British report blames banks for high risk and easy reward

Careful now, old boy. It's always a bit touchy to strike the hand that feeds you. Reuters:

A culture of easy reward encouraged British bankers to make an "astonishing mess of the financial system" and regulators need to consider whether banks should be broken up, British politicians said on Friday.

"The culture within parts of British banking has increasingly been one of risk-taking leading to the meltdown that we have witnessed," a cross-party committee of politicians said in a damning 121-page report into the collapse of the banking sector.

The Treasury Select Committee made a series of recommendations and said the possible split of retail and investment banking arms remained a "live issue which requires further debate".

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CEO perks increase in 2008

Well why not? Just because the country fell into recession shouldn't mean that the caretaker executives should suffer. How fair would that be? Regardless of success or failure the end result is always the same with corporate executives. They like to talk about risk but never assume the same risks as others. It's rare to see a truly innovative CEO or a real superstar yet they are consistently rewarded as though they're all the greatest leader ever. If only the same rules applied to the rest.

U.S. companies remain generous with the perks they give to CEOs, including some that are unfathomable to the average American worker: chauffeured cars, bodyguards, club memberships and free travel in company jets.

The median value of these and similar perks rose nearly 7 percent in 2008, according to an Associated Press analysis of regulatory filings from 309 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500. The increase came even as overall CEO compensation fell 7 percent to $7.6 million.

Nice work, when you can get it. Read More......

Olbermann and Musto on Miss California

So has anyone asked Miss California yet how she feels about the violent overthrow of the United States government?

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Washington Times makes weird "semen" joke about John Kerry

It's very strange. Though not out of form for the cult-run newspaper, which serves as the propaganda organ of the Republican party. Still, even for them, this is is pretty bad. Read More......

White House reiterates its commitment to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell

It's been a disturbing 24 hours. But the White House has just updated its Web site to indicate that it continues to support the repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

There was some concern that the Obama administration was backing off the President's repeated promise to lift the ban after the White House Web site yesterday changed its commitment to "repeal" DADT to a promise to only "change" the policy in a "sensible way." This led many observers, including the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, to worry whether the White House was backing off of its repeated commitment to, as President Obama himself promised, "fully repeal" the DADT policy.

The White House Web site has now been updated, again, and the "repeal" language is back. And while it's couched in the same terms about being done in a "sensible way," I would assume that all administration policy is implemented in a "sensible way," so this should have no bearing on whether President Obama will keep his promise to fully repeal the ban. Read More......

Miss California thinks that gays should, like, have some rights, you know?

(From Dan Savage)

Mensa, we've got a winner here:

PREJEAN: My thought on civil unions? You know what, Greta? I don't have the answers to everything. I'm not running for political office. I don't have the answers to everything, you know, in the world out there. But I think that there should be rights for people, you know, especially in California. I think that people that are homosexual should have some rights, you know, hospital rights, and things like that. But I would like to be more educated on that, so when I do have a better answer for you, I will get back to you on that one. But so far I just support traditional marriage, and that's my main focus.

Actually, according to the officials at the Miss California contest, her main focus was supposed to be people with disabilities. She's apparently thrown them overboard, and instead of fighting for the rights of the disabled, she's now fighting to take rights away from gays and lesbians. Maybe she blames people with disabilities too for her not winning the crown.

Oh, and gay journalist Rex Wockner pointed out that when he interviewed Miss C she was using the word "gay." Now that she's been brainwashed by the religious right, they've got her using the word "homosexual," which they consider more pejorative.

The thing I don't understand, is the title holder of the Miss California crown beholden to no rules at all? It sure seems that she's abusing her crown for a political cause, and a partisan one at that - these are, after all, little more than Republican front groups she's helping.

And speaking of Miss C, it seems her new bigot friends over at the National Organization for Marriage, also known as 2M4M, are now distancing themselves from her. Maybe they didn't like her centerfold pic. Or maybe she wasn't willing to buy in to the whole "violent overthrow of the government" thing. Read More......

Human Rights

Human Rights from Alexandros Maragos on Vimeo. Read More......

Obama wants next Supreme Court Justice confirmed by first Monday in October

A couple minutes ago, Obama popped in to the press briefing room this afternoon after talking to Justice Souter. He laid out his criteria for the next Supreme Court Justice -- and wants the next Justice confirmed by the first Monday in October, when the next session of the Court convenes. (The video is live)



Despite the worries of some in the media, sounds like Obama is on top of this.

Via Media Matters, in January of 2006, leading GOP strategist Bill Kristol said the 2006 and 2008 elections should be a referendum on what the American people want in from the Supreme Court:

Let's have a referendum on that in 2006 and 2008. Do they want a liberal Supreme Court, or do they want a moderately conservative Supreme Court?

Good idea, Bill Kristol. Based on the 2006 and 2008 elections, we know what the American people want.

UPDATE: Here's the text of the President's statement on the next Justice:

Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President. So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.

I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving as just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded, and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time.

As I make this decision, I intend to consult with members of both parties across the political spectrum. And it is my hope that we can swear in our new Supreme Court Justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October when the Court's new term begins.

Read More......

Squirrely Specter and Supreme Court nominations

Greg Sargent raises a good point. Specter-the-moderate was nowhere to be seen when discussing earlier Obama appointments. It's not at all clear that he's going to be any better when Obama nominates Souter's replacement. Read More......

Arianna: "to the vanquished go the spoils"

Who else could retain so much power in Washington besides the banksters who trashed the economy? For those wondering how in the world they can continue to receive so much money both from a corporate perspective and a compensation perspective, no need to look beyond Wall Street's lobbying efforts that are being funded by the taxpayers. The profiles in courage in Congress remain as gutless as ever and beholden to lobbyists. More from Arianna Huffington:

According to Sen. Dick Durbin, the banks "are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place."

When it comes to reforming our financial system, we are truly through the looking glass. I mean, since when did it become "to the vanquished go the spoils"? How do the same banks that have repeatedly come to Washington over the last eight months with their hats in their hands, asking for billions to rescue them from their catastrophic mistakes, somehow still "own the place"?

But the banks continue to be rewarded for their many failures.

Obama used harsh language yesterday related to the hedge funds that held out for a better deal though Arianna is right that Treasury folded to some of their demands. It wasn't perfect but stepping back, I'd still say this was an OK change and worth noting. Obama will never be a radical change kind of president but he does show a willingness to move in the right direction. He is listening, it seems, so I'd put this in the "to be watched" category. If in six months there's no movement, then we will be in big trouble. Read More......

White House issues new language on "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy

Policy change, or poor editing?

In a move that many people I've spoken with see as a shift in policy, and a backward step from a clear campaign promise that was reiterated during the first days of January of this year, the White House has changed the language on its "Civil Rights" page, as it concerns gay civil rights. The changes were first noted yesterday by gay blogger JoeMyGod. And while most of the deletions noted yesterday have since been un-deleted, the new language on President Obama's commitment to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy appears to indicate a significant change in policy, for the worse.

Prior to yesterday, approximately one half of the White House Web site's Civil Rights page was devoted to gay civil rights. It specifically included 8 promises:

Including sexual orientation in America's already-existing Hate Crimes law.
Passing ENDA.
supporting Civil Unions and explicitly repealing DOMA.
Opposing any constitutional amendment on marriage.
Repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell.
Expanding Adoption Rights to include gay parents.
Promoting AIDS Prevention.
Empowering women to prevent HIV/AIDS.

As of yesterday, that list of promises was distilled into two sentences, and included only 3 promises:

Passing ENDA.
Supporting Civil Unions, but no longer a mention of repealing DOMA.
Opposing the constitutional amendment.

In spite of yesterday's change in language, a White House spokesman assured me last night that no change in policy was intended:

"As is the case with most websites, periodic changes are made to WhiteHouse.gov. Recently we overhauled the issues section to concisely reflect the President's broad agenda, and will continue to update these pages. The President's commitment on LGBT issues has not changed, and any suggestions to the contrary are false."

At around the same time last night, the Civil Rights page was updated to include many of the previously omitted promises. Hate Crimes was now included as a news update, since the bill just passed the House, and AIDS is now included elsewhere on the White House Web site - all of which is fine.

There was, however, one bit of new language that caught the eye of a number of observers with whom I spoke last night:

[President Obama] supports changing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in a sensible way that strengthens our armed forces and our national security... [emphasis added]

Obama has repeatedly stated that he is for a full repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. During a presidential forum held by the Human Rights Campaign in August of 2007, Obama said the following about DADT:

I will task the Defense Department and the senior command structure in every branch of the armed forces with developing an action plan for the implementation of a full repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.... America is ready to get rid of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. All that is required is leadership.

And as late as January 10 of this year, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the following during a video Q&A; on the transition Web site:

Gibbs reads a question from Thaddeus in Lansing, Michigan. Thaddeus asks: "Is the new administration going to get rid of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy?"

Gibbs answers: "Thaddeus, you don't hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it's 'Yes.'"

Here is what the Web site used to say about Don't Ask Don't Tell:

Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell:
President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.

The language changed from a commitment to a "full repeal" of DADT to a commitment to "change" the discriminatory policy in a "sensible" manner. While the White House has assured us that this is not an indication of a change in policy, the language, on its face, appears to be a clear change in policy. Changing DADT is not repealing DADT. It is a commitment to keep the discriminatory policy in place, albeit with some alterations.

If the White House is still in favor of "repealing" Don't Ask Don't Tell, albeit in a "sensible way" - and we're happy to take them at their word - then say just that. Change "change" to "repeal" and be done with it. Read More......

Greed won in the Senate yesterday. It's time the Senate let the economy work for everyone again, not just the bailed out banks.

Greed won in the U.S. Senate yesterday. By a 51 - 45 vote margin, the Senate rejected a bill that would have let bankruptcy judges adjust mortgages. See, the GOP-led Congress spent years making sure the banking industry got tougher bankruptcy laws instead of monitoring the banking industry. That bill passed in 2005 and the consumers got screwed then. Yesterday, the Democratic-led Senate let the bankers win. All the Republicans voted with the bankers as did twelve Democrats: Max Baucus (MT), Michael Bennet (CO), Robert Byrd (WV), Byron Dorgan (ND), Tim Johnson (SD), Mary Landrieu (LA), Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE), Mark Pryor (AR), Arlen Specter (PA), Jon Tester (MT) and Tom Carper (DE). Since 2005, when the bankruptcy bill passed and yesterday, the financial services industry pretty much destroyed the economy. So, yeah, keep giving the bankers what they want. And, if you have any doubt that bankers are happy, watch this.

Greed is a powerful force. It won yesterday in the Senate. But, greed can't always win.

The Democrats have to deliver for working men and women by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. Check out this new ad from American Rights at Work:



Powerful ad -- and true. Arlen Specter may think he's got a free ride in the Democratic primary, but he's not voting like a Democrat. He better start. SEIU told its Pennsylvania members the jury is still out. Democrats have to bust the filibuster on the Employee Free Choice Act. That's the key vote. Read More......

Mormons played key role in Bush torture policy

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Although the decisions which put us in the grim business of torture, body-snatching, extraordinary renditions, making people disappear, indefinite confinement without charges and warrantless wiretapping were made by the president and vice president, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints served as helpful enablers. Not only did they provide the legal architecture, they provided the "scientific" patina for the plunge into the barbaric business of torture.

Take Latter-day Saint Timothy E. Flanigan, deputy White House counsel, who, along with David Addington, John Yoo, Alberto Gonzales, and Jim Haynes comprised the secretive "War Council" of lawyers -- a self-appointed group Mayer describes as having virtually no experience in law enforcement, military service, counterterrorism or the Muslim world....

BYU law school graduate Jay S. Bybee was the assistant attorney general directing the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. At the instigation of Addington and Yoo, Bybee issued official legal opinions that redefined the crime of torture to make it all but impossible to commit. Barbarity was not torture unless it created pain equal to death or organ failure. A newly-declassified Bybee memorandum lists 10 previously top-secret interrogation techniques approved for use by the CIA, including waterboarding.

Incredibly, Bybee seems to have been unaware that the United States had prosecuted waterboarding as a war crime after World War II. In 2003, before his role in authorizing U.S. torture was known, Bybee was given a lifetime judicial appointment on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Had his role in torture been known, it is unlikely he would have been confirmed.

Two devout Mormons also engineered the more grisly wet work. Because the CIA lacked personnel in 2001 with interrogation expertise, the agency turned to two psychologists, James E. Mitchell and John B. Jessen, who had worked with the Air Force's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape programs. Neither had an intelligence or interrogation background or had experience with Muslim terrorists, but, according to the FBI, they had experience in designing, testing, implementing and monitoring torture techniques that were illegal in the United States and elsewhere in the civilized world...

Mitchell advised that suspects must be treated like dogs in a cage. "It's like an experiment, when you apply electric shocks to a caged dog, after a while, he's so diminished, he can't resist."

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Media types already think Supreme Court nomination might trip up Obama

Over the past three months, we've seen Obama and his administration deftly handle the accumulation of crises left behind by George Bush. The president is in control. Watching him at the press conference on Wednesday pivot from issue to issue was fascinating. Obama is who he is. But, that doesn't stop the D.C. press corps from expecting him to screw up. They seem stuck in the old days of George Bush. The last president couldn't handle one issue at a time, which is why the nation is facing so many problems.

Last night, shortly after the Souter retirement was announced, CNN's ace White House reporter Ed Henry expressed his concern about this new issue on the Obama administration's plate:

COOPER: Ed, what do we know about what the process would be for President Obama? Has he publicly said much about this?

HENRY: He has not said very much. The bottom line is that they would have to -- you heard the president last night in a news conference say, "Look, I was expecting to handle a few challenges, not a whole mountain of them." All of a sudden he'd have to add this to the two wars, to the financial crisis, to the auto bailouts and the like. This would be a crash course for this White House to get up to speed on who they might want to deal with the confirmation process.

And, today, Cillizza piles on with the same message:

The Souter vacancy lands amid one of the most crowded political environments in modern history with Obama seeking to stimulate the economy out of recession, restructure the American auto industry, draw down American troops in Iraq while ramping up in Afghanistan, reshape how the United States is viewed by the international community and begin preparations for coming congressional debates over health care and the capping of carbon emissions in the fall.

Add a Supreme Court opening to that mix and it''s easy to see why even the Obama administration's vaunted ability to deal with a number of major challenges all at once will be severely tested.

Severely tested? Why?

To prove his point, CNN's Henry paraphrased what Obama said at the press conference Wednesday night. Let's review what Obama actually said:

I am surprised compared to where I started, when we first announced for this race, by the number of critical issues that appear to be coming to a head all at the same time. You know, when I first started this race, Iraq was a central issue, but the economy appeared on the surface to still be relatively strong. There were underlying problems that I was seeing with health care for families and our education system and college affordability and so forth, but obviously I didn't anticipate the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

And so the typical President I think has two or three big problems; we've got seven or eight big problems. And so we've had to move very quickly, and I'm very proud of my team for the fact that we've been able to keep our commitments to the American people to bring about change while, at the same time, managing a whole host of issues that had come up that weren't necessarily envisioned a year and a half ago.

Obama said that with confidence, not worry or concern. He and his team have kept up. Based on polls, it's pretty clear the American people think so. Keep in mind, they kept up when the administration wasn't fully staffed. Obama didn't even get a full cabinet til this week.

The traditional media types keep waiting for Obama to be Bush-- but, he isn't and never will be. But, that doesn't stop the talkers from speculating that every new issue will finally be the issue to trip up Obama. No doubt, Obama and his team will make mistakes. But, one new issue on their plate isn't going severely test them. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

So, that was big news last night. Justice Souter is retiring. Nice scoop, Nina Tottenberg. Obama will be able to nominate his first new Justice. Good thing we have president who can do more than one thing at a time. Oh, the right wingers are going to go crazy. For people who hate so-called judicial activism, the conservative extremists were relying on conservative courts to enact their agenda and prevent progress. So, now, watch Norm Coleman try everything to keep Al Franken out of the Senate til that's over.

Let's go... Read More......

Obama rips hedge funds over Chrysler bankruptcy

This is encouraging news and suggests the Obama administration has had enough of the Wall Street extremists who are only too happy to sponge from taxpayers. They all thought they were going to get a better deal and Obama told them to drop dead. Hell yeah and good for him.

"For too long," Obama said at the White House, "Chrysler moved too slowly to adapt to the future, designing and building cars that were less popular, less reliable and less fuel efficient than foreign competitors."

The Obama administration had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for Chrysler LLC, but it became clear that a holdout group of creditors wouldn't budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler's $6.9 billion in secured debt. Obama praised all the constituencies that have offered sacrifices and blasted those that did not.

He said a group of investment firms and hedge funds were holding out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer bailout.

"I don't stand with them," Obama said at the White House event.

I'm with Obama on this one. It's not perfect and maybe the White House should have taken a harder line but it's a change in the right direction. Better late than never. Read More......

The new Fiat-Chrysler

Whether it's possible for Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne to be as successful at Chrysler as he has been at Fiat remains to be seen. Building an organization in the US is very different from building a team in Europe but Fiat is a business that has experienced an amazing turn around in recent years over this way. I'm hardly a car buff but I've always had a soft spot for the wonderful Fiat 500 of the past. More recently Marchionne led a revival of the dying Fiat which introduced the Fiat Nuova 500, a car that has been a hot seller in southern Europe even during the recession. The streets of Paris are loaded with this little gem that is without a doubt the best "revival" car out there. It's cute, sporty, fuel efficient and cheap. (Cheap by European standards, at least.)

The new Fiat has managed to grow while everyone else around them has faltered. After years of building cars that were as unreliable as they were ugly, the new Fiat is quite extraordinary. They've been focused on small cars that are stylish (hey, they're not Italian for nothing), small and run well. Will this translate over to the US market? Hard to say because Americans are not used to small cars and probably nervous about the safety of driving small cars on the same roads as massive SUVs such as the current line of Chrysler cars and trucks. Hopefully the Fiat team will create a new spirit at Chrysler and make them competitive again but the odds are not in their favor. Read More......

We are all San

The San people are the African tribe from that are along the Kalahari Desert in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. You may have seen the film The Gods Must Be Crazy years ago which featured the tribe and it's unique "clicking" talk. (Other tribes including the Xhosa - Mandela's tribe - in South Africa include "clicking" as well.) After years of research scientists now believe the San people started it all and life grew outward from there.

The San people of southern Africa, who have lived as hunter-gatherers for thousands of years, are likely to be the oldest population of humans on Earth, according to the biggest and most detailed analysis of African DNA. The San, also known as bushmen, are directly descended from the original population of early human ancestors who gave rise to all other groups of Africans and, eventually, to the people who left the continent to populate other parts of the world.

A study of 121 distinct populations of modern-day Africans has found that they are all descended from 14 ancestral populations and that the differences and similarities of their genes closely follows the differences and similarities of their spoken languages.

The unfortunate story of the modern San is that they are a smaller tribe today and treated quite poorly throughout southern Africa. In Botswana they are thrown off their land by the government and resettled, forcefully sometimes. It just so happens their traditional lands have mining value. I never quite understood the full reasons for why they were treated so poorly when I was there though I suspect it has to do with being crowded out by much larger tribes who are vying for power.

Most people know the San people as "bushmen" though despite what is written in some of the media stories related to this research, "bushman" is a derogatory name used by others and considered offensive by the San people. Read More......

Another right wing media outlet in trouble

Economic difficulties aren't just for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. The radio giant who brings favorites such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Dr Laura seems to be having major financial problems. Oh to remember how the right loved to hear about problems at Air America. You know what they say about paybacks.

It is too soon to say who will be the biggest loser among media companies in this recession. But Clear Channel Communications is vying for the title.

Clear Channel, the nation’s largest radio station operator and an outdoor billboard company, last year became the biggest leveraged buyout ever in the media business, after it was taken private by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital.

Now its revenues are plunging and so is its cash flow, making it harder to meet the payments on the billions in debt accumulated in the process of buying out its public investors. If it violates some of its loan agreements, those interest payments rise sharply.

Bain Capital. Hmmm, now that rings a bell as well. Oh that's right! Our favorite GOP Presidential candidate who was going to tell us how he would apply his business sense to the US co-founded it. Well I'll be. All of those smarts from the extreme right and they can't seem to figure out how to run a business. Go figure. Read More......