Notes from NewsBusters and Beyond...
Chris Matthews: "My job is to make this presidency a success."
And here I thought his job was to report the news with objectivity and balance.
And I don't want to start another thread on this but ... "In California, the Propsition 8 ban on gay marraige actually failed among white voters, 51-40. It was the 70 percent support from black voters that put the measure over the top."
Conversation between Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw on The Charlie Rose Show on October 30th.
Berlusconi calls Obama "suntanned" (oi vey). Putin has a plan to get back into the Presidency in 09 (there's a shocker), and the stock market continues to tank. The press (television rather) continue to ascertain that this has nothing to do with our recent election or our tax raising President. I remain unconvinced. It may very well be solely related to the jobs report and the automotive industry. I personally think investors have no hope, and that folks afraid of pulling money out in 2009 with a 28% cap gains tax are pulling out now to take advantage of the 15%. But that's just me. And we all know what my opinions worth. The AP actually ran a story I read several days ago saying investors were in deed pondering the new presidency.
Sigh. I just hope President elect Obama has a thicker skin than say Vince Young, because the hecklers are gearing up for him.
And one of my last notes ... these guys are celebrating an Obama victory. By holding up the former flag of the Soviet Union. Yeah for Obama! Yeah for communism!
Awesome. Regean would be so proud. I think I'm going to be sick.
Ahmadinejad wrote Obama letter on his website. How nice. Ugh. My stomach turns at the thought of our foreign policy future. But hey, has Tom and Charlie said ... we don't know how that's going to go yet. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll hire some great foreign policy expert that will say talking to thugs who want to wipe an entire group of people off the map is not the American way.
I won't hold my breath.
And that's change you can believe in ... hiring someone from Bill Clinton's admin to be the Chief of Staff. Yup. Awesome. One of the guys responsible for covering up Clinton's ... achem ... extracurricular activities. Oh, it gets better ... after he left the White House he was an "investment banker on Wall Street!" I wonder how much money he made on GSEs. And, tellingly, they don't list which firm he worked for. Hmmm ... let me check google ... oh cheese ... Politico says Tom Daschle would have been the second choice. For the love of fresh water and toilet paper ... I am going to be gasping a lot and choking on air when these next appointments come out. All my favorite song and dance ponies will be in top spots. FYI ... Emanuel considers Mayor Richard M. Daley to be one of his mentors. Yes, the mayor of mob town. Research "Hired Truck Program" and let me know what you find. Crooks, crooks and more crooks.
Oh yes, my google search turns up that Rahm Emanuel sat on the board of Freddie Mac. Of course he did. You can't throw a penny in Washington and not hit a Democrat with ties to the housing market. Though Time is quick to point out, he "recuses himself from any Congressional votes on the mortgage giant." He also "got rich working as an investment banker." Yes, but rich Democrats care about the poor and middle class.
Speaking on Fannie mae, USA Today had an article on October 19th on "How Congress Set the Stage." It tries to lay equal blame at both Republicans and Democrats. Which is really funny. Because the Senate that sent the bill to the White House in 2000 was ruled by ... oh you're going to love this ... Tom Daschle! And that bill was signed into law by lame duck Bill Clinton. One could argue that the House, being presided over by Newt Gingrich, could have put a stop to it, but quotes from Congressmen say that because the financial sector was all for it, so were they. But hey, as I've been reminded lately, the buck stops with the Commander in Chief. Shame on your Mr. Clinton!
The further protection of Fannie Mae comes when economists were warning that their portfolios were too big and risky, and the Bush administration tried - on repeat occasions - to get some regulation in there. These pieces of legislation never made it out of committee. Most recently, out of committees run by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. And ... love this ...
What's missing here guys? Who they were lobbying. That'd be Democrats. While Chris Dodd was blocking regulation legislation from reaching the Senate floor, he was negotiating a mortgage with Countrywide in their VIP program. Awesome.
Me too, Congressman, me too.
BTW ... told you Ohio would go blue.
And here I thought his job was to report the news with objectivity and balance.
And I don't want to start another thread on this but ... "In California, the Propsition 8 ban on gay marraige actually failed among white voters, 51-40. It was the 70 percent support from black voters that put the measure over the top."
Conversation between Charlie Rose and Tom Brokaw on The Charlie Rose Show on October 30th.
ROSE: I care about a almost as much as you do in terms of being a political junkie, but there are questions you don't know in terms of -- I don't know what Barack Obama's worldview is, I really don't know.I don't know if this is a product of them not asking ... or Obama's refusal to answer. Both maybe? I don't know. We'll all find out soon enough.
BROKAW: No, no, I don't either.
ROSE: I don't know how he really sees where China is and where it wants to go and how smart he is about that, or India, or the whole global structure.
Berlusconi calls Obama "suntanned" (oi vey). Putin has a plan to get back into the Presidency in 09 (there's a shocker), and the stock market continues to tank. The press (television rather) continue to ascertain that this has nothing to do with our recent election or our tax raising President. I remain unconvinced. It may very well be solely related to the jobs report and the automotive industry. I personally think investors have no hope, and that folks afraid of pulling money out in 2009 with a 28% cap gains tax are pulling out now to take advantage of the 15%. But that's just me. And we all know what my opinions worth. The AP actually ran a story I read several days ago saying investors were in deed pondering the new presidency.
Sigh. I just hope President elect Obama has a thicker skin than say Vince Young, because the hecklers are gearing up for him.
And one of my last notes ... these guys are celebrating an Obama victory. By holding up the former flag of the Soviet Union. Yeah for Obama! Yeah for communism!
Awesome. Regean would be so proud. I think I'm going to be sick.
Ahmadinejad wrote Obama letter on his website. How nice. Ugh. My stomach turns at the thought of our foreign policy future. But hey, has Tom and Charlie said ... we don't know how that's going to go yet. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll hire some great foreign policy expert that will say talking to thugs who want to wipe an entire group of people off the map is not the American way.
I won't hold my breath.
And that's change you can believe in ... hiring someone from Bill Clinton's admin to be the Chief of Staff. Yup. Awesome. One of the guys responsible for covering up Clinton's ... achem ... extracurricular activities. Oh, it gets better ... after he left the White House he was an "investment banker on Wall Street!" I wonder how much money he made on GSEs. And, tellingly, they don't list which firm he worked for. Hmmm ... let me check google ... oh cheese ... Politico says Tom Daschle would have been the second choice. For the love of fresh water and toilet paper ... I am going to be gasping a lot and choking on air when these next appointments come out. All my favorite song and dance ponies will be in top spots. FYI ... Emanuel considers Mayor Richard M. Daley to be one of his mentors. Yes, the mayor of mob town. Research "Hired Truck Program" and let me know what you find. Crooks, crooks and more crooks.
Oh yes, my google search turns up that Rahm Emanuel sat on the board of Freddie Mac. Of course he did. You can't throw a penny in Washington and not hit a Democrat with ties to the housing market. Though Time is quick to point out, he "recuses himself from any Congressional votes on the mortgage giant." He also "got rich working as an investment banker." Yes, but rich Democrats care about the poor and middle class.
Speaking on Fannie mae, USA Today had an article on October 19th on "How Congress Set the Stage." It tries to lay equal blame at both Republicans and Democrats. Which is really funny. Because the Senate that sent the bill to the White House in 2000 was ruled by ... oh you're going to love this ... Tom Daschle! And that bill was signed into law by lame duck Bill Clinton. One could argue that the House, being presided over by Newt Gingrich, could have put a stop to it, but quotes from Congressmen say that because the financial sector was all for it, so were they. But hey, as I've been reminded lately, the buck stops with the Commander in Chief. Shame on your Mr. Clinton!
The further protection of Fannie Mae comes when economists were warning that their portfolios were too big and risky, and the Bush administration tried - on repeat occasions - to get some regulation in there. These pieces of legislation never made it out of committee. Most recently, out of committees run by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. And ... love this ...
Fannie and Freddie spent $175 million on lobbying in the last decade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The companies' employees and PACs gave nearly $5 million in contributions since 1989, by the center's count.
What's missing here guys? Who they were lobbying. That'd be Democrats. While Chris Dodd was blocking regulation legislation from reaching the Senate floor, he was negotiating a mortgage with Countrywide in their VIP program. Awesome.
Rep. Barney Frank, then the ranking Democrat on financial services and now the chairman, says he and his colleagues were not soft on Fannie and Freddie. "Yes, they lobbied strongly, but I was one of the most successful ones in challenging them."
Frank had no apologies. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., by contrast, offered a rare Washington mea culpa: "Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues, I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie and Freddie," he said in a statement. "Frankly, I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit, when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong."
Me too, Congressman, me too.
BTW ... told you Ohio would go blue.
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