Provisions in the law allow state legislatures to overrule the governors, so Jindal can have his “Profile in Courage” without having Louisianans pay the price.

This is like watching the Black Knight hacking off his own limbs. What’re you gonna do, bleed on us? More, please.

“The Faces of Moronosity”

I would also LOVE to see these red states mention that they get more fed dollars back then they give and more back then most blue states

let them give that back to the government too, they’ve been gettng that welfare for quite some time now

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Attaturk and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

If ya wanna get a good feel for what the social and political psychology is gunna look like for the next 8 years go and read some newspapers and contemporary histories of the first 8 years of the New Deal…insane, batshit crazy, fascist and good ol’ Amerkan murderous Christianity all swirrilin’ around the nation’s social intercourse like sewage sludge around a toilet bowl.

But we are jest as close now as we were then to an outright fascist takeover…only today we have a well equipt,tax subsidised corporate mercenary army of over 100,000 experienced killers, many from eastern Europe and all experienced in urban terrorism in Iraq who are poised to move the momwnt Obama suffers a below 50% moment in the polls. Mark my words, we are gunna be called ta defend our election before the next mid-terms.

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, THE WAR IS IN OUR LIVINGROOMS!!

pork barrel politicians turning down government $$$$$ !!

We’ll see that happen when pigs fly !

When you think that you have pretty much seen and heard it all from the “repubs” you think that your head can deflate a little,but it just goes on and on and on.

The residents of those states bear responsibility as well if they don’t ring their respective governor’s phones off the hook. At this point during this Republican economic disaster, even making noises like you won’t accept stimulus money should be political suicide.

Good morning, pups. It’s Collins, Cohen and Kristof today. Ms. Collins, in “The Devil Made Me Do It,” says that lately she is beginning to wonder if, in our current troubled times, being in a Senate — any Senate — actually is hell. Mr. Cohen, who is still in Tehran, writes about “Reading Khamenei in Tehran.” He says the central Iranian political fact of recent years has been the reinforcement of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. How to engage with Iran begins and ends with him. Mr. Kristof, writing from near the Chad-Sudan border, gives us “Trailing George Clooney,” in which he says that the Darfur conflict has now lasted longer than World War II, and the international community has remained monumentally feckless. Can George Clooney get the world to take action?

Here they are.

The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got corn muffins this morning. We’re glad that the National Weather Service has canceled the tornado watch here, but we’re keeping an eye on the weather anyway. I’m off to try to figure out what I’m going to bring for lunch today. Have a great day.

Read this regularly to see what a horror we are being sucked into:

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/

Lisa points out that Palin’s excuse for blowing off the winter RNC weinie roast to go with Fred “counting jews for Nixon” Malek to the Alfalfa Club dinner was that she had to go to Washington to lobby for TARP funds for Alaska.

At the time, she was referring to not getting those funds as being “left out in the cold”

“The fact of the matter, of course, is that the $275 billion will not, and are not meant to, benefit the homeowners. They are provided for the benefit of the lenders, the banks. They are meant to guarantee an ongoing flow of funds towards the vaults replete with toxic debts based on the very homes the government now showers with cash. They are meant to artificially continue to prop up US real estate values, which, if they were allowed to simply follow the course of the markets, would bankrupt not only the owners, for which Washington cares preciously little, but also the banks, for which Washington will bend over backwards any time of day. The main problem is that it’s way too late. The banks will drown, and everybody knows it. So the only real purpose served by these measures is to transfer ever more of the public’s funds to the banking sector. It’ll go on until the nation itself is completely broke and broken.”

She’s a complete distraction.

We are being bled with every one of the “bailout” and rescue schemes which all end up on the balance sheets of the criminal banks whose debts are still being hidden and are sinking the world.

The banking system is completely bust and all they are doing is playing hide the scam and pretend everything is OK.

Toxic assets are worth essentially nothing so there are only a few deposits which don’t belong to the bank anyway. Hello OZ!

There is no limit to Republican hipocrisy ,my guess is that not one dollar will be refused.
To do so would in fact be political suicide !

“Marking to Model, Still. But it’s far worse than banks just potentially overpaying for foreclosed homes. They may not only be overpaying. They may then be booking them at inflated prices. Let’s take an example. Suppose a bank forecloses on a home purchased for $250,000 with a $200,000 mortgage outstanding. At auction, let’s say other bidders offer just $125,000 for the house and the bank buys the house for $175,000, taking a loss of $25,000 or 12.5%. Keep in mind that no money really changes hands. Basically, the bank buys the house and immediately pays itself back with the proceeds from the sale.

The bank has an asset—the house–that it now needs to price. It needs to decide if the house is worth $250,000, $200,000, $175,000 or $125,000. Which value does the bank get to use? Since the asset was purchased in a distressed sale, the bank can use its financial models to figure out the worth of the house. These models are supposed to reflect outside markets but, as we’ve all learned, banks are very hesitant to truly book assets at market levels. One thing is almost certain, the bank won’t book it below the price they paid. In fact, it’s likely they will account for some additional recover—to say, $190,000—reducing their loss to just 5 percent. On the books, the loan has a recovery value of 95 percent.”

“Dropping Prices Mean Hidden Losses Mount. The bank’s purchase of the house may have put a floor on the immediate losses from the mortgage default but it doesn’t stop housing prices from dropping. If the housing market continues to deteriorate, the house now owned by the bank could be worth even less. The bank bought the house for $175K and booked it at $190K. But the market value of the house could be far less. If the value of the house drops to $150K, the bank is sitting on unrealized losses of 25% but has only booked a 5% loss.”

“Dislocation Ideology. All of this is made possible by one thing: an ideological conviction that the national housing slump should have been impossible and therefore that housing prices are sure to recover shortly. That’s what we call the “Dislocation Ideology”–the idea that housing markets are temporarily dislocated and will soon find themselves back on the old path onward and upward. If a long term downturn were acknowledged, a conservative bank would avoid buying foreclosed houses and prefer to take the losses up-front, letting the outside buyers pick up the home and the downside risk of further price slides. But banks are still long housing, so they keep buying houses and booking them at inflated values.”

“”How will borrowing more money to pay for bad loans solve the problem,” Flake said in a press release Wednesday. “President Obama’s talk of individual responsibility seems to be at odds with the details of the plan.” Gergen also questioned the fairness of giving help to some mortgage holders that have been delinquent compared to those who are paying on time. “What do you do about the couple that has been paying their mortgage … and next door there’s another couple that’s been delinquent, that’s been out spending money, going to Las Vegas, having a lot of fun time,” Gergen said. “Is it fair to the first couple when the second couple gets bailed out?”"

What we have is a bunch of dishonest people who continue to steal and are hell bent on saving a completely corrupt and ethically bankrupt system and reward those who run it again and again and again.

Who will be the first to call these financial experts for what they are liars, miscreants, criminals? Obi???

“There is, however, a remarkable coincidence between the banks with the largest writedowns — one measure of sickness — and those accessing the FDIC program. It’s not as if we haven’t seen this before. On Sept. 7, 2008, the government put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship. They were bankrupt because of an accumulated portfolio of $1.5 trillion worth of mortgage-backed securities, of which $225 billion was subprime mortgages and the other $1.275 trillion were illiquid prime mortgages. While some of Fannie and Freddie’s portfolios were hedged against interest rate movements using interest rate swaps, the subprime portion was an outright bet on default rates of low quality mortgages. How much cushion did they have? Only $1 of capital for every $25 of debt. What type of crazy creditor would lend to them? Almost anyone, because the debt had the implicit, now explicit, guarantee of the U.S. government.”

insane, batshit crazy, fascist and good ol’ Amerkan murderous Christianity all swirrilin’ around the nation’s social intercourse like sewage sludge around a toilet bowl.

ew.

But you’re right. It’s not pretty. It’s a good suggestion about looking at contemporary accounts of the New Deal. I meant to look up – but was too lazy – what kibnd of numbers FDR had in the house & senate getting the New Deal legislation passed. Wonderin’ how that compared to the stimulus situation wheh we had so much coverage-as Jane The Hamsher pointed out – about process.

Anyway, you may be wromg about one thing – tyhe media may start sounding the alarm bells even before Obama’s popularity gets below 50%. Hope I get a dollar for every time they use some variation of the word “plummet”. I saw but didn’t haer FOX last night and they had a red banner at the bottom of the screen:”Breaking: Stimulus to cost 876 Billion.” I said “no shit. This is breaking?” The attack has begunin earnest-even from among some revolting people (amnd I do mean revolting)on our own side (nominally) in and we really have to pick up some Blue Doggie seats. I hope Obama is up to it.

another couple that’s been delinquent, that’s been out spending money, going to Las Vegas, having a lot of fun time,” Gergen said.

The new version of the welfare queen who uses food stamps to buy an orange then sues the change to buiy vodka ? Bullshit then. Bullshit now.

“Non-recourse means a lender can only go after you for the property the loan is for, not your other assets. Recourse means they can.

Most US first mortgages are non-recourse. Refinancing kills the status, turning non-recourse into recourse. Second mortgages are typically recourse loans.

Most people are better off walking away than accepting a government sponsored renegotiated loan.”

“Marc Faber in this interview suggested to nationalize the banks in such a way that the government takes over only the good assets (mainly the deposits) of the troubled banks and leaves all the toxic stuff to the bond and share holders of the banks. what’s wrong with that?”

I am an economic dunce. scenario: some (alot?) people are defaulting early on and nobody will bid at sale because the mortgage is so high so the bank gets the house back for a nominal price.

what does this mean in the context you’re talking about? This has to be a big loss for the bank, yes?

i’m outta words to describe her.

and they’ve been very smug about it. southern states thought it was funny that they were taking money from northern states. and so many of them are still shitholes with substandard — everything

Good Morning everyone. Last night I watched a rerun of the Jon Stewart/Sununu interview. It was one of the best interviews I’ve seen on the ridiculousness of the repub opposition to the stimulus pkg. Anyone who hasn’t seen it should find it and enjoy. It’s sad when a comedian beats out the mainstream reporters.

If that’s the case then we should be phoning, emailing every Republican governor to tell them to hold fast to their principles.

stewart does that time and again. and yes, it’s pathetic. ( i turned it on late and was hoping to catch the end but it was already over. i’ll try to check that out,. i don’t understand why thes edumbasses even go on that show. amybe they thing their dumbassery really won’t find a wide audience so they get away with it. I mean, when you see clips of simebody saying somethibng stupid, it’s usually from an established mainstream media show.

thanks for the heads up, i’ll look for a clip. love it when stewart does that.

Banks are screwing around with the value of their assets and hiding their losses. Just another revelation on how broke they are. Playing around with numbers… that’s what they do best. Putting lipstick on the pigs they are. Smoke and mirrors.

So Obama’s infatuation with economic growth appears to be equivalent to Cheney’s “the American lifestyle is NOT negotiable.”

Sad …

Preview:
Sununu: “Our children and grandchildren will have to pay this back”
Stewart: “What about the cost of the Iraqi War? Won’t our children have to pay that back as well?”

“No politician worth the name can speak of the “end” of growth. Growth is, as Dr. Albert Bartlett reminds us, our national religion. To expect this kind of “change” from Obama is frankly wildly optimistic…. Our current president was handed a poisoned chalice, to be sure, by one of the worst leaders in US history, but the fact is, he is just as much a product of the current system as his predecessor, and his perceived options are at best, limited to preserving the status quo, and endless mindless growth is the essence of that. To paraphrase our hosts, concern for the “little people” doesn’t enter into it.

Funny how THAT debt is never mentioned…

Hey homeboy, you and I got attacked last night by one of those clintonistas!

such bullshit. i hear that line and it got me thinking “Did I have to ‘pay back’ the New Deal established whn my dad was young??” I benefitted, obviously so please, Sununu, Cantor, McConnell, et als, spare me the bullshit and get a new talking point. i think they believe if they keep trying out new talking points every two days they’ll eventually find one that makes sense. law of averages. but the Republicans are by no means average.

We are faced with a very intellectual dishonest world where most people accept crap, politicians don’t have a clue about economics and how we are dominated by the finance sector and a very few people who are driving the whole world.

It’s the repuke philosophy – get mine while I cam, get out of my way, don’t snoop into my dealings, don’t ask me to give up a thing to help anyone,. what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is something that I plan to get anyway I can. He who has the most toys wins. Winning is all. America is about competitiveness. Ain’t it?

Lemme guess the response:

but…. um…. er….. that’s different

that is one great point, let me refrase it;

positive investments (like rebuilding the country tax cuts destroyed) don’t cost us a dime they save us money

negative influx of middle class assets (like the tax give aways of middle class assets to the wealthy) do NOT give a positive return

those tax dollars WERE being spent on PRODUCTIVE services that cost us MUCH more if when they are not addressed

We are faced with a very intellectual dishonest

while some are intellectually dishonest, most are intellectually befeft

Morning, Dean Baker up on WJ — Nationalization of banks

7:45-8:30 DEAN BAKER
Center for Economic & Policy Research, Co-Director cepr.org

ALEX POLLOCK
American Enterprise Institute
Resident Fellow http://www.aei.org
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
Former President & CEO

Topic: What “nationalization”of U.S. banks may mean and the current debate over whether banks should be nationalized. Our guests have differing opinions, with Dean Baker basically favoring nationalization and Alex Pollack generally opposing it.

8:30-9:00 PHILIPPE COUSTEAU
Earth Echo International
President & CEO
earthecho.org

Topic: Offshore drilling, as well as the health of the world’s oceans. Guest testified last week before the House Natural Resources Committee on the issue. Philippe is the son of Jacques Cousteau Sr. & the grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

9:00 Throw to CPAC Live

When Mayors attack media shills – the truth is revealed:

http://oxdown.firedoglake.com/diary/3743

Swim’s up

Morning, Dean Baker up on WJ — Nationalization of banks

I am not so sure we simply shouldn’t replace the banks

nationalising them means we accept their toxic waste, me no likey

I say let them fall, let new banks open with new regulations

I also say let the fed start lending money directly, if a bank wants to broker a loan they can earn a point or two, they cannot gamble with the money and they cannot sell the debt to someoone else

they can possibly sell their point, that’s it, and they suffer a penalty if they don’t do due dilegence for who gets and who does not get that loan

On yesterday Gov Perry was against accepting the stimulus funds; today he’s for it. Sound familiar: against it before for it, huh. I do wonder what changed his mind…he says he will create jobs. His goal is to be longest serving TX gov; I bet he has no idea how long it seems.

.
Here’s those Governors’ contact info. In case you needed a job or something in their State, already paid for with your tax money.
.

WHAT Hurricane Katrina relief money? We haven’t seen a cent!

nationalising them means we accept their toxic waste, me no likey

last night it occurred to me that different people mean different things by “nationalization” – for example, i’m pretty sure that greenspan’s nationalization is that the taxpayers take over the debts, etc and instead of doing cram downs are on the hook to make good.

whereas when lots of people here talk about nationalization, they are talking about nationalizing the assets and forcing debtors to take big losses.

this is only one of the disconnects i think i’m seeing, but it gets to the issue you’ve raised.

“Greenspan Backs Bank Nationalization” is not like “Hayek: Keynes Was Right!”. I’ve been trying to figure out what it is like, and I’ve come up with a few possibilities:

“Kaiser Wilhelm Backs Surrender To France, Allies:
Wars Of Aggression Wrong, German Monarch Claims”

“Typhoid Mary: Attention To Hygienic Food Preparation Vital To Public Health”

“Mao Zedong Backs Privatization:
‘Great Leap Forward’ An Act Of Idiotic Hubris That Cost Millions Of Lives For No Earthly Reason, Dictator Concedes
Backyard Smelters ‘Particularly Boneheaded’”

“Sherman To Atlanta: Oops! My Bad!”

“Alaric: Great Cities Should Be Left Unmolested:
‘I Liked Rome Better Before We Sacked It’, Visigoth Laments”

“Satan Backs Christ’s Effort To Redeem Mankind On Cross:
Regrets Involvement In Fall”

Want to add any of your own?

from Swim’s Strange times, indeed.

i now think that when greenspan says “nationalization” he means something very very different than we do.

During the Clinton years, my old dissertation advisor averred to me that what the thugs were doing on Clinton was nothing compared with what they attempted to do to FDR. He said the hatred out there was so thick you could stick your finger in it and see the mark. Those of us who were only just born when he was still Pres and grew up in the 50s and 60s don’t have any memory of that hatred. We only saw its residue in the McCarthy purges, and they were over by 1958.

Eternal vigilance. There isn’t enough garlic in the whole world to keep those vampires under control.

Jindal wants to be Prez. He’ll be lucky to keep being governor if he does this to the poor of his state. Good luck booby (not)
Palin is presiding over an incredible budget shortfall just like CA. she is, as usual, clueless while her people starve, literally. Expect her not to make it much longer if she refuses the funds out of political caprice and dogma.
See: In rural Alaska villages, families struggle to survive

I would enjoy seeing Jindal and Palin both bounced out on their asses. On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of seeing the citizens of those states suffer because of their idiocies. Tough call…

another grandstander (too insignificant to run for president) is butch otter of idaho. he’s been talking of rejecting the stimulus package while making plans on how to spend it.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/…..70625.html