Citi wants even more bonuses

While it may be a positive sign that they are coming to Treasury to ask for the right to hand out "retention bonuses" this is still troubling because this is one of the banks that has paid out bonuses based on revenue whether real or fake in recent years. Maybe Citi ought to go back to the bums they shoveled bonuses to including Charles Prince. Let Citi fight that legal fight if they want it so badly. There is no reason why taxpayers ought to spend one more penny helping Citi when Citi has thumbed its nose at the American way. Break this beast up and let's move on.

Citigroup has asked the U.S. Treasury for permission to pay special bonuses and is looking for ways to free an energy-trading unit from government restrictions, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Website on Tuesday.

Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner earlier this month to be allowed to pay stock-based bonuses to employees but the government has not made up its mind yet, the paper reported.

Geithner has of course been very cozy with Citi for a number of years so if he denies this request it will be shocking. The only way he would do that is if mistakenly thought Citi was GM. Read the rest of this post...

Bank of America shareholders fired Ken Lewis as Chair of the Board

It was decision day for the Bank of America on the future of Chairman Ken Lewis. And, Ken Lewis lost:

Bank of America shareholders stripped Kenneth D. Lewis of his chairman’s title on Wednesday while allowing him to remain president and chief executive officer, in a vote that may mark the beginning of the end of his leadership at the embattled bank.

Walter E. Massey will succeed Mr. Lewis as chairman, the bank said.

Earlier, at an annual meeting here that was widely viewed as a referendum on Mr. Lewis, Bank of America shareholders re-elected him to the board, along with the company’s 18 directors, by “a comfortable margin,” a spokesman said. But the vote to shear Mr. Lewis’s chairmanship raised questions about how much longer he could steer the bank as shareholder anger mounted over his handling of the contentious acquisition of Merrill Lynch at the height of the financial crisis.

SEIU has led the effort to dump Lewis. Over the past couple weeks, SEIU along with MoveOn.org, True Majority and a bunch of other groups collected more than 90,000 "taxpayer proxy cards." You know, as taxpayers, we are the largest shareholder in BofA, and those 90,000 taxpayers want Ken Lewis fired. The proxy cards were delivered at the meeting today. Read the rest of this post...

Majority of Americans live with unhealthy air

Maybe after years of letting business pollute at will, Washington will show some interest in improving air quality. Polluted may be fine for the balance sheets of big business but there's a health cost for everyone else.

Overall, the report found that air pollution at times reaches unhealthy levels in almost every major city and that 186.1 million people live in those areas. The number is much higher than last year's figure of about 125 million people because recent changes to the federal ozone standard mean more counties recognize unhealthy levels of pollution.

Health effects from air pollution include changes in lung function, coughing, heart attacks, lung cancer and premature death.

"Six out of 10 Americans right now as we speak live in areas where the air can be dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, dirty enough to shape how kids' lungs develop and even dirty enough to kill," said Janice E. Nolen, the association's assistant vice president on national policy and advocacy.

Read the rest of this post...

Live-blogging Obama's press conference at 8pm Eastern

Odd, but actually quite interesting, question from Jeff Zeleny of NYT. What surprised, troubled, enchanted, and humbled you most on taking the presidency. GREAT answers from Obama. This is actually very interesting.

Ed Henry: abortion. Do you hope that congress sends Freedom of Choice Act? Not my highest legislative priority. Yikes.

If America were under imminent threat would you then allow torture? O: Could we have gotten same info without these techniques, and are we safer as a result of these techniques? I will do whatever required to keep American people safe, but won't take shortcuts that undermine who we are.

Jake, torture, do you believe the previous admin sanctioned torture? O: Waterboarding is torture, violates our values. Brits during WWII had a few hundred detainees, still said "we don't torture." Even in the face of unimaginable risk and threat. You start taking shortcuts, it erodes the character of a country. We hold true to our ideals even when it's hard, not just when it's easy. Take recruitment tool away from Al Qaeda.

Obama's doing that "intelligent president" thing again, speaking in detail about the issues like a world leader. Strange that.

Deb Price - well-known lesbian journalist, but she's asking about the auto industry.

Should we close the border with Mexico, or quarantine? Cause for deep concern but not panic. Public health officials have not recommended a border closing - like closing barn door after horses got out, we already have cases here in the US.

He's damn presidential.

Lots of work to do, America will see a better day, rebuild a stronger nation, endure as a beacon.

Update on the 100 days. Tax cuts, health care, mortgages. Change direction of the nation's foreign policy. Begin to end war in Iraq. Forged new strategy to target Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Closed Gitmo, banned torture. Good start but just a start. Pleased what we've done, but I'm not satisfied. Credit not flowing, families touched by auto industry in trouble, deficits too high, govt not efficient enough. Going to work on health care reform, and clean energy revolution. Wall Street reform legislation by end of the year.

Gratified that House and Senate passed budget resolution today.

Schools where Swine Flu is spotted should consider temporarily closing. Obama has requested $1.5bn in emergency funding from Congress. Keep hands washed, cover mouth when cough, stay home from work when sick, keep your children home from school if they're sick.

It's on...

--------------

Joe is there, and twittering (or tweeting, if you prefer). His Twitter ID is joesudbay. Joe says he'll be sitting to Obama's right, two rows behind some woman in green. He'll be sending photos from his Blackberry, like this one of CNN's Ed Henry and ABC's Jake Tapper doing their broadcasts before the presser:

Read the rest of this post...

The other First 100 Days

I was talking to a reporter yesterday who made an interesting point. Obama just completed his first 100 days. But there was another 100 days as well. The Republican first 100 days... in opposition. And they didn't do so well. Here is Dan Balz in yesterday's Washington Post:

How much more can the Republicans take? Demoralized, shrinking and seemingly lacking an agenda beyond the word "no," Republicans today saw their ranks further thinned with the stunning news that Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter is switching parties and will run for reelection in 2010 as a Democrat....

[T]he Republican Party continues to contract, especially outside the South, and that it appears increasingly less welcome to politicians and voters who do not consider themselves solidly conservative. Northeast Republicans have gone from an endangered species to a nearly extinct species. Republicans lost ground in the Rocky Mountains and the Midwest in the last two elections. That's no way to build a national party.

Balz adds:

Republicans have been on a downward slide for the past four years, a decline that began not long after the reelection of former president George W. Bush in 2004. Many Republicans have blamed most of the party's problems on Bush's leadership. But the problems go deeper than any one person. Specter's shocking departure may provide a wakeup call to Republicans that a broad reassessment is now urgently needed.

It's not about George Bush. He was an abject failure, to be sure, but Republicans fool themselves when they blame Bush as some kind of aberration. The only problem, they say, is that Bush wasn't a true conservative. In fact, the only problem was that he was. He cut taxes. He took us to war, repeatedly. He deregulated and favored business over the individual. He opposed abortion and bashed the gays. And what did it get us?

The Republicans need to wake up and smell the Kool-Aid. George Bush didn't fail because he wasn't conservative enough. George Bush failed because he was a true Republican. America of the 21st century needs more than tax cuts. Read the rest of this post...

Spain launches Gitmo torture inquiry

This may get interesting. If the US is afraid to get serious about judging the legality of torture, at least Spain is not backing down. AP:

Spain's top investigative magistrate opened an investigation into the Bush administration Wednesday over alleged torture of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.

Judge Baltasar Garzon said documents declassified by the new U.S. government suggest the practice was systematic.

Garzon said he was acting under Spain's observance of the principle of universal justice, which allows crimes allegedly committed in other countries to be prosecuted in Spain.

Read the rest of this post...

WHO raises threat level on Swine Flu

This is starting to get scary. Read the rest of this post...

Big day: Hate Crimes passed in House; Same-sex marriage passed in the NH Senate

The Hate Crimes bill just passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 249 - 175. The House Republicans sure worked hard to prove that they are hateful and out of touch today. Witness the new Marilyn Musgrave: North Carolina's Rep. Virginia Foxx.

Also, by a vote of 13 - 11, the New Hampshire State Senate approved a same-sex marriage bill today. The House already passed the bill. The Democratic Governor, John Lynch, hasn't said what he'll do yet. Come on, Governor Lynch. Do you really want to be remembered for vetoing this bill? Read the rest of this post...

20% of adults self-identify as Republican

Then again, I hear only 20% of Republicans self-identity as adults.

The second poll this week, this one from NBC/WSJ (original poll here), to confirm that only one in five adults self-identifies as Republican. 30% self-identified as Democrats. That suggests that the Washington Post poll, which reported a figure of 21%, was not a fluke (or an "outlier," as Joe and pollster-folk like to call aberrant polls that you can't trust). Read the rest of this post...

Republican congresswoman says Matthew Shepard's murder was "a hoax"

The House Republican chosen to lead the charge against including women, people with disabilities, and gays in America's already-existing hate crimes law - existing law already counts violent crime based on the race, religion or national origin of the victim as a "hate crime" - just referred on the US House floor to Matthew Shepard's murder as "a hoax."

You will recall that Matthew Shepard was the young gay man in Laramie, Wyoming who, a decade ago, was tied to a fence, Jesus-like, pistol whipped in the head some 50 times, then left for dead in the cold fall night, only to be found a day later clinging to life. Shepard died five days later. Even though Shepard's murderers admitted that they killed him because he was gay, the far-right bigots who control the Republican party couldn't resist the opportunity to gay-bash Shepard one last time. Now by referring to his brutal murder as a hoax.

Here is what North Carolina (figures) Republican had to say about Shepard's horrific murder:

If you didn't vote for this bill -- against this bill and against this rule for anything else, you could vote against it because we are spending additional money. i also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the matthew sheppard bill is named afte a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. it wasn't because he was gay. this -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.

Now read what really happened:

During the trial, Chastity Pasley and Kristen Price (the pair's then-girlfriends) testified under oath that Henderson and McKinney both plotted beforehand to rob a gay man. McKinney and Henderson then went to the Fireside Lounge and selected Shepard as their target. McKinney alleged that Shepard asked them for a ride home. After befriending him, they took him to a remote area of Laramie where they robbed him, beat him severely (media reports often contained the graphic account of the pistol whipping and his smashed skull), and tied him to a fence with a rope from McKinney's truck. Shepard begged for his life. Both girlfriends also testified that neither McKinney nor Henderson was under the influence of drugs at the time. The beating was so severe that the only areas on Shepard's face that were not covered in blood were those where his tears had washed the blood stains away.

Media Matters has lots of links, and quotes, from the mainstream media attesting to the fact that Shepard was murdered because he was gay.

A hoax? Belittling the brutal murder of a 21 year old college student? And Republicans wonder why their angry, hateful, pathetic party is now only 20% of the US population.

Watch the video for yourself. Then feel free to call this sorry excuse for a human being and tell her what you think of her bigotry.

Phone: (202) 225-2071
Phone: (336) 778-0211
Phone: (828) 265-0240



I wonder where Virginia Foxx stood on letting blacks swim in our pools fifty years ago. Actually, I think I already know. Read the rest of this post...

A-

My grade for the first 100 days.

1. Obama showed us he's presidential material. You look at the man, and whether you agree or disagree with him, you easily say that he looks presidential.

2. He's restored confidence in America at home and abroad.

- At home. Americans finally feel that their country is heading in the right direction. 50% of Americans today, versus 19% in the last days of the Bush administration just three months ago. Look at the right direction/wrong direction numbers from the past year, and tell me Obama hasn't given the nation a renewed hope.



- Abroad. America is respected again. The world no longer hates our leader, and indirectly our country and our people. The world no longer thinks we are led by an idiot. In fact, much of the world seems mesmerized by our president. And while Americans like to say that they don't care what the world thinks of us, in fact we do.

3. The Economy.

Again, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the steps Obama has taken to avoid our country going into a depression, you cannot say that Obama has been nothing but talk. He passed a massive stimulus bill - historic in its proportions - aimed at staving off an even greater economic crisis. I happen to think the bill was imperative. But regardless, it was more than just talk.

4. Iraq. Obama has set a timetable for our withdrawal. 180 degree change from the previous administration, and again, something he promised and is now delivering on.

5. Global Warming. Our government is finally acknowledging that the problem even exists. Ridiculous that this is even considered noteworthy, but after the past eight years of denial, it is.

6. Oversight. Salmonella anyone? Chinese poison wallboard? Wall Street run amock? We finally have a president who doesn't believe that his job entails ignoring every problem that arises, and letting the market solve all of our ills.

7. Torture and Geithner. Yes, I'm disappointed with Obama's position on investigating the torture abuses of the Bush administration. But I understand his position, even if I don't entirely agree with it. Politically, Obama sees nothing to be gained by the torture inquiry, and he risks alienating independents who may, or may not, wish him to hold Bush et. al. accountable. But sometimes leadership is about more than just polls, and more than just politics. It's about doing what's right. If we truly as a nation committed war crimes, how can we ever reclaim the mantle as the shining city on the hill until we find the truth and cleanse our national soul? So I understand where Obama is coming from. I just fear where our nation has gone, and is heading.

And Geithner. Chris has written a lot about our illustrious Treasury Secretary. His ties to Wall Street. And his buddy Larry Summers. Obama needs to diversify the field of economic advice he is getting. He doesn't have to accept everything Paul Krugman and Joe Stiglitz say as truth. But it would be nice to know that someone in the White House at least recognizes that there are other voices, and other ideas, beyond the too-close-to-Wall-Street clique that seems to have the president's ear.

So for all of that, Obama gets an A-. Yes, we aren't entirely happy with him on every issue. But I don't think either Joe or I expected to be, whether the president was named Obama, Clinton (Hillary), or Edwards. The point is that our country is finally starting to move in the right direction. And for that, our president has earned our praise. Read the rest of this post...

Top RNC leaders demand Steele relinquish budget powers

We don't normally link to the cult-run GOP propaganda organ, but in this case, we're happy to make an excception:

Randy Pullen, the RNC's elected treasurer, former RNC General Counsel David Norcross and three other former top RNC officers have presented Mr. Steele with a resolution, calling for a new set of checks and balances on the chairman's power to dole out money.

The powers include new controls on awarding contracts and spending money on outside legal and other services.

This isn't just humorous schadenfreude, it's another indicator of how conservatives have taken over the GOP, and are quickly destroying it.

The funding fight comes on the heels of another open challenge to Mr. Steele's authority. Unhappy RNC conservatives secured the signatures to force the committee to convene next month's special meeting to vote on a resolution labeling Democrats as "socialists," despite the chairman's reservations about the political wisdom of the move.

Critics said the "socialist" resolution battle was a sign of Mr. Steele's rocky start as RNC chairman and his continuing struggle to assert control of the party's message since his election in January.

Conservatives are attacking Steele because he didn't want to call President Obama a "socialist." In this case, Steele was right. It makes the Republicans look ridiculous - reaching for yet another weapon from their 1980s arsenal, trying to label Democrats as "socialists"? What's next? Hiring Cyndi Lauper to show how cool and hip Republicans are?

Cindy Lauper - Girls Just 'W' Have Fun -
by Sunskynet

Read the rest of this post...

"Same-Sex Marriage Holds Peril for G.O.P."

That headline for this post is also the headline in the print edition of the New York Times for Adam Nagourney's analysis of Republican Party and gay issues. Wasn't too long ago that Karl Rove made gay-bashing a top priority for the G.O.P. Dan Froomkin captured it shortly after the 2004 election:

Rove Targets Gay Marriage

In what AFP called a "victory lap around the U.S. talk shows," Rove yesterday explicitly added a big item to Bush's avowed second term agenda.

Jim Drinkard writes in USA Today: "President Bush 'absolutely' will use his second term to push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, his top political strategist said Sunday. Karl Rove, who oversaw Bush's re-election victory, said Bush will renew the effort, which failed in Congress this year but may enjoy new support after 11 states approved bans on same-sex marriage on Election Day."

Rove had a lot of help from Marilyn Musgrave and Rick Santorum (who both lost re-election bids) among others in Congress and, of course the entire gay-obsessed right-wing extremists like Tony Perkins and James Dobson.

As Nagourney notes, times have changed -- and are changing fast:

The fact that a run of states have legalized gay marriage in recent months — either by court decision or by legislative action — with little backlash is only one indication of how public attitudes about this subject appear to be changing.

More significant is evidence in polls of a widening divide on the issue by age, suggesting to many Republicans that the potency of the gay-marriage question is on the decline. It simply does not appear to have the resonance with younger voters that it does with older ones.

Consider this: In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, released on Monday, 31 percent of respondents over the age of 40 said they supported gay marriage. By contrast, 57 percent under age 40 said they supported it, a 26-point difference. Among the older respondents, 35 percent said they opposed any legal recognition of same-sex couples, be it marriage or civil unions. Among the younger crowd, just 19 percent held that view.

The obsession with gay-bashing is another reason why the G.O.P. is the incredibly shrinking party. Now, perhaps, some leading Democrats will also see where the nation is heading and start supporting marriage equality. Read the rest of this post...

GDP crashes 6.1%

Worse than expected, which is never positive news. CNBC:

Gross domestic product, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, dropped at a 6.1 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said, after shrinking 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast GDP falling at a 4.9 percent rate in the January-March quarter. Output has declined for three straight quarters for the first time since 1974-1975.

Read the rest of this post...

GOP leader Rush wants Specter to take McCain (and Meghan)

Rush, the titular leader of the Republican Party, wants to continue the purge. From CNN's Political Ticker:

Conservative host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he isn't sorry to see Arlen Specter leave the GOP — and that many Republicans wish the Pennsylvania senator would take a few others with him when he goes.

"A lot of people say, 'Well, Specter, take [Sen. John] McCain with you. And his daughter [Meghan]. Take McCain and his daughter with you if you're gonna…" he told listeners, dissolving in laughter.

"…..It's ultimately good. You're weeding out people who aren't really Republicans," he said.

It is ultimately good -- for the Democrats. Rush is weeding out anyone who is remotely moderate. He is shrinking the GOP.

Keep it up, Rush. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

So, we've hit the 100-day mark. What will the traditional media and the pundits have to talk about tomorrow? I don't think they've established the next fake milestone yet.

In the wake of the Specter switch, I think we need to thank Dick Cheney, George Bush, FOX News, Hannity, Rush, Beck, Coulter, Newt, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and all the other rabidly right wingers. Sure, they annoy us. But, over the past few years, their inanity and extremism has led the Republican Party to its new weakened status. They've turned off the American people -- and a lot of former Republicans. So, sure, they're infuriating, but look where they've taken the GOP. So, to that whole gang: Keep it up. And, thanks. Thanks for a Democrat in the White House and large majorities in the House and Senate.

Let's get it started. Read the rest of this post...

Suspect initial swine flu carrier identified in Mexico

Mexican authorities now believe they have identified the person who spread the disease while going door to door. She was also the first reported death. Also, from the sound of things, Smithfield Foods (factory farming company) chose La Gloria, Mexico because of easy business laws which one has to wonder if that included lax health standards for the farm. Knowing the sorry state of the US factory food industry and their "let industry self regulate" it won't be a surprise if we learn about problems with that factory farm that lead to the outbreak.

The first person to die of swine flu was a 39-year-old tax inspector whose job required her to make door-to-door visits, putting her in contact with at least 300 unsuspecting members of the public when the disease was at its most virulent, Mexican authorities have said.

Maria Adela Gutierrez, a census-taker in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca, was admitted to a local hospital on 8 April and died five days later. She'd been suffering acute respiratory problems, exacerbated by diabetes and severe diarrhoea, and is believed to have infected scores of people.

The good news is that the death toll in Mexico is stabilizing though again, new cases are emerging globally as visitors from Mexico travel. Read the rest of this post...

Pay gaps growing for blacks and hispanics

Note the time frame of the growing disparity in pay. It's no wonder the GOP struggles to win over anyone other than angry white men because that's their target audience. They pound their fists on the table and trash any programs that might help level the playing field, convinced that somehow racism in the workplace doesn't exist. The facts say otherwise.

Blacks and Hispanics lag behind whites for higher-paying jobs at the largest rates in about a decade as employment opportunities dwindled during the nation’s economic woes and housing slump.

Census data released Monday show an increasingly educated U.S. work force whose earnings didn’t always seem to match up with its potential.

“The lesson of most economic downturns is minorities are the last hired, first fired. They lose jobs more quickly, and they will be the last to recover,” said Roderick Harrison, a demographer at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that studies minority issues.

Read the rest of this post...

July 7 London suicide bombing trial ends without convictions

This is not going to improve the stature of British police four years after the deadly bombing. Despite believing up to 20 people were involved only 3 went to trial and yesterday they were cleared. The Guardian:

Senior security officials conceded last night that it is likely no one will be brought to justice for the 7 July bombs that killed 52 people in London in 2005, despite their belief that more than 20 people were involved in the attacks.

The admission came shortly after the only three men to be charged in connection with the suicide bombings were acquitted yesterday.

After a £100m criminal investigation, the biggest police inquiry in modern times, the trio were cleared by a jury at Kingston crown court of helping to plan the attacks by carrying out a reconnaissance mission with two of the bombers.

The men, Waheed Ali, 25, Mohammed Shakil, 32, and Sadeer Saleem, 28, had already been tried once last year, when a jury failed to reach a verdict.

Read the rest of this post...

Rate of decline in housing slows

The housing misery may not be over but at least the fall is slowing down and that's a start. Few believe that it will rebound into a sellers market any time soon but stopping the decline will be a very good first step. CNNMoney:

The weak housing market continued to plague home sellers in February as home prices extended their losing streak to 31 consecutive months, according to a report issued Tuesday.

However, the rate of decline slowed, with the S&P;/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index not hitting a record low for year-over-year drop for the first time since October 2007.

"We will certainly need a few more months of data before we can determine if home prices are finally turning around," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard and Poor's.

Read the rest of this post...