Food Blogger Camp 2011
2 days ago
Monday, September 29, 2008
I had a disturbing phone call with my bank this past week
Actually, it all began with a disturbing barbeque a week ago Sunday.
I was at my friend Joe's place (another Joe), and he and another friend present know a thing or two about banking. They informed me, which was news to me, that not all money market accounts are covered by FDIC insurance. FDIC, as you probably know, is that little seal in the corner of practically every document your bank gives you. It means, basically, that in case of a run on the bank, or something akin to the Great Depression, your savings are guaranteed by the federal government up to $100,000.
Well, funny thing - I never really cared about that little FDIC bug. Until that barbeque. On a whim, I asked my bank-expert friends, whether I needed to be worried about losing my savings in the bank, should things really go south with the economy. They asked me if i had any of my money in a money market. I told them yeah, I think so. And they informed me that some money markets aren't covered by FDIC insurance. What? Yes, it's true.
Now, before everyone panics, some money markets ARE covered by federal insurance - I called my credit union, and my money market account is covered by another federal insurance program called NCUA that covers credit unions. So all is well. Well, kind of. I checked my PayPal money market, and while the money you keep in your general PayPal account, at least as far as I could tell, is covered by the FDIC (well, kind of - read on), any PayPal monies you hold in PayPal's money market are NOT covered, again at least from what I was able to understand. Needless to say, my PayPal money left that money market last week.
And even that isn't the whole story. According to PayPal's Website, the money you have with them in a general non-money-market account is protected by the FDIC should the bank fail that they use to store your money. Your money may not, however, be protected if PayPal itself goes insolvent. Well, even that isn't totally clear. PayPal says that they believe they've set things up in a way that your money "should" be free of claims from creditors should they go bankrupt. But that's no guarantee. Today my PayPal money went into a real bank, ING Direct (Chris and several other friends recommended them - 3% interest on a savings account.) ING Direct protects your accounts up to $100,000. There are other online accounts people also recommend, and they pay a bit more, but I read that ING Direct is easy to us, and doesn't make you go through hoops to get their rates.
Now back to my bank. Even though I have $100,000 in NCUA coverage, I found out that that's $100,000 for all of my accounts combined - not $100,000 on each account. Now, I don't generally have the delightful problem of having such sums in my bank accounts, but I'm keeping a good amount of savings on hand in order to buy my first place and put down a good down payment. That money, combined with closing costs, quarterly self-employed tax payments, money you save to put into retirement, and overall savings could push you over the FDIC/NCUA limit - at least at certain points during the year (right before paying your quarterly taxes, for instance, or right when a big client finally pays you in one lump sum). And anything over the limit isn't insured should anything bad happen.
Now, my bankish friends tell me not to panic. Assuming your total exposure in one financial institution doesn't exceed $100k, it's no good if everyone goes yanking their money out of money markets, as that will hurt banks, and only push us closer to the brink. And in any case, I'm told, the current deal that is being negotiated (or hopefully will be negotiated again) in Congress will supposedly cover money markets, for the very reasons I'm discussing here (Chris also told me that lots of seniors have money in money markets, so politicians are making sure that money markets are covered by whatever they're negotiating right now) - and actually, I'm finding some articles online suggesting the coverage may already be there - okay just got the answer from a friend:
I have to admit that I found it troubling, and a little depressing, that our country has gotten to the point under 8 years of Republican rule in the White House, and 12 of the last 14 years of Republican rule in the Congress, that for the first time in my life I had to call the bank in order to find out whether my money was safe (and some of it wasn't).
We really have become a third-world country under Republican rule. Read More......
I was at my friend Joe's place (another Joe), and he and another friend present know a thing or two about banking. They informed me, which was news to me, that not all money market accounts are covered by FDIC insurance. FDIC, as you probably know, is that little seal in the corner of practically every document your bank gives you. It means, basically, that in case of a run on the bank, or something akin to the Great Depression, your savings are guaranteed by the federal government up to $100,000.
Well, funny thing - I never really cared about that little FDIC bug. Until that barbeque. On a whim, I asked my bank-expert friends, whether I needed to be worried about losing my savings in the bank, should things really go south with the economy. They asked me if i had any of my money in a money market. I told them yeah, I think so. And they informed me that some money markets aren't covered by FDIC insurance. What? Yes, it's true.
Now, before everyone panics, some money markets ARE covered by federal insurance - I called my credit union, and my money market account is covered by another federal insurance program called NCUA that covers credit unions. So all is well. Well, kind of. I checked my PayPal money market, and while the money you keep in your general PayPal account, at least as far as I could tell, is covered by the FDIC (well, kind of - read on), any PayPal monies you hold in PayPal's money market are NOT covered, again at least from what I was able to understand. Needless to say, my PayPal money left that money market last week.
And even that isn't the whole story. According to PayPal's Website, the money you have with them in a general non-money-market account is protected by the FDIC should the bank fail that they use to store your money. Your money may not, however, be protected if PayPal itself goes insolvent. Well, even that isn't totally clear. PayPal says that they believe they've set things up in a way that your money "should" be free of claims from creditors should they go bankrupt. But that's no guarantee. Today my PayPal money went into a real bank, ING Direct (Chris and several other friends recommended them - 3% interest on a savings account.) ING Direct protects your accounts up to $100,000. There are other online accounts people also recommend, and they pay a bit more, but I read that ING Direct is easy to us, and doesn't make you go through hoops to get their rates.
Now back to my bank. Even though I have $100,000 in NCUA coverage, I found out that that's $100,000 for all of my accounts combined - not $100,000 on each account. Now, I don't generally have the delightful problem of having such sums in my bank accounts, but I'm keeping a good amount of savings on hand in order to buy my first place and put down a good down payment. That money, combined with closing costs, quarterly self-employed tax payments, money you save to put into retirement, and overall savings could push you over the FDIC/NCUA limit - at least at certain points during the year (right before paying your quarterly taxes, for instance, or right when a big client finally pays you in one lump sum). And anything over the limit isn't insured should anything bad happen.
Now, my bankish friends tell me not to panic. Assuming your total exposure in one financial institution doesn't exceed $100k, it's no good if everyone goes yanking their money out of money markets, as that will hurt banks, and only push us closer to the brink. And in any case, I'm told, the current deal that is being negotiated (or hopefully will be negotiated again) in Congress will supposedly cover money markets, for the very reasons I'm discussing here (Chris also told me that lots of seniors have money in money markets, so politicians are making sure that money markets are covered by whatever they're negotiating right now) - and actually, I'm finding some articles online suggesting the coverage may already be there - okay just got the answer from a friend:
Treasury provided insurance for 1 year going forward on funds that were already in money markets on that date. It does not apply to new funds moved into money markets after that date. FDIC continues to provide insurance on bank deposits up to $100,000.Bottom line, it's confusing as hell for regular Joes who didn't major in econ.
I have to admit that I found it troubling, and a little depressing, that our country has gotten to the point under 8 years of Republican rule in the White House, and 12 of the last 14 years of Republican rule in the Congress, that for the first time in my life I had to call the bank in order to find out whether my money was safe (and some of it wasn't).
We really have become a third-world country under Republican rule. Read More......
Joe and Rob on where we are in the race
Part I of Joe and Rob's take on where the race stands (filmed yesterday before the market tanked today):
Part 2 of my conversation with Joe and Rob yesterday.
Read More......
Part 2 of my conversation with Joe and Rob yesterday.
Read More......
Stephanopoulos on Congress' options
From George Stephanopoulos at ABC:
Congressional sources tell ABC News that what they're talking about right now are three or four basic baskets of options:As an aside, would somebody at ABC please fix your Web site. You changed something months ago and it's now impossible to copy and excerpt text using short-cuts. Wasn't this way until just recently. Read More......
# 1 -- Muscle Bailout Bill Through House: Some leaders suggest those House Republicans on the fence will be swayed by seeing what the markets do tomorrow, which could be more bad news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 700 points today as the administration's bailout bill failed in Congress This option would see House leaders try again to muscle through the votes they need to get the $700 billion bailout bill passed.
#2 -- Pass Bailout in Senate First: Some Senate and House leaders have been talking about letting the Senate go first and pass the bailout package, ABC News has learned. There appears to be broader support in the Senate for the bailout package. This option would see the Senate vote first which would increase the pressure on the House to pass the Bush administration's bailout bill.
#3 -- Make Small Tweaks to the Bill: Congressional leaders wonder if perhaps there are a couple of small tweaks they can make to the package that would bring along the 12 votes they lost the vote by. Option A, sources say, could be adding a line that some economists have said is absolutely necessary for the FDIC to guarantee all deposits in transaction accounts, not just up to $100,000. That would deal with the credit crunch and it would be quite popular, some on Capitol Hill argue. Option B would be eliminating the mark-to-market rule that many Republicans and conservatives complain about, which ensures financial decision-makers must show their losses in real time.
#4 -- Get More Democrats On Board: Finally, one other unlikely option talked about on Capitol Hill is to try to pass the bill almost entirely with the Democratic majority in the House. That would require adding a major stimulus package favored by Democrats, infrastructure spending, unemployment insurance spending, and heating and food stamp assistance for low-income Americans.
House vote against bailout wounds McCain
From AP:
The house always wins, gamblers are warned, and the U.S. House made John McCain pay Monday for his politically risky, high-profile involvement in a financial rescue plan that came crashing down, mainly at the hands of his fellow Republicans.Read More......
The bill's defeat can hardly be blamed on the GOP presidential nominee, and it's possible that a revised measure might succeed. But by his own actions last week, McCain tied himself far more tightly to the failed bill than did his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.
McCain argues that action is better than inaction in times of crises. His efforts, however, were aimed squarely at House Republicans, the group mainly responsible for the bill's demise, which triggered a record drop of nearly 800 points in the stock market, the most ever for a single day.
If Congress' impasse leads to a credit crisis, "it's not going to be good for McCain," said veteran Republican consultant John Feehery.
Another prominent Republican strategist, who would talk only on background to avoid antagonizing associates, said the vote was trouble for McCain.
You just lost 7% of your retirement
The market lost over $1 trillion dollars today as a result of the bailout vote fiasco. If you are one of the 62 million Americans who have retirement monies invested in a 401k, for example, you just lost 7% of the total money you had for your retirement. Let me walk you through what that means
- If you had $10,000 in your retirement account this morning, you just lost $700 of it.
- If you had $100,000 this morning, you just lost $7,000 of it.
- And if you had $1,000,000 this morning, you just lost $70,000 of it.
As Charlie Gibson on ABC noted, losing 7% on the market in a year would be a huge story.
What happened today was real. ABC's financial consultant noted the following tonight: "I don't care if you're a big corporation, a small business, an individual trying to send your kid to college, or buy a car or buy a house, it is virtually impossible to get a loan in this country." As a nation, we no longer have loans, for practically anything. I realize people aren't thrilled about the bailout plan - and as someone who didn't buy a house in the past few years because I wasn't willing to gamble with a risky loan, I'm not pleased about bailing out morons who did gamble, and lost - but giving up 7% of your retirement seems like one hell of a bad way to stick it to Wall Street. Read More......
- If you had $10,000 in your retirement account this morning, you just lost $700 of it.
- If you had $100,000 this morning, you just lost $7,000 of it.
- And if you had $1,000,000 this morning, you just lost $70,000 of it.
As Charlie Gibson on ABC noted, losing 7% on the market in a year would be a huge story.
What happened today was real. ABC's financial consultant noted the following tonight: "I don't care if you're a big corporation, a small business, an individual trying to send your kid to college, or buy a car or buy a house, it is virtually impossible to get a loan in this country." As a nation, we no longer have loans, for practically anything. I realize people aren't thrilled about the bailout plan - and as someone who didn't buy a house in the past few years because I wasn't willing to gamble with a risky loan, I'm not pleased about bailing out morons who did gamble, and lost - but giving up 7% of your retirement seems like one hell of a bad way to stick it to Wall Street. Read More......
Dad is chaperoning now
This is just pathetic. Palin didn't go on Katie Couric again, as we were led to believe. She went on Katie Couric with John McCain as her chaperone so he could jump in and protect her if any reporters got fresh with any hard questions. Absolutely pathetic. McCain won't be around to coach Palin if he's not around and she becomes president.
(Via TPM) Read More......
(Via TPM) Read More......
House Republicans Destroyed $1.1 trillion in wealth today
Republicans are so obsessed with ideology that, as John just noted below, they destroyed $1.1 trillion in stock value - $700 billion in value in the S&P; 500 alone today. From MarketWatch:
Every day that passes leaves the economy in financial limbo and markets unsure. So why aren't we finished with this bailout yet? Because Republicans are ideologically opposed to this entire bailout saying they are protecting the taxpayer - well thanks to Republicans those tax payers are worth a lot less today than they were this morning. Read More......
The S&P; 500 Index dropped 106.59 points, or 8.8%, to 1,106.42, with energy, financials and materials fronting sector losses that spread across all 10 of the index's industry groups.That $700 billion just came out of your and my pocket - anyone who is invested in the market probably holds a lot of the S&P; stocks - these are the most widely held stocks.
The sell off is the largest percentage drop for the S&P; 500 since Oct. 26, 1987. It also translates into a $700 billion loss for the day for the S&P;, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor's.
Every day that passes leaves the economy in financial limbo and markets unsure. So why aren't we finished with this bailout yet? Because Republicans are ideologically opposed to this entire bailout saying they are protecting the taxpayer - well thanks to Republicans those tax payers are worth a lot less today than they were this morning. Read More......
ABC: Americans lost $1.1 trillion today in the market
How's that $700 billion looking now?
Read More......
Rasmussen: Obama gains in 5 swing states
From Rasmussen:
Polling this week in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia shows that Barack Obama has gained a net 3 to 5 percentage points in each state compared to the previous Fox News/ Rasmussen Reports poll.Read More......
Polling this week in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia shows that Barack Obama has gained a net 3 to 5 percentage points in each state compared to the previous Fox News/ Rasmussen Reports poll.
In Pennsylvania, Obama now leads by eight percentage points, 50% to 42%.
In Virginia, it’s Obama 50% and McCain 47%.
The candidates are within a single point of each other in Colorado (Obama 49%, McCain 48%), Florida (Obama 47%, McCain 47%), and Ohio (McCain 48% Obama 47%).
National polls and other state polling conducted by Rasmussen Reports indicate that Obama gained ground before last Friday night’s debate, probably as a result of the economic turmoil that has dominated the news. Since the debate, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows little change in the national numbers.
Regardless of the timing and the cause, however, the overriding trend from the past week is a shift in the battleground states that favors Obama.
Abramoff ally defends GOP bailout strategy
You know it's tough for the Republicans when the person defending them on t.v. is a guy who worked closely with Jack Abramoff.
Today, to defend the Republicans in the bailout disaster, MSNBC had on Todd Boulanger, who has been called a "Jack Abramoff protege". Timely, since the Abramoff scandal has became front and center again -- in the McCain gambling story. Fired Up Missouri has more background on Todd.
Read More......
Today, to defend the Republicans in the bailout disaster, MSNBC had on Todd Boulanger, who has been called a "Jack Abramoff protege". Timely, since the Abramoff scandal has became front and center again -- in the McCain gambling story. Fired Up Missouri has more background on Todd.
Read More......
McCain has another "McCain Moment"
McCain moments ago:
"Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process. Now is not the time to fix the blame, it's time to fix the problem."Catch that - it would be inappropriate to start casting blame now, says McCain, in the next sentence after he blames Obama. But considering how erratic McCain has been lately, it's perhaps understandable, although frightening, that he now can't even remember what he's just said. TPM Election Central has more, as does ABC's Jake Tapper. Read More......
Dow closes down 660 777.68 points
Dow on Bill Clinton's last day in office: 10,587.59
Dow today: 10,365.4
That was your retirement. Seven years of it. Gone. Thanks to George Bush and John McCain. And if John McCain had his way, that would have been your Social Security money too. Gone. Seven years of growth, seven years of your life, wiped out.
Note from Joe: I'm monitoring CNBC. Looks like the final drop will be 777.68. MSNBC saying this is the largest number drop ever.
Wow. That's around almost 7%. From AP:
Dow today: 10,365.4
That was your retirement. Seven years of it. Gone. Thanks to George Bush and John McCain. And if John McCain had his way, that would have been your Social Security money too. Gone. Seven years of growth, seven years of your life, wiped out.
Note from Joe: I'm monitoring CNBC. Looks like the final drop will be 777.68. MSNBC saying this is the largest number drop ever.
Wow. That's around almost 7%. From AP:
Wall Street has ended a stunning session with a huge loss, with the Dow Jones industrials plunging more than 660 points after the failure of the financial bailout plan in the House.Read that last sentence again. The credit markets are frozen. Banks aren't lending, even to other banks. This is why simply saying "too bad, no deal" is not a wise option, folks. Read More......
Stunned traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange watched on TV screens as the House voted down the plan. And they saw stock prices tumbling on their monitors.
The plan's failure means no one knows how the financial sector hobbled by hundreds of billions of dollars in bad mortgage bets will recover. The credit markets remain close to frozen as banks are too afraid to lend — including loans to to other banks.
Politico's Ben Smith doesn't buy McCain's charge that this is all Obama's fault
Ben writes:
McCain blames Obama, not House GOP, for House vote... It's going to be a hard case to make though. About two-thirds of House Democrats supported the bill. About two thirds of House Republicans -- whom McCain had explicitly returned to Washington to work -- voted against it. And isn't it about time to retire that "phoned it in" line?By the way, anybody see the video of McCain today on this? He came off rather nasty and nuts - not very presidential. Read More......
Where was McCain?
John McCain was supposed to deliver 100 House Republican votes. He only delivered 65. Democrats were supposed to deliver 120 House Democratic votes, they delivered 140.
"We're optimistic that Senator McCain will bring House Republicans on board without driving other parties away, resulting in a successful deal for the American taxpayer," said McCain spokeswoman Kimmie Lipscomb. - TIME
"What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this" - McCain campaign top aide Steve Schmidt, Meet the Press, September 28, 2009 Read More......
"We're optimistic that Senator McCain will bring House Republicans on board without driving other parties away, resulting in a successful deal for the American taxpayer," said McCain spokeswoman Kimmie Lipscomb. - TIME
"What Senator McCain was able to do was to help bring all of the parties to the table, including the House Republicans, whose votes were needed to pass this" - McCain campaign top aide Steve Schmidt, Meet the Press, September 28, 2009 Read More......
Market plummets as Republicans in massive numbers oppose bailout bill - bill is dead
UPDATE: Okay this is interesting. House Republican leaders are saying that they wish the bill had passed but too many of their members defected and voted against the bill. And that it's Nancy Pelosi's fault - get this - that House Republican leaders couldn't get House Republicans to vote for the bill. Catch that? The House Republican leadership wanted the bill to pass but their own members en masse defied the leadership and voted against the bill. So whose fault is that? Uh, how about Republican leaders in the House, the White House, and John McCain who promised to get the House Republican votes we needed.
UPDATE: McCain returned to Washington to get a deal and get House Republicans on board. We got the deal, even though McCain stayed home and then went to dinner with Lieberman instead of joining the actual negotiators on the Hill, and then when the vote came up today, the majority of Republicans voted against the bill and killed it. The majority of Democrats voted for the bill. Had the majority of Republicans done the same, it would have passed. John McCain supported this bill, then why was he unsuccessful in getting House Republicans to join? Why? Because they hate him. All the Republicans hate McCain. McCain isn't a maverick as much as he's a loner. People don't like him. And the canard that he was going to somehow bring everyone together in a bipartisan manner was, well, just that, a joke. And today we saw the extent of McCain's great powers to bring people together. McCain crash landed into Washington and blew up the talks. Then he failed to deliver when he promised he could get his party on board. John McCain was just tested, and failed.
__________
The vote is taking place in the House right now, it looks like it's going to lose, and the market is falling through the floor. Down 700 - well, actually now it's fluctuating between 400 and 600 down. Jesus Christ. Andrea Mitchell tried to blame this on Democrats, but MSNBC's reporter stopped her in her tracks and said no way. Per MSNBC, Democrats promised they could deliver half of their caucus, but the Republicans needed to do the same. The Dems have over-delivered, per MSNBC - they have more than half of their caucus voting for the bailout. The Republicans, however, are voting en masse against the bill. This is eerily similar to when House Republicans decided to shut down the government during the Clinton years. They just shut down the economy. Read More......
UPDATE: McCain returned to Washington to get a deal and get House Republicans on board. We got the deal, even though McCain stayed home and then went to dinner with Lieberman instead of joining the actual negotiators on the Hill, and then when the vote came up today, the majority of Republicans voted against the bill and killed it. The majority of Democrats voted for the bill. Had the majority of Republicans done the same, it would have passed. John McCain supported this bill, then why was he unsuccessful in getting House Republicans to join? Why? Because they hate him. All the Republicans hate McCain. McCain isn't a maverick as much as he's a loner. People don't like him. And the canard that he was going to somehow bring everyone together in a bipartisan manner was, well, just that, a joke. And today we saw the extent of McCain's great powers to bring people together. McCain crash landed into Washington and blew up the talks. Then he failed to deliver when he promised he could get his party on board. John McCain was just tested, and failed.
__________
The vote is taking place in the House right now, it looks like it's going to lose, and the market is falling through the floor. Down 700 - well, actually now it's fluctuating between 400 and 600 down. Jesus Christ. Andrea Mitchell tried to blame this on Democrats, but MSNBC's reporter stopped her in her tracks and said no way. Per MSNBC, Democrats promised they could deliver half of their caucus, but the Republicans needed to do the same. The Dems have over-delivered, per MSNBC - they have more than half of their caucus voting for the bailout. The Republicans, however, are voting en masse against the bill. This is eerily similar to when House Republicans decided to shut down the government during the Clinton years. They just shut down the economy. Read More......
So why doesn't Palin just say she's for funding rape kits which include emergency contraception?
As you may know, while Sarah Palin was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, her town was one of the few in Alaska to charge rape victims for their own forensic exams - i.e., for the medical exams necessary to gather evidence to catch the rapists. At the time, Palin's own police chief said the town didn't want to pay for the exams because it would be a "burden" on taxpayers (i.e., tax cuts were more important than women who were raped). Others suspect that Palin didn't want to pay for the exams because they often include emergency contraception (conservatives think emergency contraception is abortion), and Palin believes that women should be forced to carry their rapist's baby to full term (ask her, it's true).
Palin's spokesman only gave one brief quote saying how outrageous this story is. Yes, it is outrageous. Then, we heard nothing from Palin. Not that Sarah Palin refusing to talk about anything is news. John McCain would like nothing better than for us to put Sarah Palin a 72-year-old-with-serious-cancer's one heartbeat away from the presidency without knowing a single thing about this woman's credentials for being president (other than that she wears lipstick and can see Russia from her kitchen window).
So, let's give Sarah Palin the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume that as mayor Sarah Palin was so clueless, so hands-off, so out of it and in over her head that she had no idea what her underlings were doing, she had no idea that her hand-picked police chief was charging rape victims for their own exams, and even that she had no idea that her police chief was doing interviews with the local paper defending that policy - her city's own policy - in a very public battle with the state legislature.
Let's give Sarah Palin all of that, and just assume that she was a blithering idiot as mayor of Wasilla.
Let Sarah Palin come forth and say publicly that she is in favor of public funding for rape kits that include emergency contraception. John McCain voted against Biden's legislation that would have, among other things, required funding for such exams. Let Palin and McCain publicly endorse rape kits including emergency contraception, and then we'll put this story to rest. Read More......
Palin's spokesman only gave one brief quote saying how outrageous this story is. Yes, it is outrageous. Then, we heard nothing from Palin. Not that Sarah Palin refusing to talk about anything is news. John McCain would like nothing better than for us to put Sarah Palin a 72-year-old-with-serious-cancer's one heartbeat away from the presidency without knowing a single thing about this woman's credentials for being president (other than that she wears lipstick and can see Russia from her kitchen window).
So, let's give Sarah Palin the benefit of the doubt. Let's assume that as mayor Sarah Palin was so clueless, so hands-off, so out of it and in over her head that she had no idea what her underlings were doing, she had no idea that her hand-picked police chief was charging rape victims for their own exams, and even that she had no idea that her police chief was doing interviews with the local paper defending that policy - her city's own policy - in a very public battle with the state legislature.
Let's give Sarah Palin all of that, and just assume that she was a blithering idiot as mayor of Wasilla.
Let Sarah Palin come forth and say publicly that she is in favor of public funding for rape kits that include emergency contraception. John McCain voted against Biden's legislation that would have, among other things, required funding for such exams. Let Palin and McCain publicly endorse rape kits including emergency contraception, and then we'll put this story to rest. Read More......
FDIC brokers urgent sale of Wachovia to Citigroup
From the sound of things, Wachovia was another troubled bank living on the edge and barely made it. It's alarming to see that Citi - who has had their own write downs in the tens of billions - is taking on another $42 billion of bad business. Whenever this merger mania ends we need to look closely at what changes need to be made to prevent more "too big to fail" situations. Whether this means smaller banks as we had in the past or higher insurance rates paid by the banks (which means higher costs to customers, the small ones, at least), something has to change. This is not working.
Read More......
Liddy Dole (R-Watergate Hotel)
Liddy Dole is in a heap of trouble in North Carolina. I'd say, she's in trouble in her home state of North Carolina, but she doesn't really live there. Yesterday, Media General documented Liddy's days in North Carolina:
This is one of the races that could get the Democrats to 60. Dole's opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan, is doing really well in recent polling.
The numbers are working against Dole. One of the best ads I've seen this cycle is that "Liddy Dole is 93 or 92" ad. She's the 93rd most effective Senator and votes with Bush 92% of the time. Now, only 13 days in North Carolina in 2006.
The DSCC visited Dole's alleged hometown. Good stuff.
Read More......
Dole's critics say the amount of time she has spent in North Carolina during her first term - especially 2006, when records document less than two weeks of visits - suggest she is out-of-touch with voters in the state.Tourists spend more time there.
This is one of the races that could get the Democrats to 60. Dole's opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan, is doing really well in recent polling.
The numbers are working against Dole. One of the best ads I've seen this cycle is that "Liddy Dole is 93 or 92" ad. She's the 93rd most effective Senator and votes with Bush 92% of the time. Now, only 13 days in North Carolina in 2006.
The DSCC visited Dole's alleged hometown. Good stuff.
Read More......
Obama only won the debate according to actual voters, but McCain won with his base in the spin room
Post debate polls indicate Obama won the debate.
Yet, apparently, if one was in the post-debate "spin room," one would have been spun by the McCain campaign to the point of thinking McCain won the debate. Of course, to have been spun by the McCain campaign, one would have to be in a state of mind to want to be spun by the McCain campaign. Keep in mind, that many of the political reporters in the spin room were McCain's friends from the old "Straight Talk" bus and most of them still like (or want to like) him:
What's fascinating about his blurb is that the well-paid, professional media elite could be so easily swayed by McCain's political operatives. Apparently, that crowd couldn't judge the debate for themselves and had to be spoon-fed what it meant. Yet, the average American watched the debate and draw their own solid conclusions without having Steve Schmidt or Nicole Wallace telling them what to think. This quote from one of NBC's top political reporters is classic:
Just wait to see how the pundits fall all over themselves to make us think Palin is ready to be president. They'll know that because McCain's spin room team will tell them. That's all it takes, apparently. Read More......
Yet, apparently, if one was in the post-debate "spin room," one would have been spun by the McCain campaign to the point of thinking McCain won the debate. Of course, to have been spun by the McCain campaign, one would have to be in a state of mind to want to be spun by the McCain campaign. Keep in mind, that many of the political reporters in the spin room were McCain's friends from the old "Straight Talk" bus and most of them still like (or want to like) him:
Obama may have won the insta-polls after Friday's debate here at the University of Mississippi, but the McCain team won the spin war, a postgame ritual that quickly seeps into the punditry enveloping such events. What was equally striking, inside the massive media tent, was that some of the journalists who profess to want an elevated debate on the issues -- which is precisely what they got, courtesy of moderator Jim Lehrer -- seemed unusually interested in style points.Okay, McCain "won the spin war." He won his base. What did that get him? In the real world, away from the traditional media elite, there is a broad consensus among the voters that Obama won. Basically, the pundits were wrong.
What's fascinating about his blurb is that the well-paid, professional media elite could be so easily swayed by McCain's political operatives. Apparently, that crowd couldn't judge the debate for themselves and had to be spoon-fed what it meant. Yet, the average American watched the debate and draw their own solid conclusions without having Steve Schmidt or Nicole Wallace telling them what to think. This quote from one of NBC's top political reporters is classic:
"The spin is something we should pay less attention to, but it's important because it can change the story line," says NBC's Andrea Mitchell.She gets paid for that kind of insight? Talk about gullible.
Just wait to see how the pundits fall all over themselves to make us think Palin is ready to be president. They'll know that because McCain's spin room team will tell them. That's all it takes, apparently. Read More......
DNC goes after McCain's Gambling problems: "the last thing McCain needs is another problem with the Evangelical base."
The DNC hits McCain hard on gambling:
One reason this matters politically is summed up in a column today by David Brody at CBN.com ("Christian News 24/7"):
One reason this matters politically is summed up in a column today by David Brody at CBN.com ("Christian News 24/7"):
The DNC knows that McCain’s so called penchant for gambling can hurt him among some social conservatives. It may not play well with other strongly religious voters as well. Indeed, the last thing McCain needs is another problem with the Evangelical base. In this case, the gambling issue could most likely trump the lobbyist issue. I mean it’s not like he’s playing the lottery or bingo or a quick 25 cents slot machine. This is high stakes gambling we’re talking about. Then you throw in the lobbyist angle and you have a dangerous credibility issue. Will voters buy it and will it stick? Does this bother you?McCain's got gambling issues: both his love for the tables and his lobbyists. And, his wife made all her money from beer. That's a tough combo for the evangelicals. Read More......
Monday Morning Open Thread
Good morning.
This should be another interesting week, I'd say.
The McCain campaign, aided and abetted by many of the pundits, will have us think that if Sarah Palin can say her name correctly at the debate, she's the winner. Palin is already an accomplished debater. But, this isn't a game. The only "expectation" that matters is whether or not she is ready to be the next president. And, she's not.
I'm still struck by how angry McCain was on Friday night. Refusing to look at Obama. Sneering. And, muttering under his breath. He was acting like a fifth grader. McCain should have been on best behavior, but he couldn't control himself. He can't control himself and is increasingly erratic. And, as I've been saying, "erratic" is the best word to describe John McCain, but "erratic" is the one of the worst words to describe a president.
Okay, let's get started. And, don't be erratic. Read More......
This should be another interesting week, I'd say.
The McCain campaign, aided and abetted by many of the pundits, will have us think that if Sarah Palin can say her name correctly at the debate, she's the winner. Palin is already an accomplished debater. But, this isn't a game. The only "expectation" that matters is whether or not she is ready to be the next president. And, she's not.
I'm still struck by how angry McCain was on Friday night. Refusing to look at Obama. Sneering. And, muttering under his breath. He was acting like a fifth grader. McCain should have been on best behavior, but he couldn't control himself. He can't control himself and is increasingly erratic. And, as I've been saying, "erratic" is the best word to describe John McCain, but "erratic" is the one of the worst words to describe a president.
Okay, let's get started. And, don't be erratic. Read More......
Two nationalizations in Europe over the weekend
That didn't take long. Belgian-Dutch giant Fortis fell as did British mortgage lender Bradford and Bingley. Both were large financial organizations though Fortis had become very aggressive in recent years, buying banks everywhere. What ever happened to conservative bankers?
I've been wondering lately what impact all of this will have for individuals who are looking for work and who have Bear Stearns, Countrywide, Lehman Brothers, Fortis, etc on their CV. Do you think it will matter to future potential employers? Will it be like having Anderson Consulting or Enron or Philip Morris on your CV? (People who work for Big Tobacco often struggle to get out after having that in their CV.) In my industry I tend to look at people with a dot com history and think they're a fraud, but I will be curious to see where all of this goes in the next few years with the movers and shakers (not just at the top) from this industry who have been humbled. Realistically the highlights they will want to proudly highlight in their CV will be suspect, at best. What do you think? Read More......
I've been wondering lately what impact all of this will have for individuals who are looking for work and who have Bear Stearns, Countrywide, Lehman Brothers, Fortis, etc on their CV. Do you think it will matter to future potential employers? Will it be like having Anderson Consulting or Enron or Philip Morris on your CV? (People who work for Big Tobacco often struggle to get out after having that in their CV.) In my industry I tend to look at people with a dot com history and think they're a fraud, but I will be curious to see where all of this goes in the next few years with the movers and shakers (not just at the top) from this industry who have been humbled. Realistically the highlights they will want to proudly highlight in their CV will be suspect, at best. What do you think? Read More......
Where will anyone find the time to search for new health insurance?
The $5000 health insurance tax credit is a sham as Jacki says below. I mean really. A tax credit? That's a classic old fashioned Washington scam that we've seen for years. Only someone as rich as the McCain's, who have personal attorneys and accountants who know the really juicy tax breaks like such ideas. Above and beyond that, what always jumps out at me is the free for all in the unregulated market. Since McCain hates to regulate anything, you just know that every company will spin their offer so buyers would have no idea how to compare any of the competing plans.
Think about how much free time you have today in your life and then think how easy it's going to be to start searching for new coverage once your company stops offering a plan. At your company, they have people who are working to negotiate plans and monitor plans but under the McCain plan, you now have a second or third job, which is as a plan administrator. Yippee. More work and less benefits! Who doesn't love that? So between taking the kids to school or soccer or driving to and from work and doing the groceries and all of the other activities in a normal schedule, you can know spend even more time monitoring every remote aspect of your new, unregulated insurance plan. Could life really be any better than that? Thanks for the unpaid job, McCain. Now there's the reform that nobody wants except for Big Insurance and the GOP. Read More......
Think about how much free time you have today in your life and then think how easy it's going to be to start searching for new coverage once your company stops offering a plan. At your company, they have people who are working to negotiate plans and monitor plans but under the McCain plan, you now have a second or third job, which is as a plan administrator. Yippee. More work and less benefits! Who doesn't love that? So between taking the kids to school or soccer or driving to and from work and doing the groceries and all of the other activities in a normal schedule, you can know spend even more time monitoring every remote aspect of your new, unregulated insurance plan. Could life really be any better than that? Thanks for the unpaid job, McCain. Now there's the reform that nobody wants except for Big Insurance and the GOP. Read More......
World poll: "War on terror" not working
What does the world know anyway?
US-led efforts to tackle the al-Qaeda group are not regarded as successful, an opinion poll carried out for the BBC World Service suggests.Read More......
Some 29% of people said the "war on terror" launched by President George W Bush in 2001 had had no effect on the Islamist militant network.
According to 30% of those surveyed, US policies have strengthened al-Qaeda.
The most commonly held view of al-Qaeda in the 23 nations polled was a negative one - except in Egypt and Pakistan.
Asked who is winning "the conflict between al-Qaeda and the US", 49% said neither side while 22% believed the US had gained the upper hand. Just 10% said al-Qaeda was winning.
Palin is going back for more interviews with Katie Couric
SNL called and said they needed more content for next week. Though this will always be my favorite Sarah Palin interview:
Read More......
Read More......
Buffett to Congress: Bail out economy or face 'meltdown'
CNN
Billionaire Warren Buffett told congressional negotiators that if they can't agree on a proposed financial bailout, the nation will face "its biggest financial meltdown in American history," two sources familiar with the talks said.Gee, I thought economic wunderkind John McCain brokered the entire deal telepathically from his home (well, one of the 12). Read More......
Warren Buffett told congressional negotiators that failure to act could cause a financial meltdown, sources say.
1 of 2
Word of Buffett's omen came hours before Democrats posted a draft of the bailout bill online and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday afternoon she hoped the chamber would vote Monday....
Reid said the "breakthrough" just before midnight Saturday was made possible by an idea proposed by Pelosi. Her idea involved how to address questions about whether taxpayers would be protected in the bailout, a senior House Democratic aide said.
"We've made great progress toward a deal which will work and will be effective in the marketplace and effective for all Americans," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said, standing beside Reid and Pelosi. iReport.com: Are you upset about the bailout?
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