scandal in America's society. The numbers are truly incredible, and the recession will only make the problem worse. In Los Angeles (America's capital of homelessness) the current estimate is 80,000. In New-Orleans post Katrina 12,000. The photographs were taken between 1983 & 2008.

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Power In America: Wealth, Income & Power.

2009-05-13T06:44:00.001-07:00

This document presents details on wealth & income distribution in the US, and explains how they are power indicators.In 2004 the top 1 % had 42% of the financial wealth, the bottom 80% had 7 % of it. From 1990 to 2005 CEO's pay increased 300% while workers gained a scant 4.3 %. A society based on a system with such inequalities is not sustainable.

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California running out of water for farming; growing popula

2009-05-12T07:25:00.001-07:00

Drought, Politics Trouble Farmers In California : NPR; California is in its third year of drought, and many farmers in the state's crop-rich Central Valley are looking at dusty fields or cutting down their orchards.. Hardest hit is Westlands, the biggest irrigated region in the country, where much of the nation's fruit, nuts and produce

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NPR: Can Democracy survive without newspapers, journalists?

2009-05-10T08:22:00.001-07:00

Mourning Newspapers, Journalism, DemocracyWeekend Edition Essayist Diane Roberts worries about the decline of the newspaper industry and what that means for democracy.

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Sell Fuel Efficient Cars Act of 2008" introduced in Senate

2009-05-08T11:55:00.001-07:00

A bill was introduced in the Senate earlier this month that seeks to offer a $10,000 incentive for low-income families to trade in their old cars for newer, more fuel efficient models. First, a few details: eligible individuals are those who earn less than $25K per year. Autos must be rated at 25 miles per gallon plus and are 4.9 mpg better than th

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The Climate Debate Heats Up - NY Times

2009-05-08T11:37:00.001-07:00

A stalled clean energy bill needs to be revised, and quickly, if there is a chance for comprehensive climate change legislation to be passed by this Congress.The heart of the bill is a provision to reduce greenhouse gases by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by midcentury — cuts scientists say are necessary to avert the worst cons

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BofA and Citi Need Capital as Stress Tests Results Loom.

2009-05-07T18:09:00.001-07:00

By Karey Wutkowski and Jonathan Stempel WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regulators have told Bank of America Corp it needs $34 billion of capital to withstand a deep economic downturn, an industry source familiar with results of a government stress...

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The Wide Divide (Graph of CEO pay vs Average Worker)

2009-05-07T10:02:00.001-07:00

Picture speaks for itself.

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25 Men Behind the Financial Crisis

2009-04-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

No single person orchestrated, coordinated, and managed the financial disaster, but there are key players involved. For the purposes of this list, a "man behind the crisis" is someone in a position of power during the crisis who helped form, perpetuate, or aggravate it.

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Bank of America's corporate jet

2009-04-29T09:19:00.001-07:00

Robert Greenwald: Fire Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis

2009-04-29T09:10:00.003-07:00

The economic crisis is out of control, as Bank of America and the corrupt corporate elite continue to wage class warfare. It's time we hit back hard. It's time we fire CEO Ken Lewis.

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Revolt & Bonuses/ B of A shareholders want Lewis out

2009-04-29T09:10:00.001-07:00

Bank of America shareholders meet today in Charlotte, N.C., and this year, angry shareholders are mobilizing to remove three members of the bank's board, including CEO Ken Lewis. Julie Rose reports.

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Money for Nothing

2009-04-27T14:53:00.001-07:00

It’s necessary to rescue Wall Street to protect the economy, but financial firms should be acting like public utilities, not returning to the practices and paychecks of 2007.

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Wall Street Salary Caps Drive Away Assholes - Borowitz Repor

2009-04-26T12:44:00.001-07:00

Experts Warn of ‘Douchebag Drain'

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Pelosi: 75% Of American's Want Investigation into Wallstreet

2009-04-26T09:06:00.001-07:00

"At least 75% of the American people want an investigation as to what happened on Wallstreet. I'm not saying a criminal investigation, they just want to know. In order for us to make the right decisions going forward, we need to know what happened to get us here."

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Wiretap Recorded Rep Harman Promising to Intervene For AIPAC

2009-04-24T06:40:00.001-07:00

Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee.

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U.S. Soldier Killed Herself -- After Refusing Torture Duty

2009-04-24T06:20:00.001-07:00

Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Ariz., native, served with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a "non-hostile weapons discharge."

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Jim Webb Says Drug Legalization is "On the Table"

2009-04-24T06:17:00.001-07:00

The leader of a congressional effort to reform the criminal justice system said Thursday that all issues — including drug legalization — need to be on the table. Sen. Jim Webb, who has made criminal justice and prison reform a signature issue of his this year in Congress, is the most high-profile lawmaker to indicate openness to drug legalization

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Bush Officials Tried to Shift Bame for Abuse to Low Ranking

2009-04-22T17:29:00.001-07:00

New Senate Report:Senior administration officials attempted to shift the blame for abuse to low ranking soldiers. Claims, such as that made by former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz that detainee abuses could be chalked up to the unauthorized acts of a "few bad apples," were simply false

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MADDOW EXCLUSIVE: Fmr. Bush official blasts torture memos

2009-04-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

Philip Zelikow, former legal counsel to Condoleeza Rice and executive director of the 9/11 Commission, tells Rachel Maddow why he believes the Bush administration’s torture policy was illegal and reveals the legal advice he gave at the time to try and stop torture:

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Bailout Overseer Reports Progress To Congress

2009-04-22T17:27:00.003-07:00

Neil Barofsky, special inspector, is charged with making sure that TARP bailout funds are being used properly. In a report to Congress released Tuesday, Barofsky urges the Treasury to join him in asking banks to account for their use of TARP funds. The initial vision was a $700 billion bank bailout. But today, TARP, is a $3 trillion effort

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Can Anti-trust laws break up Big Banks?

2009-04-22T17:27:00.001-07:00

A congressional committee is discussing criteria to use in determining if a financial institution is too big to fail. Duke law professor Zephyr Teachout talks to Bob Moon about whether antitrust laws can be used to break up the financials.

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Who Will Face Down the Gun Lobby?

2009-04-20T11:48:00.001-07:00

Is the American gun lobby is just too strong to let our leaders push a rational and limited gun regulation through Congress?

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EPA to clean-up 50 most polluted sites with stimulus money

2009-04-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

The money announced Wednesday will pay to excavate contaminated soil from hundreds of residential lawns in Evansville, Ind., Minneapolis, Minn., Madison County, Mo. and Omaha, Neb.Up to $25 million will connect 180 houses in southeastern North Dakota to public drinking water. Their wells were tainted with arsenic from bait applied to control gra

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Arctic meltdown is a threat to humanity (Tipping point?)

2009-04-11T10:09:00.001-07:00

" The permafrost is melting fast all over the Arctic, lakes are forming everywhere and methane is bubbling up out of them."The danger is that if too much methane is released, the world will get hotter no matter how drastically we slash our greenhouse gas emissions.

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Reich: Hold CEOs of big banks accountable, for bonuses etc.

2009-04-09T06:33:00.001-07:00

Tim Geithner says he might fire the heads of big banks that are being bailed out, just as he disposed of Rick Wagoner, the former CEO of General Motors. And before Wagoner, the old heads of AIG, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. Geithner's tough talk is designed to reassure a public that's lost all faith in the bank bailout. At the rate the bailout m

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Fair Elections Now - New Bill for Campaign finance reform

2009-04-06T08:42:00.001-07:00

Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, Senate assistant majority leader, and Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter are introducing the Fair Elections Now Act, a measure that would turn the campaign fundraising system upside down. The measure would require Congressional candidates to seek support from constituents back home, not from those in Washington or wealthy enclaves across the country.

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Economist Joseph Stiglitz: Economic InEquality is increasing

2009-04-06T08:32:00.001-07:00

Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains what drove the US economy off a cliff and what steps need to be taken to rectify the situation during a Nation Institute panel discussion held to mark the release of a new book: "Meltdown: How Greed and Corruption Shattered Our Financial System and How We Can Recover"

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House Democrats backing away from "truth commission"

2009-04-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

While Republicans have said they are against any effort to probe the Bush administration’s “war on terror” policies, Democrats also have been cool to the idea. Indeed, in early January, Conyers introduced a resolution, H.R. 104, to establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil liberties. Two months later, the resolution had attracted a mere 27 co-sponsors.

from: http://digg.com/d1nxQp

More Tax Cuts for the Rich?

2009-04-04T05:43:00.001-07:00

At a time of soaring deficits and growing needs, the Senate is weighing whether the wealthiest of wealthy Americans should get a tax break worth some $250 billion over 10 years. The Senate today could take up an amendment would shield the first $10 million of estates from taxation and lower to 35 percent the tax on amounts beyond that.

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FWD: Protest The Bloated Military Budget

2009-04-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Tax day is just around the corner. Do you know where your money goes?

Despite a much needed increase in funding for human needs in the FY 2010 budget, military spending still eats up 57% of the total.

This month, we ask you to stage an event outside your local post office on April 15 to protest the amount of tax dollars spent on the military.

We support the President's decision to put more of the budget toward meeting peoples' basic needs — that's one of our core values.

But we also believe in peace. The United States already accounts for about half of the world's total military spending. To stay true to our values, we must continue to protest the disproportionate amount of money our country invests each year in defense.

Let's take this opportunity to praise the president for shifting money to necessities like health care, food, and education.

Let's also use it to show people how much more we could do.

By working together, we can persuade President Obama to cut even more defense funding in next year's budget.

This month, remind people where their tax dollars are going — good and bad.

You can help!

* Host or attend an event on April 15 - http://support.afsc.org/site/Get...

* Download our resources to help educate your community we have exciting information you'll want to share - http://www.countdowntowithdrawal...

Join us on April 15.

Say yes to funding human needs. Say no to war.

The Wealthy need your help, from NYTimes

2009-04-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

For Senator Blanche Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas, and Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, the most pressing issue is clear: America’s wealthiest families need help. Now.

The two senators plan to propose an amendment to deeply cut estate taxes for the fraction of the top 1 percent of the population still subject to those levies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opinion/02thu1.html

Dems Investigating Bush Administration Role In AIG Collapse

2009-04-02T06:43:00.001-07:00

In November 2004, the Bush Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission agreed not to prosecute AIG for allegedly helping companies fudge their books. In exchange, AIG agreed to host a government-appointed auditor in company meetings. At the time, Greenberg said it brought "finality to the claims raised by the SEC and the Departmen

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Pentagon War Spending Hits $685.7 Billion: GAO

2009-03-31T10:20:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to fight terrorism elsewhere has reached $685.7 billion since 2001, a U.S. government watchdog agency said on Monday. The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, said...

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Letter to Obama, Congress re. Iraq and Afghanistan

2009-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

(From my local newspaper)

In March 2003, the United States invaded Iraq with the blessing of a misguided U.S. Congress. Today it is widely acknowledged by the world that the case made for our invasion was a fabrication of lies and propaganda at the highest level of government.

Today there are over 150,000 U.S. troops remaining in Iraq and more than 50 military bases. Our troop withdrawal has been extended to August 2010 and we will continue to have a large number of our troops in Iraq far into the future.

Life in Iraq is a grim proposition for millions who are grieving dead and injured family members. Massive bombing has caused irreversible destruction. Many are still without electricity, clean water, sanitation, medical care and even basic shelter. Schools have been destroyed and advanced education interrupted.

Recent reports from Iraq describe a tragic situation where hundreds of thousands of war widows and orphans are destitute and forced into begging and prostitution.

Their reality is in sharp contrast to the country club-like atmosphere of the Green Zone where American and foreign opportunistic business is conducted. Visiting congressional and military leaders often have no contact with the average Iraqi.

The United States plans to greatly increase troops in Afghanistan. Many thoughtful scholars, who understand the history of this area and its diverse tribal leadership, believe that massive military escalation is not the way to win the people's hearts and minds. It is equally disturbing to hear of the many U.S. bombings inside the border of Pakistan. Civilians are the frequent "accidental" target in both of these regions.

Members of Voices of Peace of Battle Creek are asking Congress to rethink the use of military force in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Iraq war has wasted hundreds of billion of dollars and caused countless deaths and suffering.

Instead, direct our U.S. government's resources toward peaceful negotiation and humanitarian work and towards building an international partnership to help these people reconstruct their lives, country and government.

U.S. Military Examiner: The Troops Aren’t Coming Home

2009-03-31T08:11:00.001-07:00

I crunched the numbers and thought you might want to link to this article which shows that in September 2009, Barack Obama will have more combined troops in Iraq and Afghanistan than George Bush did a year before.

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Fox News still #1 in brain-washing Americans

2009-03-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Fox remains on a mountain above its two closest competitors, with its prime-time audience in March more than that of MSNBC and CNN combined. "The O'Reilly Factor" has done particularly well, keeping more of its postelection audience than anything else on CNN and MSNBC.

Through Wednesday, Fox was averaging 2.73 million prime-time viewers in March. MSNBC had 1.16 million and CNN had 1.14 million. The March ratings period ends Friday, and it's doubtful CNN will be able to overcome MSNBC.

From the Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/celebrities/6346592.html

Exec says Coleman donor ordered $100K payments

2009-03-29T18:16:00.001-07:00

Latest coverage of the recount between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman for Minnesota's U.S. Senate seat. The former finance chief of a Texas company controlled by Nasser Kazeminy, a close friend of former Sen. Norm Coleman, said in a deposition last week that Kazeminy ordered $100,000 in fees be paid to a Minneapolis insurance agenc

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The Death and Life of Great American Newspapers

2009-03-29T08:48:00.001-07:00

The collapse of journalism threatens democracy itself--that's why we need a government rescue.

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Levin to Release Full Declassifed Report On Detainee Torture

2009-03-28T12:36:00.001-07:00

The full declassified version of a Senate Armed Services Committee report on the treatment of detainees, set for release as early as next week, is 200 pages, contains 2,000 footnotes, and will reveal a plethora of new information about the roles played by senior Bush administration officials in adopting a policy of torture.

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Call-in Day for Healthcare in the Budget

2009-03-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Healthcare For All in The Budget: This week, Congress is working to pass the budget resolution or blueprint for federal spending. . The President included $634 billion in his budget as a down payment on health care reform. This is an historic commitment and a vital first step toward achieving quality, affordable health care for all in 2009. Without this funding, healthcare reform that includes access to affordable, quality healthcare for everyone will not be possible. We’re calling upon the Members of Congress to: - Support President’s Obama’s $634 Billion allotment for healthcare reform. - Develop a strong, public healthcare program that provides quality, affordable health coverage for all. Everybody In and Nobody Out! Specific Tactics: Phone calls, phone calls, phone calls. These calls can be done in two ways: Phone Call Tactic #1: Our partners at Health Care for America Now! (HCAN) has set up a click and call link, simply follow the attached link: http://tools.advomatic.com/8/budget

Phone Call Tactic #2: You can connect via the following 1-800 to the Capitol Switchboard to be put in touch with specific Members of Congress: 1-888-436-8427

Molly Ivins warned about the banking collapse in 1999

2009-03-21T17:40:00.001-07:00

10 years ago, the late, great Molly Ivins saw potential disaster in Phil Gramm's repeal of the Glass-Steagall act. In a prophetic 1999 column, Ivins calls bankers "among the stupidest people on God's green earth", predicting that Gramm's legislation would result in abusive institutions that were "too big to fail."

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Now Citigroup Is Building A $10-Million New Executive Suite!

2009-03-20T17:38:00.001-07:00

Citigroup Inc. plans to spend about $10 million on new offices for Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and his lieutenants, after the U.S. government injected $45 billion of cash into the bank.

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AIG staff: We deserve this money

2009-03-18T19:57:00.001-07:00

AIG’s new management team last year proposed that its employees give up their “retention” bonuses, or at least reduce them. The response from the 370 or so employees set to rake in $450 million in bonuses through 2010? Take a hike.

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Washington knew AIG was preparing to pay bonuses

2009-03-18T13:32:00.001-07:00

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 mone

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Red Cross Described Torture at CIA Jails.

2009-03-16T12:55:00.001-07:00

The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives 'constituted torture,' a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the...

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Obama will try to block executive bonuses at AIG

2009-03-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_on_go_pr_wh/aig_outrage

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer Tom Raum, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 18 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama declared Monday that insurance giant American International Group is in financial straits because of "recklessness and greed" and said he intends to stop it from paying out millions in executive bonuses.

"It's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay," Obama said at the outset of an appearance to announce help for small businesses hurt by the deep recession.

"How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat," the president said.

A.I.G. Paying $160 Million in Bonuses After Federal Bailout

2009-03-16T09:26:00.001-07:00

An Obama economic adviser described the A.I.G. situation as “outrageous” but said the government had limited ability to scale back the bonuses.

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UK:Secret Emails Show Iraq Dossier Was 'Sexed Up'.

2009-03-13T18:55:00.001-07:00

The evidence are piling against Blair and his manipulation of "intelligence" to justify the Iraq war...

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$18.4 Billion In Post-Bailout Bonuses and Counting!

2009-03-10T11:00:00.001-07:00

After getting $125 billion in taxpayer bailouts, the top officers at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and three other banks agreed to forgo their 2008 bonuses. Now they’re awarding billions to their troops. Can government “claw back” that money?

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Where Were The Media As Wall Street Imploded?selling out!!

2009-03-10T10:57:00.001-07:00

There are plenty of people to share the blame for the collapse of the nation's financial system. But whether the media played an appropriate role in reporting on the health and status of the financial industry is a tough question. Some argue coverage was overlooked; others say it was incomplete.

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Rightwing Economics Departments Unswayed by Crashing Economy

2009-03-09T18:54:00.001-07:00

Free market theory, mathematical models and hostility to government regulation still reign in most university economics departments. James K. Galbraith, economist at the Univ. of Texas, who has frequently been at odds with free marketers, said, “I don’t detect any change at all.” Academic economists are "like an ostrich with its head in the sand."

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AIG stock under $1

2009-03-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

Ron Paul Wants Millions for Ear Marks (Pork)

2009-03-02T18:24:00.001-08:00

But although the libertarian-leaning Republican from Lake Jackson cast a vote against the massive spending measure, his fingerprints were on some of the earmarks that helped inflate its cost. Paul played a role in obtaining 22 earmarks worth $96.1 million.

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Bank Nationalization: Still A Radical Idea?

2009-03-01T13:33:00.001-08:00

It is a bit odd to watch Barack Obama, who aspires to finally end the era of Reaganomics, spend his early weeks in the White House swatting away calls for nationalization from decidedly Republican quarters. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, recently said that, given the depth of the credit crisis, he wouldn’t rule out nationalizing banks. Alan Greenspan went further a few days later. “I understand that once in a hundred years this is what you do,” Greenspan, an Ayn Rand disciple before he was a central banker, told The Financial Times.

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Joe the Afterthought

2009-02-28T06:19:00.001-08:00

At least a few of the 11 didn't actually show up for Wurzelbacher, but were in the store anyway. One was reading "Dreams From My Father" upstairs and thought it was an amusing coincidence that "Joe the Plumber" was in Borders at the time. Wurzelbacher was scheduled to speak and sign books for three hours. He left after 55 minutes when no one else

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The 20 most corrupt members of Congress

2009-02-26T09:05:00.000-08:00

The 20 most corrupt members of Congress

from http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/

featured: MITCH MCCONNELL

He is the Minority Leader in the 110th Congress and sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. McConnell’s ethics issues stem from earmarks he has inserted into legislation for clients of his former chief of staff, lobbyist Gordon Hunter Bates, in exchange for campaign contributions as well as the misuse of his nonprofit The McConnell Center for Political Leadership at the University of Louisville. Sen. McConnell was profiled in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.

Gordon Hunter Bates and the Bates Capitol Group LLC

Gordon Hunter Bates served as Sen. McConnell’s chief legal counsel and then chief of staff from 1997 to 2002. After a 2003 lawsuit ended his bid for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, he opened a lobbying firm, Bates Capitol Group LLC (Bates Capitol). Bates Capitol clients include: E-Cavern, Voice for Humanity, Appriss Inc. and Boardpoint LLC, all of which have received earmarks thanks to Sen. McConnell. In addition, the senator rewrote legislation to help another Bates Group client, UPS Inc. All of these companies have made substantial contributions to Sen. McConnell’s campaigns.

If Sen. McConnell accepted donations to his campaign and political action committees in direct exchange for earmarking federal funds to clients of Bates Capitol, he may have violated the bribery statute and House rules. In addition, by using his position as a member of Congress to financially benefit clients of a lobbying firm owned by his former staff member, Sen. McConnell may be depriving his constituents, the United States Senate and the United States of his honest services.

The McConnell Center for Political Leadership

The McConnell Center for Political Leadership was founded by Sen. McConnell in 1991 as a non-profit organization for which the senator raises funds. Two of the largest donors to the McConnell Center are Ashland Inc. and UPS, which have donated $500,000 and $400,000 respectively. Some donations to the McConnell Center have been delivered to Sen. McConnell’s Capitol Hill office.

The University of Louisville Foundation was sued by the Courier Journal because the center insisted on maintaining the anonymity of its donors. In August 2008, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that the University of Louisville could not withhold information about donors from public records requests. The court agreed with the newspaper that “certain donors may not simply wish to conceal their identities, but rather may wish to conceal the true purposes of their donations.” Though the court ruled that the identities of 62 donors who requested their donations be anonymous need not be revealed, future donors will not be permitted to make anonymous donations.

If Sen. McConnell provided legislative assistance in return for contributions to the McConnell Center, he may have violated federal law and House rules.

More Pork for the Military-Industrial complex, PMA Group

2009-02-26T07:19:00.001-08:00

...we’ve learned that PMA’s clients received nearly $300 million worth of earmarks in one defense appropriations bill. In what is best described as circular fund-raising, millions of those dollars made a return trip to Capitol Hill in the form of contributions to members of Congress. The 2009 defense appropriations bill, contained more than 1,000

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Why a War Crimes Commission Could Enable Prosecutions

2009-02-25T21:12:00.001-08:00

Senate Democrats insist that the investigations they seek are not intended to spawn prosecutions. But they may not be able to control that.

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Jon Stewart, Republican Governors, Bobby Jindahl

2009-02-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Clusterf#@k to the Poor House - GOP Govs at Odds

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

George W. Bush: Worst record of job creation-ever

2009-02-23T19:24:00.001-08:00

The Bush administration created about three million jobs (net) over its eight years, a fraction of the 23 million jobs created under President Bill Clinton’s administration and only slightly better than President George H.W. Bush did in his four years in office.

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62% of Americans want investigation or prosecution of Bush/Cheney

2009-02-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

This poll appeared in USA Today

Stanford Owns The Congress - HUGE List of donations to campaign comm.

2009-02-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

The following party committees and members of Congress, past and present, have received contributions from the PAC and/or employees of Stanford Financial Group since 2000 (including contributions to both candidate committees and leadership PACs):
Source: Open Secrets Org
Name
Total
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte
$965,500

National Republican Congressional Cmte
$250,125

Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte
$202,000

Republican National Cmte
$160,744

National Republican Senatorial Cmte
$133,345

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla)
$45,900

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas)
$41,375

Pres. Barack Obama (D)*
$31,750

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio)
$28,200

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz)*
$28,150

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.)
$27,500

Democratic Party of New Jersey
$25,000

Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas)
$20,100

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)
$19,700

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
$17,000

Rep. Charlie A. Gonzalez (D-Texas)
$15,500

Rep. Max Sandlin (D-Texas)
$15,500

Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY)
$15,100

Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas)*
$14,500

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala)
$14,000

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)*
$11,800

Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas)
$11,000

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss)
$8,800

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev)
$8,500

Greg Davis (R-Miss)
$8,500

Raul L. Martinez (D-Fla)
$7,600

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
$7,300

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
$7,000

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
$6,900

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah)
$6,100

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash)
$6,000

Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill)
$5,300

Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)
$5,000

Del. Donna Christian-Green (D-VI)
$5,000

Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ)
$5,000

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa)
$5,000

John Neely Kennedy (R-La)*
$5,000

Bill Richardson (D)
$4,600

Rudolph W. Giuliani (R)
$4,600

Nikki Tinker (D-Tenn)
$4,600

Mitt Romney (R)
$4,600

Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY)
$4,550

Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)
$4,000

Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass)
$4,000

Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD)
$4,000

Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
$4,000

Rep. Ken Bentsen (D-Texas)
$4,000

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill)
$3,500

Woody Jenkins (R-La)
$3,500

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
$3,500

Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla)
$3,500

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill)
$3,000

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va)
$3,000

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn)
$3,000

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla)
$3,000

Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio)
$3,000

Rep. Melvin L. Watt (D-NC)
$3,000

Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
$3,000

Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)
$2,550

Jonathan Powers (3-NY)
$2,550

Rep. Michael E. McMahon (D-NY)
$2,550

Rep. Vernon Buchanan (R-Fla)
$2,500

Rep. Adam H. Putnam (R-Fla)
$2,500

Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R-Ore)
$2,500

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich)
$2,500

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga)
$2,500

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va)
$2,500

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss)
$2,500

Rep. Stephen Ira Cohen (D-Tenn)
$2,500

Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn)
$2,500

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla)
$2,500

Sen. John E. Sununu (R-NH)
$2,500

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)
$2,500

Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D-Pa)
$2,500

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky)
$2,500

Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La)
$2,500

Rep. Walter Clifford Minnick (D-Idaho)
$2,300

Dan Seals (D-Ill)
$2,300

Linda D. Stender (D-NJ)
$2,300

Rep. John A. Boccieri (D-Ohio)
$2,300

Rep. Deborah Halvorson (D-Ill)
$2,300

Ashwin Madia (D-Minn)
$2,300

Republican Party of Texas
$2,300

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala)
$2,000

Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio)
$2,000

Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas)
$2,000

Christine Jennings (D-Fla)
$2,000

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas)
$2,000

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas)
$2,000

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)

$2,000

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla)

$2,000

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

$2,000

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)

$2,000

Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md)

$2,000

Rep. Pete King (R-NY)

$1,500

Sen. John Breaux (D-La)

$1,500

Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas)

$1,500

Tony Perkins (R-La)

$1,500

Rep. David Scott (D-Ga)

$1,500

Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr (R-La)

$1,500

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

$1,500

Daniel Johnson (D-NC)

$1,250

Joe Garcia (D-Fla)

$1,000

Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La)

$1,000

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)

$1,000

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif)

$1,000

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del)

$1,000

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn)

$1,000

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WVa)

$1,000

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash)

$1,000

Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)

$1,000

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)

$1,000

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)

$1,000

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan)

$1,000

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont)

$1,000

Sen. Rod Grams (R-Minn)

$1,000

Sen. Robert G. Torricelli (D-NJ)

$1,000

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)

$1,000

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass)

$1,000

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass)

$1,000

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga)

$1,000

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)

$1,000

Sen. John Edwards (D)

$750

Pres. George W. Bush (R)

$750

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas)

$500

Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

$500

Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla)

$500

Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn)

$500

Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr (D-Tenn)

$500

Sen. David Vitter (R-La)

$500

Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla)

$500

Rep. Robert E Latta (R-Ohio)

$500

Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio)

$500

Bruce Lunsford (D-Ky)

$500

Vernon Jones (D-Ga)

$500

William G. Shafroth (D-Colo)

$500

Democratic Party of Tennessee

$500

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss)

$250

George E. Irvin Sr (D-Miss)

$250

Sen. George Allen (R-Va)

$250

Rep. Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr. (R-Miss)

$250

Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM)

$250

Sen. Patrick Leahy: Investigate Bush-Cheney Abuses

2009-02-14T20:14:00.001-08:00

Proposing the idea of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate abuses during the Bush-Cheney administration, which may include the use of torture, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, and executive override of laws.   

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Rep. Kucinich introduces Dept. of Peace Bill with 62 co-sponsors

2009-02-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

Washington, DC

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) yesterday reintroduced legislation that would authorize a Cabinet-level Department of Peace.

“It is well known that in times of economic difficulty violence increases. When relationships are strained by economic hardship, domestic violence, violent robbery and abuse of children and animals all increase. When the world is facing possibly the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression, now is not the time to ignore social issues and interpersonal relationships, now is the time to make special attention to make sure that our relations and health do not suffer along with our pocket books,” stated Kucinich.

The Cabinet-level Department authorized in the legislation embodies a broad-based approach to peaceful, non-violent conflict resolution at both domestic and international levels. The Department of Peace would serve to promote non-violence as an organizing principle in our society, and help to create the conditions for a more peaceful world

“Peace is a foundational principle of this Congress and of this country. This bill gives it a chance to have an animating power in our civic life by addressing the issues of domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, violence in the schools and racial violence,” added Kucinich."

New G.O.P. Chairman Made Questionable Payment To Sister

2009-02-08T12:21:00.001-08:00

Accusations that payment made for services not rendered during his Senate campaign. GOP chairman has denied the claims.

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Richest 1% hold more wealth than any time since 1929

2009-02-07T07:25:00.001-08:00

According to researchers, since the late 1970s, a greater and greater share of national income has gone to people at the top of the earnings ladder. As late as 1976, the richest 1 percent of the country took home about 9 percent of the total national income. By 2006, they were pocketing more than 20%

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The Wall Street Journal Blew Chance to Expose Madoff

2009-02-06T08:11:00.001-08:00

A bombshell is buried in Harry Markopolos' prepared testimony (.pdf) to a House panel today: he contacted the Wall Street Journal on the Bernie Madoff fraud three years ago, and the newspaper did nothing. I believe that senior editors of the Journal respected and feared Mr. Madoff"

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SEC pummeled as Madoff tipster testifies

2009-02-05T16:01:00.001-08:00

Harry Markopolos, a former investment manager who tried to warn U.S. regulators about Bernard Madoff, joined lawmakers in blasting the Securities and Exchange Commission but said he was...

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Obama says "Some Banks Won't Make It"

2009-02-03T11:54:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON — In a sobering appraisal of the nation's banking system, President Barack Obama signaled Monday that he will need more money to bail out the battered financial industry. Even so, he said, "some banks won't make it."

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Dodd Orders Treasury to Recover Billions in Wall St. Bonuses

2009-02-03T08:25:00.001-08:00

Wall Street bonuses for 2008 reach an astonishing $18.4 billion. Obama called it "outrageous" in the current recession context and with the heavy losses posted by Wall Street.It would not be surprising if some money was coming from TARP funds already allocated by the Bush administration.

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Bailouts for Bunglers

2009-02-02T14:15:00.001-08:00

The plans for rescuing the banking system are shaping up as a classic exercise in “lemon socialism”: taxpayers bear the cost if things go wrong, but stockholders and executives get the benefits if things go right.

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In Daschle’s Tax Woes, a Peek Into Washington

2009-02-02T14:12:00.001-08:00

The disclosures about Tom Daschle show how he was able to live lavishly by dint of his name and connections.

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Reasons why U.S.-Israel relations won't change: PAC $$$

2009-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

WORLD ALLIANCE FOR ISRAEL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
Candidate Contributions: 2007-2008 Campaign Cycle
Total 2007-2008 campaign contributions: $183,000

(this is just ONE, pro-Israeli PAC - there have to be at least a dozen of them)

Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) $4500
Engel, Eliot (D-NY) $5000
Levin, Carl (D-MI) $5000
Cohen, Steve (D-TN) $5000
Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $5000
Reed, Jack (D-RI) $5000
Durbin, Richard (D-IL) $5000
Rockefeller, John (D-WV) $5000
Graham, Lindsey (R-SC) $5000
Harkin, Tom (D-IA) $5000
Baucus, Max (D-MT) $5000
Wicker, Roger (R-MS) $5000
Coleman, Norm (R-MN) $5000
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $5000
Landrieu, Mary (D-LA) $10000

Lowey, Nita (D-NY) $2000
Crowley, Joseph (D-NY) $2000
McHenry, Patrick (R-NC) $2000
Giffords, Gabrielle (D-AZ) $2500
Cornyn, John (R-TX) $2500
Israel, Steve (D-NY) $2500
Andrews, Robert (D-NJ) $2500
Johnson, Tim (D-SD) $2500
Lautenberg, Frank (D-NJ) $2500
Pryor, Mark (D-AR) $2500
Salazar, John (D-CO) $2500
Marshall, Jim (D-GA) $2500
Wasserman Schultz, Debbie (D-FL) $2500
Schiff, Adam (D-CA) $2500
Roberts, Pat (R-KS) $2500
Kirk, Mark (R-IL) $3000
Sanchez, Loretta (D-CA) $3500
Bean, Melissa (D-IL) $3500
Sanchez, Linda (D-CA) $3500
Reichert, Dave (R-WA) $3500
Hall, John (D-NY) $3500
Barrow, John (D-GA) $3500
Collins, Susan (R-ME) $3500
Dreier, David (R-CA) $3500
Boswell, Leonard (D-IA) $3500
Gerlach, Jim (R-PA) $3500
Edwards, Chet (D-TX) $3500
Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL) $3500
Harman, Jane (D-CA) $3500
Berkley, Shelley (D-NV) $3500
Ackerman, Gary (D-NY) $3500
Berman, Howard (D-CA) $3500

Emanuel, Rahm (D-IL) $500
Michaud, Michael (D-ME) $500
Warner, Mark (D-VA) $1000
Boehner, John (R-OH) $1000
Risch, Jim (R-ID) $1000
Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) $1000
Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) $1000
Baca, Joe (D-CA) $1000
Enzi, Michael (R-WY) $1000
Klein, Ron (D-FL) $1000
Becerra, Xavier (D-CA) $1000
Udall, Tom (D-NM) $1000
Hodes, Paul (D-NH) $1000
Costa, Jim (D-CA) $1500

400 richest Americans’ incomes doubled under Bush

2009-02-01T05:07:00.001-08:00

Bloomberg reports that, according to recently released IRS data, “the average tax rate paid by the richest 400 Americans fell by a third to 17.2 percent through the first six years of the Bush administration and their average income doubled to $263.3 million.”

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Angry Senator Wants Pay Cap On Wall Street 'Idiots'

2009-02-01T05:05:00.001-08:00

An angry U.S. senator introduced legislation Friday to cap compensation for employees of any company that accepts federal bailout money. Under the terms of a bill introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, no employee would be allowed to make more than the president of the United States.

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Wall Street bonusfest 2008: 6th largest haul on record

2009-01-29T15:55:00.001-08:00

Investors may not be happy with the performance of bank executives and their top employees these days, but, apparently, compensation committees are satisfied.The NYT kicks off its business coverage today with some numbers that are hard to swallow. New York's financial institutions paid out a gaudy $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008

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Keith Olbermann: Former NSA analyst, Tice, talks a/ illegal spying

2009-01-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Russell Tice, a former analyst for the National Security Agency, appeared on last night's MSNBC "Countdown" and revealed a massive and targeted domestic spying program has been in effect for the last several years. While the Bush Administration vigorously maintained all spying was done legally and only on international communications involving suspected terrorists, Mr. Tice noted the eavesdropping program was much broader and alleged specific domestic, non terrorist groups were targeted. Here's a video of the interview:

Rachel Maddow Show/ NSA spying with Carl Bernstein

2009-01-29T07:26:00.000-08:00

How The Republican Party Has Conned America for 30 Years

2009-01-28T07:14:00.001-08:00

Reality will continue to sink in with the American people and the massive fraud perpetrated by Wanniski, Reagan, Laffer, Graham, Bush(s), and all their "conservative" enablers will be seen for what it was and is. And the Obama administration can get about the business of repairing the damage and recovering the stolen assets of these cheap hustlers

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The Dirty Dozen: 12 People to Blame For the Financial Crisis

2009-01-26T15:03:00.001-08:00

Who and what got us into this financial mess? Here's my far-from-exhaustive list of the guilty.

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This Land is Your Land FORBIDDEN VERSES Sung at Inauguration

2009-01-25T08:09:00.001-08:00

The inclusion of 3 verses rarely heard under any circumstances and never heard in the corridors of power, much less in front of a world wide audience and in the presence and in honor of someone about to ascend to the Presidency of the United States, were included at Pete Seeger's request at the pre-Inaugural concert on January 20.

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Vowing transparency, Obama OKs ethics guidelines

2009-01-22T11:31:00.001-08:00

Promising "a new era of openness in our country," President Barack Obama signed executive orders Wednesday relating to ethics guidelines for staff members of his administration.

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Study Busts Antarctica's Chill On Global Warming

2009-01-21T18:50:00.001-08:00

The world makes more sense today for some scientists: New data show Antarctica is warming up after all. Researchers had been at a loss to explain why the rest of the planet is heating up, but not the southern continent. The new study has filled in the holes.

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Warming map for Artic Winters from 1954-2003

2009-01-20T05:40:00.001-08:00

Recent observed surface air temperature changes over the Arctic region are the largest in the world. Winter (DJF) rates of warming exceed 4 degrees C. over portions of the Arctic land areas (shown left). We provide Arctic temperature trends and changes of other primary surface variables (e.g., sea level pressure, precipitation, sea ice cover) archived in this climate summary, portions of which are published each year in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/

’92 Ponzi Case Investigation Missed Signals About Madoff

2009-01-20T05:38:00.001-08:00

Seventeen years ago, federal investigators questioned for the first time whether Bernard Madoff was connected to a Ponzi scheme. They didn't get far.

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"The End of Banking as We Know It" - from NYTimes

2009-01-20T05:37:00.001-08:00

Clearly, the entire financial industry is in the midst of a makeover. And while no one wants to call it nationalization, perhaps we can agree on this much: The money business as we have come to know it over the last two decades — with its lush salaries, big-swinging risk-takers and ultrathin capital cushions — is a goner.

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"The End of Banking as We Know It" - from NYTimes

2009-01-19T07:14:00.001-08:00

2008 U.S. Foreclosure Heat Map

2009-01-18T12:01:00.001-08:00

RealtyTrac reported this week that in 2008, the U.S. had a total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — on 2,330,483 U.S. properties. This was an 81% increase over 2007, and a 225% percent increase from 2006.

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Coal ash dumps a ‘time bomb’ for Michigian water

2009-01-18T08:02:00.001-08:00

Landfills of coal ash are leaking toxic metals into Michigan's groundwater.

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Hot Button - Red State Indiana

2009-01-17T05:43:00.001-08:00

I live in the reddest county in Indiana. I didn't think I could make a difference here until I started wearing an Obama/Biden campaign button everywhere. I've had enough interesting conversations since then -- and enough stony glares, that I've decided to start trying to blog the more interesting. It doesn't take much, sometimes, to spread hope.

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Widening Gap: Republican / Democratic View on Climate Change

2009-01-15T05:30:00.001-08:00

The proportions of Democrats agreeing that global warming is already happening, that most scientists believe it is occurring, and that it poses a serious threat have increased substantially over the past decade. In contrast, the proportion of Republicans agreeing that global warming is already happening has declined.

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Two Pics of Freeway Blogging

2009-01-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Bill: Contempt of Congress pursued against Bush's Chief Stff

2009-01-09T18:01:00.001-08:00

One nice goody buried in the new House Rules package: the House will authorize the Judiciary Committee to continue its lawsuit seeking to enforce its subpoenas and contempt of Congress citations against Bush White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers.

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Obama, Rick Warren, Africa, AIDS, abstinence only

2009-01-09T17:59:00.001-08:00

Rick Warren's Africa Problem, by Max BlumenthalTeam Obama likes to cite Warren’s work on AIDS in Africa to combat criticism about the controversial pastor. But how does burning condoms in the name of Jesus save lives?

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