This Is Why People Hate Banks (well, at least 1 reason)

Bank executives who have tapped into Government loans in order to survive are now seeking to pay the money back as quickly as possible. (Well, that is pay back the money with the most strings attached to it). So, on the one hand the banks will return the “onerous” money — loans that require executive pay caps — but will continue to receive federal money (and lost of it) in due course, but which has no compensation restrictions. This article in the Washington Post explains why the banks want to have their cake and eat it too:

The explanation [for this] appears to be simple: Only the capital investments by the Treasury require the companies to make significant sacrifices, such as restricting executive pay.

“The capitalization efforts are actually the most important and are doing the most good, but they come with strings attached, and because they come with substantial strings attached they are getting the most push-back from the banks,” said Douglas Elliott, a financial policy expert at the Brookings Institution. The other programs “have no strings attached,” he said. “What’s not to like about it from the perspective of the banks?”

Nice. Also notice how ATM fees are now over $3 in most places too?

Exercise the Franchise (and Vote!)

Well, here it is.  After 8 long years, the opportunity to take back our country is here.  I am almost too excited (and a little nervous) for words.  8 years of the worst stewardship of public resources in generations.  7 years of war.  Trillions of dollars wasted.  Too many opportunities wasted.  My friend, whom I’ll call Joe*, wrote something that I think is a wonderful expression of many of my feelings, and maybe yours too.  So, I will share it with you in closing and hope that tomorrow we will meet at the dawn of a new, better age.  Here’s to hope and change.

Hi,

I wanted to write all of my friends who have listened to me bitch about the state of our country for the past eight years and share some election day thoughts. Jill* and I went to our polling place in West Harlem at 6:15 am. At 6:15 am, the lines stretched out the gymnasium, down the street, and around the corner to Broadway. It took us about an hour to vote. When I walked by the polling station at 9 am, the line was the same length.

As I stood in line, I thought about a trip we made to Mississippi a few weeks ago. Jill and I saw the river where Emmitt Till’s body was found in 1955. We saw the building at the Ole Miss campus that still contains hundreds of bullet marks from people who tried to keep James Meredith from registering in 1962. And we saw hundreds of Obama signs in people’s yards. My visit to Mississippi made me think about the path America has taken in the past 50 years and in the past eight years. The path that led us to a place where a skinny guy from Kansas with the middle name Hussein is on the verge of being elected President. This path was built by people such as James Meredith, John Lewis, Rosa Parks, and Emmitt Till. And it was built by people who got angry about hanging chads, the Lower Ninth Ward, Alberto Gonzalez, Gitmo, and Mission Accomplished and took action.

Frederick Douglas said “If there is no struggle, there is no progress”. We have struggled for the past eight years, but the promised land is almost here. It is almost morning in America. I am proud to live in this country today. And I am looking forward to celebrating tonight with my friends in West Harlem.

Sincerely,

Joe

*Fictitious name [Altered to protect anonymity.]

McCain Bumper Sticker Attack ~ A Hoax??

You’ve probably heard the awful story of the woman in Pittsburgh, PA who was robbed at knife point of $60 at an ATM. The shocker is that allegedly she was targeted by the assailant for being a McCain supporter. The robber also

stated that ‘You are going to be a Barack supporter,’ at which time she states he sat on her chest, pinning both her hands down with his knees, and scratched into her face a backward letter ‘B’ on the right side of her face using what she believed to be a very dull knife.”

Two observations: First, the Police note that they may not believe her: “‘We, the police, cannot substantiate this yet . . . This is what she told police.” Second, if you link to the CNN article and look at the post-assault photo of the victim, the “B” — I guess that stands for “Barack”, though wouldn’t an “O” for “Obama” have been easier to carve with a knife?? — is carved backwards. This sort of doesn’t make sense. The victim alleges that the robber “sat on her chest, pinning both her hands down with his knees, and scratched into her face a backward letter ‘B’ on the right side of her face.” If you can picture this awful act, you would think that the assailant would carve the “B” so that it would be legible to the viewer. I mean from the way in which she describes how the assailant did this, it is much easier (likely) to carve/draw a “B” the correct way than it is to carve/draw it backwards.

Here’s my dime-store theory: The victim carved the “B” herself. Whatever the reason — attention, perhaps — following the assault, she carved the “B” on her face using a mirror, but, unfortunately, forgetting that the mirror shows things opposite, the victim ended up carving the “B” backwards. I’ll bet the Pittsburgh Police Department thinks the same thing which is why they are qualifying their statements.

If this lady was robbed, my sympathies for a truly awful crime. If she decided to kick it up a notch by bringing politics into her plight, well, she should be penalized for the hoax. If the whole thing was staged, she’d better hope for an Obama Presidency, an administration that arguably would be more sympathetic to her cries for help than a “lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key” policy advocated by McCain/Palin.

[UPDATE: Looks like I am not the only one who thinks this may be a hoax.]

[UPDATE 10.24.08 @ 4:43pm: Pittsburgh PD confirm this act was a hoax.]

Lipstick or $150k Worth Of Clothes On A Pig?

On Talking Points Memo in a post titled “Hockey Mom Couture” the author has the best quote about the “RNC . . . shelling out $150,000 to clothe and accessorize the Palin family.”

Nothing says Main Street quite like Saks Fifth Avenue.

Obama’s Tax Plan Is Not Socialism

Gen. Colin Powell’s retort to this ignorant charge is right on the money:

“Taxes are always a redistribution of money. Most of the taxes that are redistributed go back to those who pay them — in roads and airports and hospitals and schools,” President Bush’s former secretary of state said. “And taxes are necessary for the common good, and there’s nothing wrong with examining what our tax structure is or who should be paying more, who should be paying less.

“For us to say that makes you a socialist, I think, is an unfortunate characterization that isn’t accurate.”

If anything is trending towards socialism, it is the $700 billion bailout.

Make-believe Maverick

Check out this great list of comments about the real John McCain from a profile in Rolling Stone Magazine. My favorite:

“[John McCain is a] reckless, womanizing hotshot who leaned on family connections for advancement before his capture in Vietnam [and] emerged a reckless, womanizing celebrity who continued to pull strings.”

Veep Debate: Are you serious?

I was looking over someone’s shoulder this morning on the subway. They were reading the NY Post about last night’s VP debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. The Post basically declared her the winner and is pumping up her performance. Now, I’m not surprised here, since the Post is conservative. But, for those out there who think Palin won . . . you are smoking crack. I can see why her “folksy charm” resonates with many Americans but seriously, she was so outmatched last night that it was a joke. Palin prattled on ad nausea from here crib-sheet and issued platitude after platitude. Palin was merely channeling her inner pageant: smile, wink, say “gosh” and the people will love ya. There are serious times that call for serious candidates. There is only really one choice: Obama/Biden.

One more point. I think that Palin is probably a nice person (unlike Dick Cheny, who I genuinely believe is an asshole ((1)). But in no way does that qualify her to be VP (let along the POTUS).

Our Commander-in-Chief

At yesterday’s meeting in the White House, here is what W had to say:

“If money isn’t loosened, this sucker could go down.”

You have to love this articulation. Seriously. In case you didn’t get it, Huffington Post notes that “and by sucker he meant economy.”

Financial Crisis: Something to Think About

This is interesting . . . on Huffington Post a columnist (Donnie Fowler) refers to the recent (and ironic, for Republicans) financial bailouts by the Bush Administration as “corporate socialism.” Pretty catchy. A few nights ago on PBS’s the News Hour Gwen Ifill (I think) was interviewing some economist who noted [paraphrase] that typical of this administration (and of most conservative Republicans) is to privatize profits (for themselves, duh!) and to socialize losses (on our blue collar backs). And McCain & Co. will sure to be good, responsible stewards of our economy. Yeah, right.

The Palin Doctrine

This is funny in one way, and not-so-funny in another:

The Palin Doctrine: You Pay for Your Rape Kit, I’ll Pay for My Tanning Bed