Quantative Easing Explained

Remember November

Aren't you glad we bailed out Chrysler?

Only Chris Dodd Can Be That Ignorant

From SayAnything Blog:

Senator Chris Dodd was asked for a reaction to Obama’s apparent intention to name Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren to be the interim head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.
Dodd’s reaction? Confusion:

In dismissing the rumor last night, though, Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd — who authored the law — claimed he’d never heard of the interim appointment power.
“I don’t know what it is. I never heard of it before,” said a flabbergasted Dodd to TPMDC. “It’s kind of unique isn’t it?”

The problem? The power to make this interim appointment comes from legislation that is actually named after Dodd:

The authority for the Treasury Department to grant an interim appointment — distinct from a “recess appointment” — comes from the financial reform law itself.

But hey, it’s not like it’s his job to read the laws he’s, um, authoring. Not to mention voting for.

OK, now this is depressing

Read the story here.

Funny if it weren't true

Happy Tax Freedom Day!

That's right, the average American Taxpayer (which is only slightly more than half of the population) has been working all year for the government until today.  If you're lucky enough to live in Connecticut or New York, keep plugging away until later in the month.  From CNN Money:

Each state has its own Tax Freedom Day. The day arrived earliest in Alaska and Louisiana -- on March 26 -- because of "modest incomes and low state and local tax burdens," the Tax Foundation said.

Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia celebrated soon after, on March 28, March 29 and March 30, respectively.

Connecticut, the state with the highest per capita income, will be the last to celebrate. Tax Freedom Day won't arrive until April 27, the 117th day of the year.

New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Washington will join Connecticut as the last states to celebrate. In these states, Tax Freedom Day will fall on April 25, April 23, April 19 and April 15, in that order.

Englehardt on Wealthshare Healthcare

Obama's Road Trip

Found this YouTube video that explains Obama's spending in a fun way.

A Massachusetts Miracle?

Let's re-evaluate at 8PM tonight...

Corporate Greed

Capitalism seems like a dirty word these days.  You would think the President would be happy that the companies he helped have turned around and actually started making money.  In fact, they've made huge profits, which Barack Hussein Obama now wants to tax.  His reasoning is the big banks are partially at fault for causing this financial mess.  I disagree with that theory, but I understand the reasoning.

Another contributor to the financial mess of 2008/09 was the Federal Reserve.  They kept rates unrealistically low for longer than they should have.  In fact, some people blame the Fed for bringing us from the Tech Bubble to the Housing Bubble.  Using Mr. Obama's logic, maybe we should tax the Fed's Profit since they are responsible.

Meanwhile, Chrysler is about a year away from being a collector's item and GM has Howie Long on the TV telling you why his Chevy is better than your Honda.  How stupid does he think we are?  Wait, don't answer that, we are the ones that gave GM 5+ Billion dollars for essentially nothing.  And because Obama knows Chrysler and GM will never be able to pay the money back, he thinks taxing corporations that are growing and providing jobs is a good idea.

Only in Washington.

Jon Stewart Poking Fun at Chris Dodd

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Donkey Gone
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Be Careful What You Wish For

As you've already heard by now, Christopher Dodd has decided not to run in 2010 for his Senate seat.  With Dodd in the race, there was a pretty good shot that either Linda McMahon or Rob Simmons would beat him out.  Now that Dodd has stepped aside, Richard Blumenthal has announced that he is running as the Democratic candidate for the seat his friend currently occupies.

Mr. Blumenthal enjoys a very healthy reputation in the state.  The Republicans will now fight it out for the right to go up against the hand-picked candidate from the Democrats.  It's not looking good for the GOP.  Perhaps Mr. Simmons should bow out and give the better candidate his support.

Nice play, donkeys.

A caller on one of the AM talk shows this evening wondered what would happen to all the money that Obama raised for Dodd's reelection campaign.  Lets see, a corrupt politician already proven to think he is one of the "special people"?  Any guesses?

Christopher Dodd is in the Top 10

Well, top 10 of the most corrupt politicians:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2009/dec/judicial-watch-announces-list-washington-s-ten-most-wanted-corrupt-politicians-2009

Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT): This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 "Ten Most Corrupt" list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him. In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat. In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against Dodd for undervaluing a property he owns in Ireland on his Senate Financial Disclosure forms. Judicial Watch's complaint forced Dodd to amend the forms. However, press reports suggest the property to this day remains undervalued. Judicial Watch also alleges in the complaint that Dodd obtained a sweetheart deal for the property in exchange for his assistance in obtaining a presidential pardon (during the Clinton administration) and other favors for a long-time friend and business associate. The false financial disclosure forms were part of the cover-up. Dodd remains the head the Senate Banking Committee.

Happy Winter Solstice!

To My Democrat Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wish.


To My Republican Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2010

NPR on the rise and fall of Chris Dodd

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121301910

Is Chris Dodd Unelectable?

Some seem to think so. From the Courant:

"[I]t is increasingly clear to both independent analysts and Democratic leaders that Dodd is just too badly damaged to have a decent shot at getting re-elected, almost regardless of who wins the Republican nomination. Democrats have given Dodd time to attempt to repair his problems, but nothing appears to have helped enough to salvage his position,'' Duffy writes.

The publication has moved the Connecticut Senate race from "toss up" to "leans Republican.''

UPDATE: Colleen Flanagan, spokeswoman for state Democrats, dismissed the Cook Report ratings change as inside-the-beltway political handicapping.

"It's no secret what the Washington smart guys think about this race,'' she said in an email after the Courant asked for a comment. "But it just doesn't matter what they think. They don't vote in Connecticut and they don't really understand Chris Dodd's decades of service and the relationship he's built with folks here by delivering for them time and again."

Yet, the depth of Dodd' troubles are clear to many in Connecticut, where once heretical whispers that the state's senior senator step aside in favor of the immense popular Attorney General Richard Blumenthal or perhaps U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, have grown louder.

Following Dodd's lousy showing in a Quinnipiac University poll last month, the Courant spoke with more than a dozen Democratic party activists and left-leaning bloggers. While few were willing go on the record, they all spoke of their fears that Dodd wouldn't be able turn things around by election day, 2010 and many privately expressed their hopes that he would step aside for the overall benefit of the party.

Say-on-Pay

Christoper Dodd is the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs which is in charge of "reforming" the Financial System.

One of Dodd's cornerstones to financial reform is the "Say-on-Pay" provision of the bill. In theory, the shareholders of a company will get a "say" on the "pay" packages of the executives. Since the shareholders are the ultimate owners of the company anyway, his theory is that the shareholders will punish the executives for poor performance.

Lets forget for a minute that Christoper Dodd has never actually run a business. Lets also forget for a minute that he's been in the ivory towers of Washington for the last 34 years and has no clue about how business runs (unless you count participation in Countrywide sweetheart deals as "business" experience).

Of course, if Christoper Dodd did run a public company, he would understand that the majority of shareholders are institutional investors and not individual investors. Mutual Funds, Index Funds, Hedge Funds, Pension Funds, and other institutional investors comprise more than 50% of all shareholders. These institutional investors hold stock in many companies. The institutional investor hasn't shown any interest in the past about day-to-day management of the company.

So Dodd wants to put this rule in place and nobody will care. That's constructive use of his time and our tax money. It's time for Connecticut "Say-on-Pay" for Mr. Dodd and adjust his compensation to zero in 2010.

More Of The Same

Rob Simmons is one of the Republican candidates vying to unseat Christopher Dodd. Simmons spent 6 years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2000 until 2006.

Mr. Simmons is apparently taking pages from the Barack Obama Campaign Handbook and deciding that it is better to attack your opponent rather than present your position. For example, he recently criticized newcomer Linda McMahon because the corporation she ran contributed to Democratic Candidates. What Mr. Simmons fails to point out is that her company has contributed $70K to Republican Candidates vs. $34K to Democratic Candidates.

Mr. Simmons apparently isn't concerned about the thousands of Connecticut workers in the ranks of the unemployed. If he was, he would be putting forth a plan for growth to help attract entrepreneurs like Linda McMahon to Connecticut.

Let's get to the nitty gritty Mr. Simmons. What's your plan?

Here's Your Chance to Vote For Barack Obama!

Apparently potential is more important than actual accomplishment. Write-in your vote for Barack Obma for the Heisman Trophy.

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/ ... vote/2009/