John McCain, Joe Lieberman
Joe Klein
Dana Millbank
E J Dionne
" Arooooooh! Werewolves of London!" - Warren Zevon
"All the executives and their families should be executed with piano wire around their necks." - anonymous death threat to A.I.G.
"Does Boehner need any justification? It says it right there on his partisan hack license that he can say anything that he wants." - Barney Frank
A lot of fallout from yesterday's Senate hearing with A.I.G., so much so that they are not going to do anything today. Maybe they need time to reflect, or wait until the Republicans can come up with a lame response. The House voted 328 to 93 to get back most of the money by levying a 90 percent tax on it, then it goes to the Senate, oh, sometime next week, ya know, if they get around to it... And, from CNN: "Claiming full responsibility for the situation, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNN today that his office "asked Sen. Chris Dodd to include a loophole in the stimulus bill that allowed bailed-out insurance giant American International Group to keep its bonuses." He said he requested the measure to prevent costly governmental litigation."
What they are not doing, is asking the companies that A.I.G. paid off billions to come in and explain why they received money, and if they plan on giving any back. You know, share the pain... Goldman Sachs felt they didn't need any bailout because they knew they were getting $12 billion from A.I.G. The outrage seems to be diverted towards the werewolves in London who got the bonuses, rewarded for their incompetent behavior. As I pointed out yesterday, the past head of the Financial Products Unit walked away with a cool $315 million, and nobody has said diddly... Someone took A.I.G. for a ride, out-negotiated the hick, arrogant Americans and ripped out their deregulated throats, and we're mad at them for flopping and bleeding on the ground in front of us...
Making matters worse was the fact that any company getting TARP aid had to certify to the Treasury Department that they didn't owe back taxes before getting their share of the bailout, as Lewis explained. It appears that Treasury took the bailed-out businesses at their word rather than asking to actually see their tax records.
If there's any doubt remaining that Congress would not approve any more spending on the financial rescue, Lewis' opening statement this morning should put it to rest:
Taxpayers have no sense that there is any control over this money. They have no idea what, if anything, they will get in return. This entire program is based on trust - trust in the givers and trust in the takers. At this point, there is no trust."
Further, TPM points out that: "It is a rather curious spectacle to see congressional Republicans express outrage at the exorbitant bonuses being handed out by bailed-out companies and blame the Obama administration for failing to curb the practice with AIG. Because when the first installment of the Troubled Asset Relief Program was passed it was the Bush administration and GOPers in Congress who were insisting that caps on executive compensation not be part of the legislation.
As the New York Times reported at the time that TARP was being crafted, "Congress and the administration remained at odds over the demands of some lawmakers, including limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help."
Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said that while he was upset with the levels of salary afforded to top executives, any cap on such would dissuade companies from participating in the TARP.
"If we design it so it's punitive and so institutions aren't going to participate, this won't work the way we need it to work," he told Fox News Sunday on September 21.
Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, told CBS news that: "It should be up to the board of directors of a private corporation to set the compensation of an executive; it shouldn't be Congress's role."
Senator Mel Martinez told CNBC that: "While it is very appealing to think about executive compensation as being a part of this, one of the drawbacks to that is perhaps that we would have fewer entities participate in what is essentially a voluntary act."
And House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, "outraged" over AIG's issuance of $165 million in bonuses, said he was not in favor of "the federal government be[ing] able to set salaries across the board," when the issue of executive compensation arose in September 2008." So, who do we strap up to the whipping post and begin to flog in public?
Pandit, criticized by lawmakers over Citigroup’s use of U.S. bailout capital, canceled an order for a company jet in January and told Congress on Feb. 11 that, “I get the new reality and I’ll make sure Citi gets it as well.” Of the biggest U.S. banks that received federal aid, only Citigroup has turned to the government three times for rescue. The company, once the biggest U.S. bank by assets and market value, has agreed to limit perks and restrict executive pay." Why doesn't Citigroup just buy A.I.G.'s New York offices, which have just been put up for sale? Using taxpayer money for free office space, who do these folks think they are, the Us Olympic Committee?
Led by Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Carper of Delaware and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, the roughly 15-member group is dubbing itself the Moderate Dems Working Group. It will also include key figures such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a pivotal negotiator in the stimulus debate."
More from TPM: "Just when you thought it was impossible to find more proof of the bungling of the bailout ... Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), chairman of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, announced this morning that his panel had found 13 of the top 23 recipients of TARP owing the government $220 million in back taxes.
Making matters worse was the fact that any company getting TARP aid had to certify to the Treasury Department that they didn't owe back taxes before getting their share of the bailout, as Lewis explained. It appears that Treasury took the bailed-out businesses at their word rather than asking to actually see their tax records.
If there's any doubt remaining that Congress would not approve any more spending on the financial rescue, Lewis' opening statement this morning should put it to rest:
Taxpayers have no sense that there is any control over this money. They have no idea what, if anything, they will get in return. This entire program is based on trust - trust in the givers and trust in the takers. At this point, there is no trust."
Further, TPM points out that: "It is a rather curious spectacle to see congressional Republicans express outrage at the exorbitant bonuses being handed out by bailed-out companies and blame the Obama administration for failing to curb the practice with AIG. Because when the first installment of the Troubled Asset Relief Program was passed it was the Bush administration and GOPers in Congress who were insisting that caps on executive compensation not be part of the legislation.
As the New York Times reported at the time that TARP was being crafted, "Congress and the administration remained at odds over the demands of some lawmakers, including limits on the pay of top executives whose firms seek help."
Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said that while he was upset with the levels of salary afforded to top executives, any cap on such would dissuade companies from participating in the TARP.
"If we design it so it's punitive and so institutions aren't going to participate, this won't work the way we need it to work," he told Fox News Sunday on September 21.
Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, told CBS news that: "It should be up to the board of directors of a private corporation to set the compensation of an executive; it shouldn't be Congress's role."
Senator Mel Martinez told CNBC that: "While it is very appealing to think about executive compensation as being a part of this, one of the drawbacks to that is perhaps that we would have fewer entities participate in what is essentially a voluntary act."
And House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, "outraged" over AIG's issuance of $165 million in bonuses, said he was not in favor of "the federal government be[ing] able to set salaries across the board," when the issue of executive compensation arose in September 2008." So, who do we strap up to the whipping post and begin to flog in public?
And Bloomberg News reports on this latest from: "Citigroup Inc. plans to spend about $10 million on new offices for Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and his lieutenants, after the U.S. government injected $45 billion of cash into the bank.
Pandit, criticized by lawmakers over Citigroup’s use of U.S. bailout capital, canceled an order for a company jet in January and told Congress on Feb. 11 that, “I get the new reality and I’ll make sure Citi gets it as well.” Of the biggest U.S. banks that received federal aid, only Citigroup has turned to the government three times for rescue. The company, once the biggest U.S. bank by assets and market value, has agreed to limit perks and restrict executive pay." Why doesn't Citigroup just buy A.I.G.'s New York offices, which have just been put up for sale? Using taxpayer money for free office space, who do these folks think they are, the Us Olympic Committee?
This story I couldn't find anywhere last night, but now it's in every blog in Colorado. From The Denver Post: "Both Mark Udall and Michael Bennet have joined a group of Senate Democrats who Wednesday rolled out a centrist bloc likely to have outsized influence over the fate of President Barack Obama's legislative agenda.
Led by Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Carper of Delaware and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, the roughly 15-member group is dubbing itself the Moderate Dems Working Group. It will also include key figures such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a pivotal negotiator in the stimulus debate."
Colorado is a cautious state, our Democrats are moderate to conservative. John Salazar is a member of the Blue Dog Democrats. From the Open Congress wiki: "The term "Blue Dog" is taken from the longtime description of a Southern party loyalist as one who would vote for a yellow dog if it were on the ballot as a Democrat. The 'Blue Dog' moniker was taken by members of the Coalition because their more-conservative views had been 'choked blue' by their party in the years leading up to the 1994 election. They are concentrated in those states where tobacco is a major cash crop, and they have often caucused (House and Senate) to defeat tobacco control legislation, and often vote as a block alongside the Republicans." Now, if we can only get our Republicans to become moderates instead of mentally ill right wingers, we'd be OK...
Also from the Open Congress wiki, a fact I'd forgotten: "Bob Beauprez is currently under investigation by the Justice Department’s Wyoming office. The probe is examining whether Beauprez, a candidate in the 2006 gubernatorial election in Colorado, accessed a restricted federal database for information used in a television ad to attack his Democratic challenger, Bill Ritter. State investigators, who began looking into the matter before the Justice Department, have concluded that the information in the ad came from the National Crime Information Center, a federal database for which only law enforcement officials have access. Using the database for any purpose other than law enforcement is a federal crime which carries a punishment of up to one-year in prison. Beauprez ultimately lost the gubernatorial election to Ritter."
Late night jokes:
"AIG, which already received $170 billion in taxpayers' money, paid $165 million in bonuses. But they say the bonuses are justified because the company made an extra $170 billion last year." --Jay Leno
Also from the Open Congress wiki, a fact I'd forgotten: "Bob Beauprez is currently under investigation by the Justice Department’s Wyoming office. The probe is examining whether Beauprez, a candidate in the 2006 gubernatorial election in Colorado, accessed a restricted federal database for information used in a television ad to attack his Democratic challenger, Bill Ritter. State investigators, who began looking into the matter before the Justice Department, have concluded that the information in the ad came from the National Crime Information Center, a federal database for which only law enforcement officials have access. Using the database for any purpose other than law enforcement is a federal crime which carries a punishment of up to one-year in prison. Beauprez ultimately lost the gubernatorial election to Ritter."
Late night jokes:
"AIG, which already received $170 billion in taxpayers' money, paid $165 million in bonuses. But they say the bonuses are justified because the company made an extra $170 billion last year." --Jay Leno
"Earlier this week, Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa said that AIG executives should follow the Japanese model by publicly apologizing and then doing one of two things — either resign or kill themselves. But why not have them resign, then kill themselves on pay per view, huh? That would raise enough money to pay off everybody they screwed." --Jay Leno
"And the government said they would like to prevent AIG from using taxpayer money to pay themselves these huge bonuses, but there's very little they can do legally. Well, duh, take a page from the Bush/Cheney book and do it illegally. Hey, we all watch '24.' You know how it works. Have Jack Bauer shoot them in the knee. Come on!" --Jay Leno
"Well, the exciting news, President Barack Obama will be on our show tomorrow night. Of course, NBC jumping on every opportunity. They say if the President does well, it could lead to his own series, '30 Barack.'" --Jay Leno
"George Bush is writing a book. No, that's not the joke. It's a serious book about the 12 toughest decisions he made as President. It's called 'The Ten Toughest Decisions I Made As President.' It's a good book. It's a pop-up book."--Jimmy Fallon
"Kim Jong-il has demanded that North Korea open its first pizzeria. It will have pizza just like the kind we have over here, but their Crazy Bread will actually be crazy."--Jimmy Fallon
"I want to go to Papa Jong's, the new North Korean pizzeria. It is going to be good. The delivery policy at the North Korean pizzeria is a little different. If the pizza is not there in 30 minutes or less, the driver gets executed."--Jimmy Fallon
On Dick Cheney's TV interviews: "You know, I don't understand this. The guy is vice president for eight years, you barely see a whiff of him. He lives in some subterranean lair, literally has his house removed from Google Earth. Then, when he's no longer accountable to the American people, he's popping up everywhere, can't get him off my TV. He's like the Mario Lopez of doom now." --Jon Stewart
"And the government said they would like to prevent AIG from using taxpayer money to pay themselves these huge bonuses, but there's very little they can do legally. Well, duh, take a page from the Bush/Cheney book and do it illegally. Hey, we all watch '24.' You know how it works. Have Jack Bauer shoot them in the knee. Come on!" --Jay Leno
"Well, the exciting news, President Barack Obama will be on our show tomorrow night. Of course, NBC jumping on every opportunity. They say if the President does well, it could lead to his own series, '30 Barack.'" --Jay Leno
"George Bush is writing a book. No, that's not the joke. It's a serious book about the 12 toughest decisions he made as President. It's called 'The Ten Toughest Decisions I Made As President.' It's a good book. It's a pop-up book."--Jimmy Fallon
"Kim Jong-il has demanded that North Korea open its first pizzeria. It will have pizza just like the kind we have over here, but their Crazy Bread will actually be crazy."--Jimmy Fallon
"I want to go to Papa Jong's, the new North Korean pizzeria. It is going to be good. The delivery policy at the North Korean pizzeria is a little different. If the pizza is not there in 30 minutes or less, the driver gets executed."--Jimmy Fallon
On Dick Cheney's TV interviews: "You know, I don't understand this. The guy is vice president for eight years, you barely see a whiff of him. He lives in some subterranean lair, literally has his house removed from Google Earth. Then, when he's no longer accountable to the American people, he's popping up everywhere, can't get him off my TV. He's like the Mario Lopez of doom now." --Jon Stewart
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