And there's some kind of nest.
...I feel like some Judy Garland, to get us through to November. Inspired by my friend Ruby Slippers. And well, I sang the someday I'll wish upon a star... if happy little bluebirds fly solo in college with the Radcliffe Pitches. Don't laugh. No Toto though. Here goes.It is not that no one's in control. Washington is full of people who insist they're in control and who go to great lengths to display their power. It's that no one takes responsibility and authority. Washington daily delivers to the people two stark and utterly conflicting messages: "We control everything" and "You're on your own."***
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Sarah Palin E-Mail Hacker Convicted on Two Charges:***The 22-year-old son of a Democratic Tennessee lawmaker has been convicted on two charges in the hacking of Sarah Palin’s e-mail account while she campaigned on the Republican presidential ticket in 2008.The federal court jury reached its verdict Friday against David Kernell after four days of deliberation. He was found guilty of obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer, but was acquitted on a charge of wire fraud.
The jury was deadlocked on a charge of identify theft...
But practically in the next breath Axelrod tells an untruth, claiming Obama stimulus-hugger mushy flip-flopper Florida governor Charlie Crist was "forced" out of the Republican primary when the truth is he was LOSING bigtime in the polls to a charismatic conservative candidate for Senate, Marco Rubio.Cornyn's comment came a day after President Obama, in Downstate Quincy, gave a shout-out to Giannoulias, calling him the "soon-to-be senator" in a remark I think was calculated to quiet talk about distancing himself from Giannoulias.
"No one here is trying to 'muscle' him from the race. That should have been clear from the president's comment yesterday," White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Thursday.
The Washington Capitals, the only non-Michigan sports team I've come to love, completed their jaw-dropping collapse last night. Vice President Biden was in attendance. Coincidence?Stay away from our series with the Canucks, Joe.
WaPo looks at the Illinois race, among others.Experts Contradict Alexi’s Spin
FDIC Discount Further Erodes Giannoulias’ Story
Alexi Giannoulias continues his attempts to elicit sympathy for his reckless decisions that brought down his family bank and cost the FDIC $394 million, saying Broadway was an ordinary bank victimized by a bad economy.
The problem for Alexi? Banking experts and new information contradict his spin.
In interviews this week the President of MB Financial – who purchased Broadway Bank after its collapse – revealed that the FDIC was forced to offer a 20 percent discount to sell the toxic bank. [1] This amounted to a $171 million payment from the FDIC to MB Financial. [2]
By contrast, MB Financial purchased an apparently healthier New Century Bank the same day at only a 9 percent discount. [3]
Why the discrepancy?
The difference between the two discounts is due to two factors. First, as bank analyst Dennis Klaese put it: “The deposit franchise at Broadway clearly was a very poor one.”[4] Broadway Bank was heavily dependent on expensive and volatile brokered deposits, and thus MB Financial was only interested in acquiring $281 million of Broadway Bank’s $1.1 billion in deposits.
On the other hand, MB Financial acquired $471 million of New Century Bank’s $492 million in deposits.[5]
Second, Broadway Bank’s loan portfolio is extremely poor, with a heavy emphasis on commercial real estate and construction and development loans that are unlikely to improve in the weak real estate market.
According to Washington D.C. banking consultant Bert Ely “the real question is why it [Broadway Bank] wasn't closed a long time ago.” Ely went on to sum up Broadway Bank by simply saying “It was a badly run bank.”[6]
There are unanswered questions about Broadway Bank and how it got to this point that Alexi will have to answer as his campaign moves forward.
[1] MB stands ready to buy additional failed banks, Chicago Tribune, April 27, 2010
[2] MB Financial's instant gain on Broadway, New Century: $30 million, Crain’s Chicago Business, April 26, 2010
[3] ibid
[4] ibid
[5] MB stands ready to buy additional failed banks, Chicago Tribune, April 27, 2010
[6] Who Killed Broadway Bank?, Chicago Tribune, April 26, 2010The Examiner reports:What is CCX, the Chicago Climate Exchange, projected to gross 10 Trillion a year is Cap-N-Tax passes. Obama played a pivotal role in the formation of the CCX.
Who loaned hot money brokered deposits to mobsters. Who killed Broadway Bank? Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Treasurer, Democrat candidate for Senate. His family bank bust-up is the 4th largest bank bailout in Illinois history. As Illinois Treasurer, Giannoulias lost $70 million in the Bright Start college savings fund through inappropriate investments with a higher risk profile."So they failed to consider that behind every dollar that they traded, all that leverage they were generating, acting like it was Monopoly money, there were real families out who were trying to finance a home, or pay for their child's college...Irony anybody? Most reality-based observers are incredulous. Monopoly money for mobsters. Bright start not so bright. Does the president even know what he's saying. Hugs for Alexi. Yes we can.
Related posts: An Effing Obama Checkbook Tax?, Obama and Big Labor's Backroom Deals, Team Obama Calls out Swat Team on Tea Party Grandmas, Giannoulias: The Dog Ate My Homework , Obama runs away in Quincy
this is the more realistic pix. (NOT Barack)...While the Attorney General Eric Holder looks for a way to sue Arizona over its new law, his own justice department issued a report that explained why the law was needed.And identity theft is not even mentioned up top.
And in this case, every account holder will be forced to pay higher fees on their checking account and savings account. That's you, my friendly reader. Can you say "checkbook tax"? I can, and I think lots of candidates will be saying it come November. Is that what you really want to do to your constituents, Senator Lincoln? Is that what you really want to explain on the campaign trail, Senator Bennett?[snip]
Democrats -- especially those in conservative districts -- were promised a bounce if they voted for ObamaCare. We didn't even see a dead cat bounce. Just ask Blanche Lincoln -- but you better ask her quickly....I have taken to reading murder mysteries again lately. This one I really like.
In Quincy, Illinois. There's video from Sharp Elbows.DLoesch Getting word that secret service and presidential team overruled local law enforcement to send in riot police on peaceful protesters.
Brandon_Greife Anyone see the hypocrisy here? While touting bank reform Obama travels to Illinois for a hug and shout out to Giannoulias http://ow.ly/1EubC
Falun Gong is a highly visible Buddhist revival movement that had spread across class and educational lines throughout the 1990s. The Chinese government has banned it since 1999, denouncing it as a "dangerous cult."
Founded in China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, who now lives in the United States, it grew dramatically in only a few years. Its philosophies incorporate ideas from Buddhism and Taoism and include slow-motion meditative exercises on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.
The Chinese government accuses the group of "undermining social stability". The White House has "no clear policy" on the Falun Gong.
Gee, what a surprise. Well, you know they are a religious group.
Steven Malanga: The Andy Stern Show
On Wednesday, before scheduled appearances in Missouri and Illinois, Obama made a surprise lunch stop at Peggy Sue's Cafe in Monroe City, Mo. He ordered a cheeseburger and french fries to go. Much like Tuesday's stop for pie and coffee in Iowa, it had trappings of a campaign event, with Obama shaking hands and making small talk with awe-struck bystanders.No mention of Black Forest Berry Honest Tea as his drink of choice. My, my it's an official not political trip. How about some of that real Buddy Holly, hit it:
The proposed regulations don’t attack the problem of excessive leverage. They don’t reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They don’t guarantee that taxpayers won’t have to pay for the future errors of bank executives who, cheered on by their government enablers, take on excessive risk. The “reformers” simply wish away the root causes of this crisis: the “too big to fail” mentality and crony capitalism.Barack Obama (D-Fannie Mae)
Crony capitalism means that not everybody plays by the same rules. Allowing financial institutions such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and investment banks to maintain significantly smaller capital reserves than commercial banks, while implicitly guaranteeing their obligations, was a critical part of the financial problem. Capital-ratio rules require that firms value all their tradable assets at market prices and maintain a cash balance equal to a certain percentage of that price, weighted for the risk of each asset. In 2004, the SEC decided to allow five firms — Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley — to reduce their capital ratios, letting them keep more assets on their balance sheets while subjecting them to less-stringent reporting requirements. Special favors like that — favors from the regulators themselves — are representative of the unhealthy marriage between government and its friends on Wall Street.
And nowhere has that relationship been more toxic than in the case of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"It's one thing to oppose reform, but to oppose just even talking about reform in front of the American people and having a legitimate debate, that's not right," Obama said in Ottumwa, Iowa. "The American people deserve an honest debate on this bill."Yet he won't even engage in honest debate at a town hall in his home state. (Nor in Iowa yesterday)
Obama has condemned Ayers' radical activities, and there's no evidence they were ever close friends or that Ayers advised Obama on policy.Really?
Bulls bow out, the Hawks are still in it, but what about baseball? (Sox fan like moi) John Kass takes up the subject of the Crosstown Cup. In part: Years ago, in his vast wisdom, Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf — the greatest owner in Chicago sports — let me borrow the 2005 World Series trophy for a day. The idea was that I could show it off at Tribune Tower, then the heart of Cubs Nation.Kass has some interesting ideas on representative adult beverages as well. (What would our President Barack Obama do?)
We paraded it around the newsroom. As the throngs grew, somebody came up with a great idea: Storm a Tribune Co. executive meeting. So we did.
"Let's show these Cubs executives what a World Series championship really looks like!" I cried, holding the trophy over my head, waiting for the board room door to open, all the guys right behind me.
The door opened.
"Ready, guys?"
Silence.
I turned around. The throngs had disappeared.
"Touch it!" I challenged the executives. "Go ahead, touch it!" But they refused, lest they touch it and burn.
I live in Cubs territory too, and still have this up in my kitchen. As a reminder:) Pre-Sox World Series win. One team is pathetic no more. There is no turning of the other cheek in this sport in Chicago. And that's as it should be.
The Rev. and Democrat state Rep. James Meeks has succeeded in advancing the cause of school choice for the most vulnerable and needy children in the state.There was an interesting pattern in the state Senate vote. The voucher bill passed because Republicans teamed up with black and HispanicYes. Who has been blocking this kind of reform and bankrupting the state?senators . The opposition came from white liberals. As the Chicago Tribune observed, "Many Democrats from relatively affluent areas opposed the measure. But a majority of the African-American and Latino senators -- those whose constituents' kids would directly benefit -- voted yes."
