Jack & Jill Politics

Evening Thread is up.

The Iran Government is throwing out the BBC.

AFTERNOON OPEN THREAD IS UP!!

My generation is so freaking clueless. This generation(my generation unfortunately) is the NOW generation. Change takes time. After 6 months you kids think the world is supposed to move. I guess I can't expect anything from a bunch of overgrown adolescents who grew up with a microwave, instant potatoes and Google. Remember when you used to do research and the library? Probably not. Class, in the real world things take time. Life isn't like in Law & Order where cases are solved and guilty verdict is given in 60 minutes actually less than that if you count the commercials. We have something in our government called Congress and they must send up legislation(A BILL) that the president can VETO or sign.(That process can take a little time awhile and you would know that if you paid a little attention in civics class) And let me not get into lobbyists and interest groups. You kids probably have not even heard of K street. There is multi-billion dollar wing that looking to stifle any agenda that Obama wants to put forward. Patience is a virtue. It took 8 years for Bush to make a mess of everything and you people want Obama to fix it in 6 months. And by the way Bill Mayer lives in the "Great State" of California that has been ran by a Republican for a years. He needs to tell his Hollywood buddy the governator to fix their own problems and not bankrupt the rest of us. SMH

Thank you.

Aww, you're my new friends in my head (copyright Wendy Williams)

LOL, but for real, I was JUST noting the same thing a while back in response to people's anger at DOMA. It's the executive branch's job to enforce the laws. If you don't like it, talk to the people in charge of creating/amending laws: Congress. Laws take time. Everything of value takes time.

Amen!!!! But do they still even teach civics class?

Thank you!

Netanyahu accepts limited Palestinian state

The Associated Press
Sunday, June 14, 2009; 1:51 PM

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday called for creation of a limited Palestinian state for the first time, saying it would have to be disarmed.

Netanyahu made the call during a major policy speech about his Mideast peacemaking intentions.

"In any peace agreement, the territory under Palestinian control must be disarmed, with solid security guarantees for Israel," he said.

"If we get this guarantee for demilitarization and necessary security arrangements for Israel, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, we will be willing in a real peace agreement to reach a solution of a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state," he said.

Up to now Netanyahu has resisted endorsing the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a Mideast peace settlement, drawing intense pressure from the administration of President Barack Obama.

Netanyahu also said the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and he declared that the solution of the Palestinian refugee problem must be "outside Israel."

Palestinians claim that refugees from the 1948-49 war that followed Israel's creation and their millions of descendants have the right to reclaim their original homes.

"I call on you, our Palestinian neighbors, and to the leadership of the Palestinian Authority: Let us begin peace negotiations immediately, without preconditions," he said. "Israel is committed to international agreements and expects all the other parties to fulfill their obligations as well."

Netanyahu also called for Arab leaders to meet him and contribute to Palestinian economic development.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Netty is asking that the Palestinians be disarmed, but are the Israelis willing to disarm, too? If not, then as PE says, "Can't Truss It!".

Progress....inch by inch...step by step...

Rikyrah,

Will you have a post sometime this week asking JJPers to call their congresspersons to support a healthcare bill that includes the public option?

ok

You beat me to it, Micheline. The thread would be appreciated, rikyrah.

Thanks. I feel that we need congress to know that we believe this to be important.

CNN- Christiene Amanpour interviewing Immadinnerjacket

Not an attractive look for you, Karmi

http://www.zero-g.co.uk/media/images/UnhingedLa...

Keep it coming, you're sounding as desperate as ever.

CNN BREAKING NEWS

Israeli prime minister says Israel would agree to a peace agreement with a "demilitarized Palestinian state."

1) the Israeli prime minister knows the the Palastinian state will not demilitarize.
2) Israel will break the peace whenever it feels like it.
3) Israel and the Palastinians are not at war now, so whats changed??
4) Israel maintains and will maintain an economic choke hold on the palastinians.

Eat your heart out, Karmi...

Netanyahu's Speech to Inject Zionist Perspective
By Howard Schneider
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, June 14, 2009

JERUSALEM, June 13 -- When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivers a major foreign policy address Sunday, the setting will be part of the message: He will speak at Bar-Ilan University, which was founded in 1955 to unite secular learning with religious Zionism.

Advisers to Netanyahu and Israeli political analysts say the speech will be a response to President Obama's address to Muslims this month at Cairo University. Netanyahu, they say, wants to inject a Zionist "narrative" into a discussion that he believes was tilted in Obama's speech toward the Arab version of events.

While Netanyahu's remarks are expected to range across issues, including Obama's demand for a freeze on Jewish settlements and the U.S. president's call for the establishment of a Palestinian state, they will center on Netanyahu's assertion that Arabs must recognize Israel as a state for the peace process to succeed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Mitt Romney: Obama's Apology Tour not working in Iran
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/14/romney...

Mitt, you're Brain's NOT WORKING.

F*ck Mitt Romney.What do he want the US to do.Invade Iran,that's funny because as I recall when ask why his sons weren't in Iraq he said "his sons jobs of getting him elected was more important than serving their country".He has no credibilty.F*ck him.

Well since he didn't get elected, what's stopping his sons now?

They want to break Cheney's record of five deferments?

FYI: Netanyahu's speech is scheduled for 1PM EST. Hopefully, one of the cable networks will air it.

How's that hope workin for ya, Sepia?

I think the closest we'll get to anything on Iran today is CNN's GPS with Fareed Zakaria.

It's a damn shame, ain't it? They are determined to keep us deaf, dumb and blind.

Bill Maher Takes On Obama: "This Isn't What I Voted For" (VIDEO)

On his HBO show Friday night, Bill Maher complained about President Obama's frequent public outings. He compared the president to Lindsay Lohan: in the papers a lot but not doing very much.

"This is not what I voted for," Maher said, arguing that Obama has maintained his personal popularity but failed to make real progress on health care, banks, or climate change. "What he needs in his personality is a little George Bush ... What we need to do is to marry the good ideas that Barack Obama has with a little bit of that Bush attitude and certitude."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/14/bill-m...

Fuck Bill Maher.

Bill Maher needs to stop smoking so much weed. That and read an Al Giordano blog every now and then.

President Obama has to fight tooth and nail with the members of his own party to come to some agreement on any legislation he wants. Look at what's going on with healthcare. The fact that they're working on it, is real progress. When you have members of congress who are still debating the existence of climate change, how much progress can you make getting legislation that is supposed to combat the effects of climate change? If he wants the President to be more like Bush, he should call out the Democrats in congress and ask them to be more like the Republicans, vote lockstep with the President's agenda. Until then Obama is one man with a rope tied around his waist trying to pull an ocean liner called congress.

Which is why Americans need to write/call their congressmen/women and open a can of whoop ass on them.

The President CANNOT DO it alone.

The very thought of Maher wanting Obama to be more like Bush, is sheer comedy. This comment sounds like something one of his corporate owned sponsors asked him to throw in the mix.

Sounds like Maher has become more like Bush...stoopid as a box of rocks. Too dumb to know there are 3 branches and that the executive branch EXECUTES what the legislative branch LEGISLATE...

seems to me Maher needs to do some more voting...this time focus on who is in Congress.

Maher, has the President he voted for ..now he needs a Congress to vote WITH the President.

So, the person whose work isn't done is Maher and the American people!!

Not Obama.

I think he said he wanted Obama to have a little more of Bush "certitude", which is not exactly saying that he wants Obama to be exactly like Bush, or possess his negative characteristics.

Bush 'certitude' is nothing but unreasoned certainty that evolved to cocksure ignorance.

Thanks, but no thanks...We don't need that in Obama.

If you TASER Old Women For Swearing... YOU ARE A PUSSY!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmSmj7TFrow

Here is what Bill actually said. Obama's good ideas, with a little Bush certitude.

Now, one would believe - based on all of your opposition - that Obama is being attacked. If you sycophants don't stop, you will make all rational, critical supporters of Obama so disgusted, they'll wish they never voted for him.

I read what Maher said about Bush's certitude. I think President Obama has certitude, and doesn't need to exercise his in the same way as Bush execised his.

America is experiencing the effects of Bush's certitude.

You bring up the flaw in Maher's argument. Maher gives Obama the benefit of the doubt that he wishes to fulfill all his campaign promises... Maher, by assuming that Obama is merely bashful, or not certain enough..has prescribed the wrong cure.

Maher was pretty much off the mark with his rant this time. (1). Obama can't control when and where the press covers him. He's the President, it kind of goes with the territory. If he has a national press conference that's covered by all three networks, it's expected that the press will skulk around and take pictures while he's taking Michelle out. (2). The White House special is pretty much a tradition now. All of the recent presidents have been featured. Again, not really his fault. (3). Obama is has the fortune or misfortune to be the President during the media age. There's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc..News simply has no lag time time. Everything happens now. Being as popular as he is and with as many problems as he's facing, Barack Obama is the most important person in modern day politics.
If Maher is so disgusted by this why doesn't he just turn the channel OR direct his criticism towards his media cohorts who often treat the President as if he is a celebrity.

Bill Maher is suffering from white privledge. Action and words are yin and yang. When you sell a program you go unto the bully pulpit, which in our time is TV. Which clearly he isn't watching given the talk of what is necessary for comprehensive medical care for all. As to action it is clear he isn;t paying attention given the repsonase to his DOJ manner in which they upheld DOMA(or more realistically Maher is a homophobe).

So true RobM, The more I hear complaints of President Obama's getting TOO much media attention, the more I know it's the RIGHT thing.

I'd rather hear what his vision, plans, and actions entail than the talking heads and comedians who's humor and commentary depends a great deal on political figures.

Hmmm, wonder where this "i'm seeing him too much" paranoia comes from."

yeah Maher...maybe you caught something laying up with Miss Karrine Supahead" Steffans and now think you got some sort of entitlment for your troubles....whatever, I see your azz too.

You.went.there.

Maher's not in to Black Women, now, don't cha know!

I don't mind seeing Obama out and about but I do agree with Maher that Obama needs to be less cautious. He's not bold enough.

One person's BOLD is another person's UPPITY.

America has a long and storied tradition for what happens to 'bold' black men.

Either, shot dead, maimed, in jail or lynched.

Obama is moving along just FINE.

THANK YOU.

Chile, you better keep on telling it!

Yeah Bill can STFU because he disrespected Ben Jealous when he tried to bring up Troy Davis. So he can miss me with that faux outrage.

He didn't just disrespect Jealous, he trivialized the likely state sponsored murder of what appears to be an innocent man, calling Jealouses plea a "commercial". But gave that right-wing nut a platform to attack the President.

But gave that right-wing nut a platform to attack the President.

Speaking of which, I'd say that in the last few seasons of RT, Maher has been more accommodating to righties. Before, he would only have 2 lefties and 1 righty at his table. Now he has more righties at the table, sometimes outnumbering the lefties. And, like you said NMP, he'll let the right wingers talk their smack, while not letting the lefties finish their point. He'll even scold the audience if they are too pro-left or anti-right. So, it's ironic that Maher complains that Obama isn't bold enough and hasn't run over the Republicans when it seems like he has soften to the right his damn self.

Thank you! You articulated this much better than I could.

Which is why Real Time is no longer must see TV for me...I haven't watched an entire episode in a while. I can see where the conversation took place in the boardroom and the pitch on how the show would get more "buzz" and be more interesting this way.

I don't like Maher, so I don't watch Maher.
His attitude just puts me off.

You got it that Soooo right, Miranda.

"I can see where the conversation took place in the boardroom and the pitch on how the show would get more "buzz" and be more interesting this way."

I saw that and was like "WTF?". His attitude towards Jealous about Troy Davis was very "White Priviledge-esque". But I'm not surprised. Maher seems to have issues with black men, particularly brothas who are confident, and that's going way back to his days on Politically Incorrect.

Now, going back to his complaint about PBO being on TV all the time....Wasn't he very vocal about Bush not being seen enough? You can't have it both ways, Bill. And where is the outrage towards Congress? If folks really want things to change then they need to challenge Congress as well as Obama.

"Maher seems to have issues with black men...."

Then maybe he should stop trying to date black women.

(It'll come to you in a minute....)

Those two things, "issues with black men" and "dating black women" have no real connection....only in the mind of the perpetually aggrieved, perhaps. And perhaps only in the minds of those who believe black women belong to black men.

O yeah they do. And it doesn't have nothing to do with anyone owning anybody.

Think on it for a minute. I can't believe your head is up out of the genital area and didn't get it! (pun intended)

No, I don't think I'll think about it...and no, I don't think I want to get "IT"...where "IT" is a product of sexist beliefs about black women. "IT" is not cemented TRUTH. "IT" is how that commenter sees life, through his own filter.

I have a feeling whatever IT is, is meant to do dishonour to black women, generally. And I don't know why black women would be complicit in their own degradation.

hahahaha

Girl you know his corporate overlords at HBO told him to say that. Even the great atheist Bill Maher answers to SOMEBODY. Needless to say, wIngnuts love Maher now. On all the RW blogs, he's their hero.

"Girl you know his corporate overlords at HBO told him to say that. Even the great atheist Bill Maher answers to SOMEBODY."

-Hee, hee!

Didn't Maher get shitcanned by ABC?

Are you serious??? Do you have any links to the RW blogs you're talking about?? I wanna send them to someone I know who stays bashing Obama....

Oops, THERE IT IS!

I'm noticing something about people who mention the Dr. Tiller murder and the killing of Stephen Tyrone Johns on blogs about RW hatred.. They mention Dr. Tiller by name, but then say "the Holocaust Museum got shot up" instead of saying Stephen Tyrone Johns's name. (even Keith O did this). One of the comments underneath Frank Rich's excellent Op-Ed about this subject had the same phrase "shot up the Holocaust Museum" Am I being too sensitive here, or am I right to think that saying that is disrespectful to Johns' memory? The Holocaust Museum wasn't "shot up" A man was murdered. Say his name, dammit. Stephen Tyrone Johns.

No you are not too sensitive, your focus is different from the MSM.

I see your point...but then the emphasis is on "Holocaust' you see...it ain't about not highlighting John's...as much as it is about highlighting hate vs. jewish folks.
The fact that Johns died, and was black, is just 'coincidental' to where the perpetrator decided to commit his terroristic act.

It is being portrayed as a terroristic act against Jews. The fact that the man hated blacks too is more like another black man died during the act of a crime.

Interesting.

No you are not to sensitive.

STEPHEN TYRONE JOHNS WAS MURDERED.

SAY HIS NAME, DAMMIT!

The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers

By FRANK RICH
Published: June 13, 2009

WHEN a Fox News anchor, reacting to his own network’s surging e-mail traffic, warns urgently on-camera of a rise in hate-filled, “amped up” Americans who are “taking the extra step and getting the gun out,” maybe we should listen. He has better sources in that underground than most.

The anchor was Shepard Smith, speaking after Wednesday’s mayhem at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. Unlike the bloviators at his network and elsewhere on cable, Smith is famous for his highly caffeinated news-reading, not any political agenda. But very occasionally — notably during Hurricane Katrina — he hits the Howard Beale mad-as-hell wall. Joining those at Fox who routinely disregard the network’s “We report, you decide” mantra, he both reported and decided, loudly.

What he reported was this: his e-mail from viewers had “become more and more frightening” in recent months, dating back to the election season. From Wednesday alone, he “could read a hundred” messages spewing “hate that’s not based in fact,” much of it about Barack Obama and some of it sharing the museum gunman’s canard that the president was not a naturally born citizen. These are Americans “out there in a scary place,” Smith said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14ric...

What he read was not scary enough to be alarming to the vast majority of non-blacks. The text simply was not hateful enough..it did not talk about what they would DO of committing heinous acts against POC or the President...therefore the public ignores it.

Now the Secret Service isn't but the average non-black, thinks it is much ado about nothing....just talk...just like McCain's rallies weren't taken seriously.

Spewing hate is an American pastime passed down through the generations so to get their attention..there has to be some tragic incident or atrocity THEN they pay attention...only as voyeurs though then too...they take little Billy&Becky to see the atrocity and explain the hate that goes with it...and the indoctrination of the next generation begins all over...steeped with hate...American as apple pie.

Michael Moore is a fool! LOL!

Michael Moore Hijacks Movie Theaters With New Movie Trailer

Posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly

Every Friday night I represent /Film as a guest on the BDK Movie Show on WJFK, and tonight’s show kicked off with a great little scoop about Michael Moore. Being a DC based radio station, they were definitely (once again) in the right place, at the right time.

Lucky moviegoers in a very small number of theaters in NY, LA, Chicago and DC tonight ended up playing a part in the promotions for Michael Moore’s next documentary. As Peter told you on Thursday, the teaser trailer for Moore’s as-yet untitled ‘bailout’ film was set for premiere in cinemas today. What he couldn’t tell you then was just how unusual the first teaser trailer was, and how interactive…

Perhaps the lucky cinema patrons had some inkling that something odd was going to go down tonight when, as they walked in to take their seats, they had to pass by signs telling them that they were liable to be filmed and informing them that entering the auditorium would be, in effect, giving consent for their images to be recorded and used.

The very last trailer to be screened before the movie was something of a surprise. Shosanna Dreyfuss style, a big close-up of Michael Moore appeared on the screen, addressed the audience directly, and told them the following:

Hi, I’m Michael Moore. Instead of using this time to tell you about my new movie I’d like to take a moment and ask you to join me in helping our fellow Americans. The downturn in the economy has hurt many people, people who have had no choice but to go on government assistance. Yet our welfare agencies can only do so much. That’s why I’m asking you to reach into your pockets right now and lend a hand. Ushers will be coming down the aisles to collect your donations for Citibank, Bank of America, AIG, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and a host of other needy banks and corporations. Won’t you please give generously? Now, I know what you’re thinking - I already gave at the bailout. And I know you did, but even if you’ve given in the past, give some more. It will make you feel… good.

During this, ushers really did walk out amongst the patrons with buckets in hand and wearing T-shirts with the slogan ‘Save our CEOs’. I don’t know if anybody dropped any cash in, or for that matter what Moore’s team would have done with any donated funds. Perhaps he’ll actually try and pass it on to the ailing institutions and film the ensuing events for the film? Sounds like a possible Moore move.

I think we can expect a wider release of a similar teaser that cuts together the announcement with footage shot in that handful of cinemas that took part in the stunt tonight, and from what I heard on WJFK, this trailer could hit as soon as Sunday.

VIDEO: Teaser Trailer for Michael Moore's New Film, Coming Oct. 2nd!

Photos of Ushers Collecting Money: http://washingtontimes.com/photos/2009/jun/13/4...

http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/2009/06/mich...

This is hilarious! Moore holding churh all up in the theater. LOL!

What next; will he form a committe to visit the Sick and shut-in?

Picture of "Indiana" Obama among others.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/galler...

North Korea Says It Will Start Enriching Uranium
Weapons Move Is 'Retaliation' for Sanctions

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, June 14, 2009

TOKYO, June 13 -- North Korea adamantly denied for seven years that it had a program for making nuclear weapons from enriched uranium.

But on Saturday, a few hours after the U.N. Security Council slapped it with tough new sanctions for detonating a second nuclear device, the government of Kim Jong Il changed its tune, vowing that it would start enriching uranium to make more nuclear weapons.

Declaring that it would meet sanctions with "retaliation," North Korea also pledged to "weaponize" all the plutonium it could extract from used fuel rods at its Yongbyon nuclear plant, which was partially disabled last year as part of the North's agreement to win food, fuel and diplomatic concessions in return for a promise to end its nuclear program.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Ahmadinejad Vows New Start As Clashes Flare
U.S. Waits for 'What the . . . People Decide'

By Thomas Erdbrink
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, June 14, 2009

TEHRAN, June 13 -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared a "new beginning" for Iran late Saturday after he was declared victor in the presidential election, but as he spoke on national television violent demonstrations rolled through several areas of Tehran. Supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi burned dumpsters, threw stones and clashed with police in the worst rioting in Tehran in many years.
The Interior Ministry, controlled by Ahmadinejad, announced that he had been elected in the first round with 62.6 percent of the vote, compared with less than 34 percent for Mousavi, who was the leading challenger. Turnout was a record 86 percent of the 46.2 million eligible voters.

Announcement of the results triggered protests throughout the day. Families lined the streets in the middle-class neighborhood of Saadat Abad, cheering on the demonstration and shouting, "Death to the dictator!"

Ahmadinejad's reelection will pose fresh challenges to the United States. It has pressed Iran to halt a nuclear program that critics say could be used for weapons, but Iran says it is for civilian purposes. Ahmadinejad has also taken a sharply confrontational approach in foreign affairs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Obama eyes tighter controls on banks, Wall Street

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jun 14, 8:31 am ET
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is ready to roll out an overhaul of the intricate rules and systems that govern America's troubled financial institutions, proposing the most ambitious revision since the Great Depression.

The goal is to prevent a recurrence of the economic crisis that erupted in the United States and exploded last fall with devastating consequences still reverberating around the world.

Unlike the government's temporary ownership stake in automakers and major financial companies, the regulatory changes set to be announced Wednesday are designed to be permanent. They could result in a major realignment of power and authority among government agencies that set the rules for banking, lending and investing and touch American lives through daily transactions, from credit cards to mortgages and mutual funds.

The proposals already are the source of a spirited debate in Congress over whether Obama's measures will prove too timid or place too heavy a hand on the levers of capitalism.

At issue is a 21st century system of high-stakes swaps and trades, bets and losses where trillions of dollars worth of investment products have grown too intricate for a 20th century regulatory structure.

Imagine today's financial transactions as an athletic contest where the referees have lost their vantage point. Plays occur out of their sight and fouls go undetected. Some referees halt play while others let it go on.

Even the players have had enough.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090614/ap_on_go_pr...

At one point, Treasury and White House officials floated the idea of a single financial services regulator to oversee banks and certain insurers. But it didn't get a warm reception from the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee or the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Why are Dodd and Barney Frank against this?

Industry officials now expect Obama and Geithner to propose a system that makes the Fed a supervisor of systemic risk assisted by a council of regulators that would advise the central bank about potential dangers.

It'll be interesting to see who will be on this council of regulators.

Very interesting. It will be difficult to keep that council free of corruption as well.

The Obama administration wanted the Fed to act as the systemic risk regulator, Frank and Dodd are against the idea, in that the Fed failed in regulating the financial sector in the past couple years, which as you know led to the mess we're in.

I'm not well versed in this, so bare with me.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like the "systemic risk regulator" and the "single financial services regulator" are two separate things. With the "single financial services regulator", Obama wants to create "a single government agency to conduct "prudential regulation" over all state and federal banking institutions; a consumer protection agency over financial products, but possibly not securities; and an investor protection agency" according to this article from The Hill: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/new-agency-... . The AP article says Frank is against this.

However, according to this article from The Hill, Frank is for a ""dual-track regulation" that combined existing banking regulators and the creation of a new systemic risk regulator".

I can understand not wanting the FED to be the systemic risk regulator, but I don't understand why Frank would be against the creation of single govn't agency to regulate the banks. Now, Frank says that this model is similar to the UK's FSA and that didn't work, but as is with our system, the regulation is split between several agencies and that hasn't worked either. I could be wrong, but it sounds like a power struggle:

But any reorganization will involve taking some powers away from existing regulators -- or eliminating them entirely -- and that could set off a turf war.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/05/28/obama-ad...

I think it's a question of accountability. By having dual track regulation there's at least a fail safe mechanism, where if one doesn't catch irregularities the other will. I must say that the only way this will work is if there's an agency that oversees this dual track regulation system.

Um, kinda like who is going to watch the regulators, or who is going to watch the police or who is going to watch the legislators?

Oversight of regulatory agencies is a huge problem..as we see not SEC was in bed with the investors and that is how AIG and GoldmanSachs and Lehman Brothers all went down. They also co-opted S&P ratings because they are mostly paid by the banks. Can't get paid for ratings if the banks and insurers won't pay you.

What is needed is a system of checks and balances. How that can be done is not my area of expertise.

Who would be the canary in the coal mine..and what authority would they need to know that Oxygen is low?

How was Stephinfetchinopoulos this morning? should I watch or not?

Regulators Feud as Banking System Overhauled
By STEPHEN LABATON and EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Published: June 13, 2009

WASHINGTON — Two of the nation’s most powerful bank regulators were once again at each other’s throats.

At a public meeting three weeks ago, John C. Dugan, the comptroller of the currency, blasted a proposal to impose stiff new insurance fees on banks as unfair to the largest banks, which he regulates. The financial crisis stemmed in part from problems at small banks, he insisted.

Sheila C. Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the regulator for many smaller, community banks, could barely hide her contempt. The large banks, she said, had wreaked havoc on the system, only to be bailed out by “hundreds of billions, if not trillions, in government assistance.” She added, “Fairness is always an issue.”

Behind the scenes, the two regulators have been clashing over a host of issues, officials said, be it the administration’s coming regulatory overhaul or Ms. Bair’s campaign to shake up the top management at Citigroup.

The long-running and deeply personal feud between Mr. Dugan and Ms. Bair, two Republican holdovers with similar career paths in Washington, is now helping to shape President Obama’s attempt to revamp financial regulation aimed at preventing the regulatory lapses that contributed to the economic crisis.

Some of Mr. Obama’s advisers and some senior Democratic lawmakers have suggested creating a single bank regulator. But the administration’s current version, which could be announced as early as this week, would not combine the regulatory agencies. Instead, it would give Mr. Dugan and Ms. Bair significant new powers — and could intensify their turf battles.

Ms. Bair and Mr. Dugan declined to comment for this article.

The Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, the main author of the administration’s plan, in recent weeks has refereed among the competing views of Ms. Bair, Mr. Dugan and Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman. The four generally agree that, if starting from scratch, they would not create the cumbersome system that has evolved piecemeal over the last 150 years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/us/politics/1...

Ms. Bair sounds like a keeper. Mr. Dugan...not so much.

Two Democratic senators, Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Charles E. Schumer of New York, have urged Mr. Geithner to combine the four federal bank regulators into one.

Wait a sec. In the AP article above, it said that Dodd was AGAINST a single regulator:
At one point, Treasury and White House officials floated the idea of a single financial services regulator to oversee banks and certain insurers. But it didn't get a warm reception from the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee or the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee

I like this idea:

The administration is also expected to propose an agency to oversee financial products sold to consumers, like mortgages and credit cards. Both those ideas were supported by Ms. Bair and challenged by Mr. Dugan.

The bottom line: The proposal to overhaul financial regulation must be approved by Congress, where it could be reshaped drastically.

David Gregory was so not the right choice for Meet The Press.

You mean David "Does The Punishment Fit The Crime?" Gregory?

Why do you say that? :-) :-) :-) :-)

It's Sunday, so your charity is understandable. I'll just say it like it's Saturday night, DAVID GREGORY IS A FUCKED-UP CHOICE!

David Schuster would be a far better choice. He is much more politically astute and far more analytical when it comes to discussing issues and the intricacies of policies. He is quick witted as well..as we learned.

Let's do a write in for Schuster...otherwise we will end up with Todd who is just as bad as Gregory...only difference is that Todd can number crunch so he has more credibility than gregory, which aint say a whole lot.

ROTFLMBAO!!!

David Gregory should be a news reader in Boise Idaho.

David Gregory should be a greeter at Wal-Mart.

LOL! dj, WordSmith just might have something to say about your recruitment efforts.

Who is this djchefron causing trouble? And where's that corner with 'Bad Chair' in it? Someone needs to be doin' some sittin!

We're full UP of ReThugs.....news readers or otherwise.

Can you believe it's been a year since Tim Russert died?

Yes, and the chasm is so blatantly obvious ever since David Gregory became moderater for MTP.

I am glad my boycotting has worked!!

singlehandedly I have brought those ratings down.

I prayed on it HARD and God has blessed me and the nation!

lol lol

LOL!

BWA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

This song's for you WRB:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33tH-JdPDg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33tH-JdPDg

Gurl, now Spirit I knew you was omnipresent but dang, you been up in my bedroom listening to my prayers!

Thanks for giving me a beat to go with that prayer, lol

Snap...I got the power!!

You're being too kind, rikyrah. :-)

Michelle Obama finds a new friend in Britain's Queen
Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:47am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - If Michelle Obama ever needs a place to stay in London, she could do worse than call on Queen Elizabeth.
The two women met at the G20 summit in London in April and have kept in touch since then, royal sources said on Sunday.

When Michelle Obama made a private visit to the British capital last week with daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 8, they were given a private three-hour tour of Buckingham Palace, including a meeting with the queen.
"There clearly is a personal warmth between the two of them," a royal source told Reuters on Sunday, referring to Michelle Obama, 45, and the 83-year-old monarch.

"Clearly the queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Obamas got on very well at the G20 summit and mention was made then that they should keep in touch and they have done."

According to the sources, the queen and Michelle Obama have exchanged letters and spoken by telephone since that first meeting. The visit last Wednesday was organized as a treat for Sasha, who turned 8 that day.

Despite their age difference, the two women are said to share a number of interests, including the countryside, gardening and clothes.
"It's a positive thing for relations between the two countries that the royal family and the president's family get along so well," the sources said.

(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Matthew Jones)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5...

Thank you.
It's always good to hear of human decency.

now eat that broken protocol Muthas
the queen really really likes first lady Michelle LOL

LOL!

Remember all the faux outrage over what Michelle wore to meet the queen (Oscar, I'm talking to you), and the embrace they shared, which all tried to make it seem as if Michelle was ignorant of protocol or propriety. Michelle is getting the last laugh as she and the queen are now BFF. So many people focus on what she's wearing that they miss what she is doing, and the effect she's having both at home, and in some ways even more abroad.

So true, caribgirl:

"So many people focus on what she's wearing that they miss what she is doing, and the effect she's having both at home, and in some ways even more abroad."

Yes, trying to trivalize and minimize the intelligence of our First Lady is a failed mission.

I think First Lady Michelle Obama's got the 411 on all these folks who attempt to latch on to her with their contrived agendas, without any attempts at getting to know who she really is.

I LOVE it; the Queen and First Lady BFFs.

A three hour tour why the hell did gilligan's islandjump into my head. I suppose Buckingham Palace isn't to bad a place to get marooned.

On a more serious note I think the affection the Queen Elizabeth show for First Lady Obama is a kind of penace for her. I really do not think she ever grasped the significane of Princess Diana in making the Monarchy relevant in people's eyes. Queen Elizaabeth sees the relevance of the First Lady in our system of government and wants everyone to know she approves

The Queen never grasped the importance of Princess Diana in the people's eyes until after Diana died. I think the palace always thought of Diana as the problem, instead of thinking of her as the solution.

I have no use for royalty of any country but to be fair Queen Elizabeth felt that Diana Spencer was inattentive to her duties as required by her being elevated to the rank of Princess Diana. It appears that the Queen, however, had failed to grasp the prevailing Zeigeist and, consequently, was unprepared for the outpouring of affection among the commoners after the Princess' death. It is my understanding that the Queen takes her duties and responsibilities as the Queen quite seriously and fully expects that everyone in the Royal Family should do so. This is a person, by the way, who served as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War II instead of whiling away the war years in the countryside.

A private tour of the Palace for Malia and Sasha - very nice.

Ooh, what GLEE!!! My heart leapt with joy after reading this article.

Good Morning All! Blessings JJP!

Thanks you, Rikyrah!

Good for the soul!

Looks like Biden had some Gangsta Geritol today.

Sounds like Joe was on fire this morning. I'll have to check out his segment later.

LOL

lol

Must read article in the NYTimes by Barbara Ehrenreich. It's titled "Too Poor To Make the News." As you read it (in case that you do) keep in mind that 110 Billion dollars were requested by the Obama administration to continue to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/opinion/14ehr...

"When I called food banks and homeless shelters around the country, most staff members and directors seemed poised to offer press-pleasing tales of formerly middle-class families brought low. But some, like Toni Muhammad at Gateway Homeless Services in St. Louis, admitted that mostly they see “the long-term poor,” who become even poorer when they lose the kind of low-wage jobs that had been so easy for me to find from 1998 to 2000. As Candy Hill, a vice president of Catholic Charities U.S.A., put it, “All the focus is on the middle class — on Wall Street and Main Street — but it’s the people on the back streets who are really suffering.”"

There but for the grace of God and my wife go I. excellent article.

WE have had discussions about Africn American athletes, their money, their families and responsiblities. unfortunately we know all too muh about the dysfunctional ones or extremely successful ones. This is a story about Ed O'Bannon a star on the UCLA title team of 1995. it is very good to know that some make it out alive and live their lives.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

thanks

I caught a little bit of Ahmadinejad's presser this morning. He wants to debate PBO at the United Nations. That'll be the U.S. MSM's headline for today.

Wow, unbelievable....that should be a real propaganda event. Which is why the mullahs put him Ahmadinejad back in office.

NYT article on healthcare reform:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/business/econ...
Interesting links embedded in article.

thanks