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Saturday, March 21, 2009
President Obama's Weekly Radio Address, March 21, 2009 (Video and Transcript)
A Budget Equal to the Task Before Us
Transcript
Republican Response by Governor Haley Barbour, MS
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Friday, March 20, 2009
First Lady breaks ground for the First Garden
Twenty-six elementary schoolchildren wielded shovels, rakes, pitchforks and wheelbarrows to help first lady Michelle Obama break ground on a produce and herb garden on the White House grounds.
Among the crops to be planted in the coming weeks are spinach, broccoli, various lettuces, kale and collard greens, and assorted herbs. The planted produce will rotate with the seasons.
The first harvest is expected by late April.
Assistant chef Sam Kass says some of the produce will be cooked in the White House kitchen and some will be given to a local soup kitchen where Mrs. Obama recently helped serve lunch.
Mrs. Obama told the students that her family has talked about planting such a garden since they moved to the White House. She said her daughters, Malia and Sasha, like fresh vegetables better.
Mrs. Obama then led a cheer with the children, shouting, "Let's hear it for vegetables!" and "Let's hear it for fruits!"
The first lady joked with reporters, telling them to stop taking pictures and start shoveling.
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POTUS, Barack Obama's schedule
For March 20, 2009
DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009
In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing, the Economic Daily Briefing, and meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office. These meetings are closed press.
In the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will meet with representatives from the National Conference of State Legislatures in Room 350 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The President will discuss the White House's commitment to oversight and transparency to ensure that Recovery Act dollars are spent on projects that will jumpstart job creation and lay the foundation for lasting prosperity. The President's and the Vice President's remarks will be pooled press.
The President will meet with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the Roosevelt Room to discuss the importance of investing in America's transportation infrastructure. There will be a pool spray at the top of the meeting.
Later in the afternoon, the President and the First Lady will attend a reception with the National Newspaper Publisher Association in the State Dining Room, where they will be presented the Newsmaker of the Year award. This event is closed press.
Also tomorrow, members of the National Conference of State Legislatures will hold a media availability at 1:30PM at the stakeout location outside the West Wing.
Intown Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: FOX
Print: New York Post
Radio: ABC
Magazine Photo: TIME
Independent Pool: C-SPAN
EDT
10:00AM Pool Call Time
10:45AM THE PRESIDENT receives Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press
11:15AM THE PRESIDENT receives Economic Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press
12:15PM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press
12:35PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT deliver remarks to representatives of the National Conference of State Legislatures
EEOB Room 350
Pooled for remarks (Pre-Set 10:15AM - Final Gather 12:10PM - Stakeout Location)
2:15PM THE PRESIDENT meets with Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Rendell, and Mayor Bloomberg
Roosevelt Room
Pool Spray at the top (Gather Time 1:55PM - North Doors of the Palm Room)
2:45PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend the National Newspaper Publishers Association reception
State Dining Room
Closed Press
Briefing Schedule
2:00PM Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
##
FLOTUS, Michelle Obama putting a REAL garden at the White House
We all know she is very conscious of eating healthy. And reminds me of Alice Waters on 60 Minutes, this past Sunday. The ground is breaking, today at the White House.
First lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to break ground Friday on a new garden near the fountain on the South Lawn that will supply the White House kitchen.
She will be joined by students from Bancroft Elementary School in the District of Columbia. The children will stay involved with the project, including planting the fruits, vegetables and herbs in the coming weeks and harvesting the crops later in the year.
Mrs. Obama spent time earlier this week at an exhibit on rooftop gardening.
"We're going to get a big one in our back yard, the South Lawn," she promised the volunteers.
Such a White House garden has been a dream of noted California chef Alice Waters, considered a leader in the movement to encourage consumption of locally grown, organic food. She has been appealing for change through the taste buds since the 1960s.
She organized a series of fundraising dinners in Washington before President Barack Obama's inauguration in January that served foods purchased from local producers at an area farmer's market to show how it can be done.
Reached Thursday at her Berkeley, Calif., restaurant, Chez Panisse, Waters said she was thrilled by the news.
"It just tells you that this country cares about people's good health and about the care of the land," she said. "To have this sort of 'victory' garden, this message goes out that everyone can grow a garden and have free food."
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
GOP really are concern trolls, concerned about Obama on the Tonight Show (Video)
The party of no, which has given us NO ALTERNATIVES for ANYTHING, can only whine about the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and President Obama filling out his NCAA bracket picks? Do these senators get around as in OUT OF D.C. to the REAL WORLD? Geez, I filled mine's out and in a pool, so far doing pretty well.....
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"The state of California has a tremendous partner in Barack Obama," says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in Los Angeles, CA (Videos)
President Barack Obama is playing a bit of divide-and-conquer this week, pitting his Republican critics against GOP governors and mayors eager for the federal money that his hard-fought stimulus plan will bring.
One of those Republican notables is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who joined Obama at a town hall meeting on Thursday in Los Angeles.
"The state of California has a tremendous partner in Barack Obama," said the governor, who also called the president's stimulus package "the greatest."
Governor Schwarzenegger introduces President Barack Obama, Video
8-year-old Ethan Lopez tells President Obama that his elementary school is in "big trouble" due to budget cuts.
And clip from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno
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Eric Cantor put on blast by Lawrence O'Donnell from morning joe (video)
Lawrence O'Donnell is another one of those on television that can craft a question that is hard to wiggle out of not answering. He was not a writer, producer for the acclaimed television series The West Wing, for nothing.
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The Fed, Treasury bumbling idiots
I don't care how good or bad the news is, the Obama Administration should have been kept abreast of every step of the bonus fiasco that is brewing about AIG.
The gasbags on morning joke continues fake outrage, well they do that every morning, but one thing I do agree with is this, the Obama Administration knew by late last week about these bonuses and the pounding of AIG by the Sunday morning talk shows was in full force. Now the public is weeding through the when, who, and how the administration knew about these outrageous payments.
We can point fingers all day long, but it comes down to this, Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary failed in halting these bonuses, period. He knew about the bonuses and could not stop AIG from cutting the checks and issuing the checks by Friday.
The U.S. public owns 80% of AIG, which started to get major money pumped to them from the Bush Administration to stay afloat. Some hard decisions needs to be made about this company. Starting with the takeover from the U.S. government, the firing of management, the total shut down of that products division which put this company where it is at now to restore some confidence in management of this administration.
There is no way that a private company, taking public money, propped up by us, the taxpayers, and we, the taxpayers can not tell AIG where the wind blows?
Geithner is a smart guy, we know this, but is he the right guy for this job? Right now, NO.
As pressure mounted on AIG employees to return the bonuses, new details emerged yesterday about what the Fed, the Treasury Department and the White House knew regarding the payments and when. AIG executives said the Fed was informed three months ago by the company that it would pay $165 million by March 15 to employees working at its most troubled division. The Treasury and White House said they learned of the payments from Fed officials only days before they were due.
Close coordination between the Fed and the administration is now more important than ever as they near the launch of two signature programs to rescue the financial system, which together could reach $2 trillion and are aimed at reviving consumer lending and purchasing soured assets and loans from ailing banks.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, a central figure in the decision to bail out AIG last fall as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in an interview yesterday that he had not been aware of the size of the bonuses and the timing of the payments.
"I was stunned when I learned how bad this was on Tuesday [March 10]," Geithner said. "I shouldn't have been in that position, but it's my responsibility and I accept that."
Two days later, Geithner told the White House. The last-minute disclosure irked some of the president's senior advisers, but they refuse to point fingers now, saying the timing had little impact on the outcome or the president's public statements this week.
"Would I have liked an earlier warning system on this? Yeah," said David Axelrod, a senior White House adviser. "Would it have markedly changed things? Probably not. The legal constraints are the legal constraints."
[snip]
Democrats and Republicans in Congress are increasingly questioning how Geithner could not have known about the bonuses, given his past role in AIG's bailout, which has totaled more than $170 billion.
"I'm sick and tired of hearing the administration and the Secretary of the Treasury say, 'I just found out about it,' " Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (D-Pa.) said yesterday.
The shitty thing about all of this is that those making these decisions are the same players, mostly, who was for deregulation, crafted the deals that have come back to bite this administration in the "you know where" and comes up with this lame excuse that "we can't renegotiate these contracts". I am sorry but it smells of bullshit. If the auto industry can renegotiate, you mean to tell me the United States of America who OWNS 80% of AIG can not drag their asses to the table to do the same? It doesn't wash.
The Obama Administration needs to clean this up and I mean, yesterday. They deserve the criticism that they are getting right now and I don't think most will disagree. This is absolutely the opposite of what Obama campaign for since 2007. But there is something about Washington, D.C., where these folks get into a room, craft legislation, and somehow for the good of the people always fall short.
Obama Administration, clean it up, even if it means performing sweepers for a new Treasury Secretary.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Pat Buchanan's Concerned Trolling on Hardball, (Video)
Really, this is a debate with Bob Shrum, Chris Matthews and the all of a sudden concern of Pat Buchanan for Barack Obama. Oh, brother....
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President Obama's Bracket for NCAA (Video)
Picks UNC to win it all.
“Here’s what I like about Carolina: experience and balance,” Obama said.
Familiarity, too. Obama played a pickup game with Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels while campaigning in North Carolina last April.
“Now, for all the Tar Heels who are watching, I picked you last year — you let me down,” Obama said. “This year, don’t embarrass me in front of the nation, all right? I’m counting on you. I still got those sneakers you guys gave me.”
Coach K, from Duke is salty.
“Somebody said that we’re not in President Obama’s Final Four, and as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said with a laugh from the Blue Devils’ first-round site in Greensboro, N.C.
Obama's Bracket for NCAA
Obama's NCAA Tournament Bracket, 2009
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Senator Chris Dodd, (D-CT), Orchestrating the AIG Bonus Loophole (Video)
Senate Banking committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told CNN’s Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer Wednesday that he was responsible for adding the bonus loophole into the stimulus package that permitted AIG and other companies that received bailout funds to pay bonuses.
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Dodd is up for re-election next year.
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Obama schedules second news conference, Tuesday, March 24, 2009
This AIG mess will do it.
President Obama will hold his second prime time news conference next Tuesday evening at 8 pm ET, the White House announced Wednesday.
The president is expected to use the forum to promote his ambitious budget plan, which has come under fire from Republicans and conservative Democrats for its hefty price tag.
He’s also likely to face questions about the ongoing controversy surrounding bonuses paid out by insurance giant AIG.
CNN and CNN.com will have extensive live coverage of the news conference.
Obama held his first prime time news conference in February amid his push to get his economic recovery package passed.
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Obama is in California, the furor is rising about AIG
Seems like POTUS has townhall meetings scheduled in Orange County and Los Angeles, then sitting on Jay Leno's couch for tomorrow night's show. The backlash is brewing and coming even moreso since it has been revealed that the White House knew about these AIG bonuses.
I wrote over the weekend that it was possible that the White House had the wool pulled over its eyes with AIG's bonus dump, but that it too was possible that they knew from the orchestrated talking points on the Sunday's shows. Most reps from the White House was pointedly in talking about AIG, up to Bernanke on 60 Minutes.
Secretary Geithner knew these bonuses were coming, but failed on negotiating the terms of the contracts down from what was announced.
Obama Administration is walking a slippery slope here. What should have happened is that this information should have been up front to the public, but now the attack dogs like, morning joke are out there with red meat based on their fake outrage. Yes, if you already knew about these bonuses, how can it be real but orchestrated?
Time for Obama to get this under control, but I don't know if he can. The problem is that he is surrounded by people that were part of this mess like, Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner. These two were big players in this economy mess. And Geithner? Treasury Secretary? Too close to Wall Street for my taste, that is the major problem.
Lastly, it is going to be hard as heck for the Obama Administration to get another penny for these banks. AIG has destroyed the goodwill for the public. And yet, AIG is supposed to get another 30B in aid? Oh, but this time there will be restrictions? I don't blame the Obama Administration for all of this because much of this money was already allocated before Obama took office, but I do blame them for fake outrage on AIG bonuses that they already KNEW ABOUT.
His first appearance as president in a state that was a getaway for his predecessors could instead become a political test for Obama, whose administration has been trying to find its voice on the economy. His schedule includes a stop on Jay Leno's stage in Burbank after town hall-style meetings in Orange County on Wednesday and downtown Los Angeles on Thursday.
With the furor over the AIG bonuses, "if he doesn't have some really good answers, this could be a nightmare. It's not going to be enough to say, 'I feel your anger and we are looking into it,'" said University of California, Berkeley, political scientist Bruce Cain. "There has to be some sort of decisive action."
Judy Chen-Lee, a laid-off job counselor for the city of Santa Ana, has a ticket for the Orange County event and hopes to press the president about getting people back to work.
The economic stimulus money should be "dedicated to those most in need, who need jobs and retraining," she said. "The AIG situation is sad. There needs to be accountability."
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
American Idol Recap, Top 11, March 17, 2009, Country Week (Video)
OFF TOPIC
First off, Anoop Desai redeemed himself after that DISASTROUS performance of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" last week. Tonight he sang the Willie Nelson classic, "You are always on my mind" and nailed it. Lately, he has picked young, upbeat songs which is fine, but last week, LORD, I was with Simon he could have easily LEFT. Tonight as Simon stated he, "Went from zero to hero". Yes, he was good.
Danny Gokey. He is the one to take down. He has that Michael McDonald thing going. Again, he started off in low caliber to pick it up to fervor by the end. The son was Carrie Underwood's, "Jesus Takes the Wheel". My only thing about him, he need to start switching it up. Starting off slow and clinching it in the end is good, but it can become redundant.
Megan Joy sang Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight". I liked the performance, it was different and she made this classic her own version. Will she win it all? No, the competition, especially from the men, is too steep, but she will hang around until next week.
Matt Giraud was last and for many maybe the best. He sang Carrie Underwood's "So Small" and nailed it. Totally memorable performance.
Honorable Mention:
Kris Allen, singing "To Make You Feel My Love". He was good but may be overshadowed by Anoop and Danny's performance.
And a hot mess tonight, Adam Lambert. Loved him last week, hated his performance this week.
Everyone else, meh, even Lil Rounds. Love her but the song was just OK, for me.
DialIdol Results
UPDATE
Alexis Grace was voted off.
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President Obama announces Dan Rooney for the next Ambassador of Ireland and other St. Patrick's Day Stuff (Video)
First, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney was announced by President O'Bama as the next Ambassador to Ireland.
President Barack Obama announced today that he intends to nominate Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney as the U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
Obama called Rooney "an unwavering supporter of Irish peace, culture and education" in announcing the nomination, according to the Associated Press.
Rooney co-founded the American Ireland Fund in 1976 and the organization, according to the White House, has raised more than $300 million for peace and education programs in Ireland.
"I am honored and grateful that such a dedicated and accomplished individual has agreed to serve as the representative of the United States to the Irish people," Obama said in a written statement. "Dan Rooney is an unwavering supporter of Irish peace, culture, and education, and I have every confidence that he and Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton will ensure America's continued close and unique partnership with Ireland in the years ahead."
President Barack Obama meets with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in the Oval Office of the White House
President Barack Obama receives a bowl of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen
President Barack Obama leaves the U.S. Capitol Building following lunch there with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen
White House Fountain Bled GREEN
O'Bama on St. Pat's Day
Desiree Rogers, WH Social Secretary
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Obama's Final 4 Picks
Louisville, UNC, Memphis, Pitt
I like Pitt, the one to watch out for. They got the heat right now.
President Barack Obama is picking Louisville, North Carolina, Memphis and Pittsburgh for the Final Four in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The First Hoops Fan indulged in one of the week’s most popular pastimes, filling out his NCAA bracket Tuesday for ESPN. The network, which is posting Obama’s bracket online Wednesday and showing Andy Katz’s report on “Sportscenter” at noon EDT, will reveal the president’s pick for NCAA champion then.
The president stuck primarily with No. 1 seeds. The sole exception was Memphis, seeded No. 2 behind Connecticut in the West regional.
“It was an educated bracket,” Katz said. “He knew what he was doing. It wasn’t some random kind of pick. There were no political favors or anything like that.”
A private campaign promise earned ESPN the hoops scoop.
Katz interviewed Obama during the presidential campaign last October for a story about the president’s brother-in-law, Oregon State head basketball coach Craig Robinson. After the interview, Obama invited Katz to play in a pickup basketball game on Election Day in Chicago, and he did.
Katz extracted a promise from Obama that if elected, the new president would reveal his NCAA picks to ESPN when the pairings were announced in March.
“They stayed true to their word and didn’t hesitate to get it done,” he said.
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AIG bonus outrage keeps going (Video)
AIG IS A HOT ASS MESS....for real...LIKE BLAGO, IT JUST KEEPS MAKING NEWS AND BAD NEWS AT THAT.....MORE HERE.....
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Banks mired in bad loans
Again, I don't see how all these banks will make it. I know the notion is to keep pumping the mantra, to big to fail, but the public is not feeling that right now. They don't care and the feeling is good riddance to greedy rubbish anyway. The AIG outrage is the tipping point for many people out here. Case and point, I call my niece a freshman in college, she is busy with her studies and only know what she needs to know about current events. My niece even knew about AIG and said, "Obama needs to get that money back from those bonuses." Her world is about keeping her scholarship, working and studying, so for her to comment that people in her dorm are talking about the AIG fiasco says something. It states folks are not in the weeds or clouds, they are paying attention to what is going on. So, here comes these banks, especially the big ones. Some will fall, it will happen. Time for hard choices for the Obama Administration.
Foreclosures and bad loans raced through the banking industry in 2008, with the more than 8,000 U.S. banks registering a 149 percent increase in troubled assets, according to a new analysis of bank financial reports to the federal government.
While a large majority of banks were still healthy, 163 ended the year with more troubled loans than capital, up from only 13 a year earlier, according to the analysis of data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. by msnbc.com and the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University in Washington, D.C.
Nationwide, seven out of every 10 banks had less capital to cover potential loan losses than a year earlier. The analysis relies on information reported quarterly to the FDIC, calculating each bank's troubled asset ratio, which compares troubled loans against the bank's ability to withstand losses.
Although attention has focused on the largest banks, which hold the lion's share of deposits, the analysis shows how widespread the problems in the banking industry became in 2008 as the mortgage meltdown and broader recession unfolded. Msnbc.com is publishing information on the nation's 400 largest banks as well as all banks with high ratios of troubled loans at year’s end. And the American University group has created a new Web site, BankTracker, to provide information on the financial health of every bank in the country.
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Keith Olbermann on AIG Outrage with Robert Reich....(Video)
What's the most outrageous of this is that most of the banks AIG is paying bonuses to have received BAILOUT MONEY...unbelievable....
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AIG probably won't be able to pay us back, US, the taxpayers (Video)
Enough of too big to fail. If the government owns around 80% of this company it is time to take it over and fire management. This company is scurrilous!!! Shaming AIG? PUHLEAZE....this company don't give a DAMN!!!!!
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President Obama on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday
POTUS making a west coast swing....
The White House says President Barack Obama will appear this week on Jay Leno's talk show, perhaps adding a lighter touch to his bid to resuscitate the moribund economy.
Obama will visit "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" during his trip to Los Angeles on Thursday. NBC will tape the program and air it that night, after the president has returned to Washington.
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Hard to swallow the truth while the government is in OUTRAGE over AIG, Tent Cities, Slums are real (Video)
This is near Ontario Airport, one of the burbs of Los Angeles. And Sacramento and Phoenix have tent cities popping up, too.
Sacramento is below:
Folks, families, individuals getting thrown out on the street is real, not FAKE. We sure care about AIG and the rest, not failing and this just breaks your heart. And evictions, look here.
h/t Jeffrey Feldman
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Obama slams AIG and Supports Small Business (Video and Transcript)
I guess the White House got the message. They are forcefully going out after AIG to get this money back. Again, I am with Barney Frank here, it is time for some pink slips to go out. In the real world this shit would not be tolerated, at all.
Transcript of President Obama's Partial Remarks on AIG
But before I talk about the new steps we're taking to get credit flowing to small businesses across our country, I want to comment on the news about executive bonuses at AIG.
This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed.
Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?
In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the US Treasury. I've asked Secretary Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.
I know he's working to resolve this matter with the new CEO, Edward Liddy, who came on board after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agreed to last year.
This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about our fundamental values.
All across the country, there are people who work hard and meet their responsibilities every day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multi-million dollar bonuses. And all they ask is that everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, play by the same rules.
That is an ethic we must demand.
What this situation also underscores is the need for overall financial regulatory reform, so we don't find ourselves in this position again, and for some form of resolution mechanism in dealing with troubled financial institutions, so we have greater authority to protect the American taxpayer and our financial system in cases such as this. We will work with Congress to that end.
Transcript on Small Business Owners
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FLOTUS, Michelle Obama on the cover of New York magazine
In fact practically the whole magazine is devoted to FLOTUS. Click on the image below to read!!
h/t Mrs. O
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Publie outrage of AIG
I wrote yesterday, that I have HAD IT, with AIG.
I don't care what the amount in the large millions these bonuses were, you mean to tell me that either the former Bush Administration or the Obama Administration did not ask about these bonuses? I think they did ask, AIG just was not truthful about it. Why? The way and I will write shady way this all was spilled out this weekend and the letter of CEO, Edward Liddy dropped on Treasury and the White House.
The tough talk time is over for all these corporations, yes, let's call it what they are PRIVATE CORPORATIONS, the time of verbal outrage is over. Action and stern action is needed to send a message to these corporations and Wall Street. Why? Because the public is sick, just sick of reading about all this money going to these banks and corporations and their arrogance and constantly giving us, the taxpayers the finger while they still whoop-de-do it like this was 1999.
Should the Obama Administration be worried about public outrage? You betcha.
The Obama administration is increasingly concerned about a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street, worried that anger at financial institutions could also end up being directed at Congress and the White House and could complicate President Obama’s agenda.
The Obama Administration should be very worried. The public is behind this president, no doubt, but when you constantly read the f*ck ups of these banks, AIG, etc., the anger of the public is over the top. People out hear are working hard, working for LESS MONEY, scrimping by, worried about bills, their kids college tuition, if they will have a job tomorrow and we have to repeatedly, again repeatedly read about blowhard corporations and banks taking our money only to give themselves bonuses in the MILLIONS almost BILLIONS of dollars? People out here may not understand the total financial meltdown, which is something the Obama Administration needs to be clearer about, but they surely understand average joe and josetta's tax dollars being given to these corporations and banks and they don't play by the rules but continue to act like nothing happened.
“We’ve got enormous problems that need to be addressed,” David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, said in an interview. “And it’s hard to address because there’s a lot of anger about the irresponsibility that led us to this point.”
“This has been welling up for a long time,” he said.
Mr. Obama’s aides said any surge of such a sentiment could complicate efforts to win Congressional approval for the additional bailout packages that Mr. Obama has signaled will be necessary to stabilize the banking system.
This is the real issue. The public will have no sentiment for giving any more money to these corporations and banks, and quite frankly they shot themselves in the foot on this one. Their excessive lavishness, no carishness, continuing business as usual mentality has led the public to turn around and want to give them the F'U you when it comes to more dollars being given to them.
Even as Mr. Summers was denouncing A.I.G. for the bonuses, he suggested that there was little if anything the government could do to stop them, seconding the conclusion of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. But even if their reasoning was legally sound, they also risked having the administration look ineffectual in the face of what Mr. Summers said was the worst financial abuse of the last 18 months, since the economy began turning down in earnest.
“Never underestimate the capacity of angry populism in times of economic stress,” said Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and labor secretary under President Bill Clinton. “A big challenge for President Obama will be to maintain a rational and tactical public discussion in the midst of this severe downturn. The desire for culprits at times like this is strong.”
In a further development, A.I.G. on Sunday named dozens of financial institutions that benefited from its huge rescue loan from the Federal Reserve last fall. The list included Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Wachovia.
Nothing the government can do about it? It starts with not giving them anymore money. I know this may sound harsh, or even unrealistic, but just sit back and listen to the public, they are fed the f*ck up with this. Reich is right, don't underestimate the public's anger that is brewing and it is hotter than a pot of coffee.
The Obama Administration was handed a desk load of problems by the Bush Administration and this mess with AIG comes from the Bush Administration, but going forward the decisions by the White House must be on point, must quell the anger out here, if not it will be a very bumpy ride ahead.
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
AIG can pay themselves MILLIONS in bonus money from US taxpayers, but folks get EVICTED from their homes, with no help in sight....
Stop saying they are "Too Big To Fail"....LET THEM
AIG that is it. Really it is it.
Even after watching Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on 60 Minutes tonight, who I might add was eloquent, reserved, humble, I still say as a tax payer let them fail. Even Chairman Bernanke was hot under the collar by giving AIG money, but has to read headlines that they are giving themselves bonuses.
Fed Chairman Bernanke's 60 Minutes Interview, Part Two
The 'effin' moxey of AIG is enough. This company reminds me of Blago, it just won't do the right thing, or more importantly the controversy will never stop.
AIG has taken over 160B dollars of U.S. taxpayers dollars to keep this company propped up but has that moxey to pay out bonuses in the range of 450M? President Obama this is where the rubber hits the road for U.S. taxpayers.
American International Group Inc. will pay $450 million in bonuses to employees in its financial products unit. That division was at the heart of AIG's collapse last fall, which compelled the U.S. government to provide $173.3 billion in aid to keep it running.
The CEO, Edward Liddy of AIG told Treasury Secretary Geithner that their hands were tied in giving out these bonuses.
CEO Edward Liddy told Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that the next payments to employees of the financial products unit are due on Sunday, and added “quite frankly, AIG’s hands are tied.”
Well, of course the outrage is that, outrage it is natural. Now it is time for action. Action from the White House.
See, the average joe and josetta don't understand why we are throwing money down the well to the likes of AIG, as they use the money we are giving them to keep them functioning, but they turn around and payout bonuses that are unbelievable. See, the joes and josettas out there are struggling. Many of them are one paycheck from being thrown on the street, but they constantly have to read about these companies and Wall Street that take our money and then throw the finger at us. Yes, Obama Administration, they are throwing the finger at us. What is next?
Obama Administration, I am smelling the rubber burning. Remember the segment of the Sci-Fi, Horror movie, Aliens? OK, it is the part of the movie when the marines while in the den of Aliens are told to give up their weapons and can only use flame torches, at this juncture one marine says, "How are we suppose to protect ourselves, use harsh language?" Well, we all know how that scene ended, what we don't know is how this scene with the likes of AIG and others will end. Harsh language is being touted, here,here, here, and here. Outrage all from D.C., which is fine and dandy, but Obama Administration and Washington, D.C. the public demands action. We mean stern action, not more harsh language.
AIG is an example of what the public does not want, which makes it hard for the Obama Administration to move forward with its financial package. The actions of AIG, Citibank, Bank of America, etc., are examples of reckless management and disregard of its financial situation. It is we, the taxpayers that these blowhards are begging for our help and we have to continue to read about bonuses paid out in the mulit-millions while Americans are losing jobs, in line for food, tent cities popping up in this country, unemployment numbers are astounding, people don't know if they will have a job tomorrow and many in this country are one pay check from the street!!! And we have to read about AIG taking our money and paying themselves bonuses????
Obama Administration, do you get it? We are angry and yes, stop giving them our money if they don't respect the process. Which means they don't respect you and definitely do not respect we, the taxpayers. Yes, we are angry and yes, let them fail.
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This Week with George Stephanopolus, ABC, Round Table on Jon Stewart vs. Jim Cramer, CNBC (Video)
Frank Rich says what my husband has said about Cramer and how he pumped and dumped those worthless internet stocks. But the insight is spot on, the anger of the public is real and it is out there.
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Michael Eric Dyson on Bill Maher, HBO, Gives Andrew Braitbart a cup of STFU...for real....(Video)
Folks, Michael Eric Dyson is another one you don't f*ck with if you don't have your facts straight. The smack down he gave Andrew Braitbart was classic. Bill Maher didn't have to say a word, Dyson said it all.
Part One
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Dick Cheney emerges from his undisclosed location because he has something to say
Dick Cheney is one who should share a jail cell with Bernie Madoff. He, more than anyone else, was the main cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq. Well, 8 long years can be a bitch and in the end he left as one of the most disgraced Vice-Presidents EVER. Well, what can I write? He's back.
Cheney surely does not like Barack Obama and was a heavy pusher of total partisianship during his tenure. The word "bi" was not even in his vocabulary. He believed in us vs. them, which is why many Americans see such vitriol in Washington, DC. He had a lot to do with it and Bush just followed behind.
Towards the end of the Bush Administration it was written and rumored that Cheney tried very hard to get former President Bush to pardon, MANY. In fact, he wanted pre-pardons, for the likes of, um like, disgraced and dumb former Attorney General Alberto Gonazles, but it did not happen. Cheney really wanted a full pardon for Scooter Libby, but Bush just said NO, to all of the above. In other words, those who thought they may be saved, were left hanging out to dry by the former president.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he and former President George Bush had “a fundamental difference” over pardoning Scooter Libby.
“I was clearly not happy that we in effect left Scooter hanging in the wind, which I don’t think was appropriate,” Cheney said.
Cheney pressed for a pardon for Libby, his former chief of staff convicted in 2007 of perjury in connection with the CIA leak case. Bush declined to issue the pardon.
Cheney said the details of his disagreement with Bush are “best left to history” – or his upcoming memoir, which will cover his 40 years in Washington.
Cheney and Bush have spoken by phone three times since leaving office, the former vice president said. “We traveled a long way together in eight years,” Cheney said.
Now in Cheney's words:
And of course, Cheney does not believe the economic failure was on the Bush-Cheney watch. Why would he? This man benefited and profited from this economy, especially the Iraq War. A war that bankrupted this country. So, of course he don't give a damn.
Don't blame the Bush administration for all the country's economic problems.
That's the message from former Vice President Dick Cheney.
President Barack Obama constantly talks about the enormous economic troubles that he inherited when he took office in January. Cheney agrees that Obama did indeed came into power amid very difficult economic circumstances.
But Cheney says he doesn't think the Bush administration can be blamed for creating the economic woes. Cheney says it's a global financial problem. He says the idea that fault can assigned to the previous administration is "interesting rhetoric" but he doesn't think people care about that.
While the Republicans wither every time Rush Limbaugh opens his mouth, they wither even harder when the "old administration by the name of Bush or Cheney" comes skipping out to any microphone so they can say their peace. In other words, when Bush-Cheney left the White House, the Republicans said, "Good riddance". So, Cheney maybe you should continue to remain in your undisclosed location, either way your opinions are really not relevant any longer.
More from CNNs State of the Union, Iraq War:
After watching this, Dick Cheney as George W. Bush, were two elected officials who left this country in shambles and will continue to try to clean their image up. But like Herbert Hoover, when you leave a catastrophe on the desk for the man behind you to clean up, the only thing that will be remembered is what you DID or DID NOT do to put this country on the course it is on.
As for John King, CNNs interviewer, I am sure he is in the running for one of the WORST INTERVIEWS, EVER.
Cross-posted @ Daily Kos
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