Category: Politics

Congress, Justice, Politics, Uncategorized

Securities and Exchange Commission Accused of Shredding Investigation Documents for Nearly Twenty Years

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to allegations made by a whistleblower that the agency had destroyed files from preliminary investigations of financial firms—including Goldman Sachs, SAC Capital Advisors, Deutsche Bank, AIG, and Bernie Madoff Investment Securities.

A Bloomberg article reported that Grassley’s request was prompted by a letter that he received from SEC attorney Darcy Flynn claiming that the SEC had “destroyed documents including materials related to Goldman Sachs’ trades of American International Group Inc. (AIG) credit- default swaps in 2009, insider-trading probes of Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) and SAC Capital Advisors LP, and investigations of possible financial fraud at Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) in 2007 and 2008.”

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Columns, Media, Politics, Society, Things That Tick Me Off

Jobless in Georgia

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

 While we the privileged, who have time for such things, argue about law, politics, and society from our individual perspectives, we can easily forget that the results of these arguments affect real people in their lives. In the present American discourse, curt slogans and political bombast rule the airwaves and the Internet. The consequences of arguments won and lost are often subsumed by the anger of the debate itself. I personally feel a great empathy for those people ground down by the decisions and actions of those with financial power who have influence on executive and legislative power. The result of this empathy is anger at what I see is the blindness of our corporate and political leaders towards the lives of average people and the deafness of those same leaders to the cries for help all around them. Continue reading “Jobless in Georgia” →

Bizarre, Politics

Obamas Take Separate Planes So First Lady Can Get A Few More Hours of Vacation in Martha’s Vineyard?

While I do not recall a great deal of grumbling from conservatives about George Bush’s long vacations, I have to agree with the criticism of the First Family taking two separate planes to their vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — apparently to give the First Lady a few hours head start on the vacation. At a time of tremendous economic sacrifice, it seems pretty insensitive to take separate planes and motorcades at a cost of an estimated $100,000.
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Academia, Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Science

Rick Perry: Earth “Pretty Old” and Evolution “Got Some Gaps”

Gov. Rick Perry was asked directly about his view on creationism and the religious dogma regarding the age of the Earth. His response was truly Bushesque, saying that the Earth is “pretty old” and evolution “got some gaps.” He wants both evolution and creationism taught side by side as equal “theories” in public schools.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, Military, Politics

Auditors Conclude That $6.6 Billion Simply Disappeared From Planes Filled With Cash To Iraq

For years, the media has reported billions of dollars stolen or missing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Karzai family in particular has been singled out in allegations of such pilfering as well as an array of other crimes such as drug dealing. Now, auditors have found that $6.6 billion has simply disappeared — cash sent by the plane load to Iraq.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion

Spanish Police Attack Young People On Street In Preparation For Arrival Of Pope

Judging from this video, the Spanish have retained a Francoesque approach to dealing with the public and the concept of free assembly. The attacks on these young people appear entirely unprovoked. The police are preparing for the arrival of the Pope.
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Politics, Society

Reach Out And Touch Someone: AT&T Purchases Hundreds of Books By Gov. Rick Perry To Hand Out Free To State Legislators

While it has been generally panned as superficial and little more than expanded soundbites, Gov. Rick Perry’s Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington clearly has one big fan: AT&T. AT&T purchased hundreds of the books to hand out free.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

“Casket Cartel” Takes Monks To Court

Louisiana regulators have decided to appeal a ruling in favor of casket-making monks that found a state law unconstitutional in giving funeral directors exclusive rights to sell caskets. The law has been criticized as a case of a powerful lobby getting politicians to snuff out their competition. Louisiana legislators caved into demands for the protective measures, but Judge Stanwood R. Duval, of the U.S. District Court in New Orleans found that the legislation did not even satisfy the low rational basis test. The regulators are now appealing to the Fifth Circuit.

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Bizarre, Congress, Politics, Society

Is The Media Actively Erasing Ron Paul From Election Coverage?

While some on our blog (including many regulars who I respect) disagree, I have never hidden my respect for Ron Paul. I have occasional lunches with Paul who is one of the brightest and most engaging minds in Congress. This segment by John Stewart does a great job in addressing the concerted effort to ignore Paul despite his almost winning the recent Iowa straw poll. Even “XXX” got more attention by Associated Press.
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Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Society

American Taliban: Meet John Benefiel

Sarah Palin had Thomas Muthee and John McCain had John Hagee and Rod Parsely and Barack Obama had Jeremiah Wright. For Rick Perry, his bizarre religious ally may be John Benefiel, the head of the Heartland Apostolic Reformation Network. Benefiel was one of the official organizers of Perry’s controversial The Response prayer rally. In this YouTube clip, Benefiel calls the Statue of Liberty a “demonic idol.”

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Secession Makes The Heart Grow Fonder? Perry Insists Voters Choose A Candidate “In Love” With The United States

Texas Governor Rick Perry has revealed one of the main distinctions that he sees between himself and Barack Obama. He insists that American needs a president who is “in love” with America. As someone who previously indicated that he was contemplating secession of his state from the United States, this appears to be a case of “separation secession making the heart grow fonder.”

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Religion, Society

Sherlock Holmes Work Removed From School Library in Virginia

The children of Rising Western Albemarle High School in Albemarle County, Virginia are finally safe this week after parents found a lurking danger in their school: a copy of the Sherlock Holmes story, A Study In Scarlet. Parent Brette Stevenson first brought the Victorian-era book to the attention of the school board as inappropriate for children. The book contains a harsh and erroneous view of the Mormon religion.

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International, Military, Politics

With Friends Like This: Pakistan Reportedly Showed China Downed Stealth Helicopter

The United States continues to pour foreign military aid and other funds into Pakistan by the billions despite years of knowledge that the Pakistani intelligence service was protecting terrorist suspects. Now, a report has surfaced that our erstwhile allies arranged to have the Chinese inspect the wreckage of the secret Stealth helicopter used in the operation — even as the U.S. was trying to recover the wreckage from Osama Bin Laden’s compound.

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Congress, Politics, Society

Air America: Federal Government Spending $200 Million in Subsidies For “Essential Air Service”

While Congress is rolling back on scientific and environmental programs, it is continuing to spend $200 million in subsidies to pay for people to fly in nearly empty planes from remote airfields under the Essential Air Service program. Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are planning to kill the 200-year-old page system to save $5 million, but they supported this continuing program costing almost a quarter of a billion dollars. In some cases, a coach ticket cost the taxpayers over $4000 in subsidies.
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