Health Care reform - part 1 -

Deep in my heart I believe everyone should have access to health care and currently in this country everyone does, including illegals visitors and resident illegals. The Obama administration has done a horrible job at selling the "Health Care Package". Obama what's "You to be in charge of your health care" .. and not the government. The administration doesn't want to be involved with making decision on your health.

Then where is the miscommunication? If this is such a great bill/reform package then why all the outrage of the proposed bill??

Food for thought: Would you purchase goods or services that came with a 1000 page manual? I wouldn't .. I would move in the opposite direction as quickly as possible..

It's my personal view that the health care reform bill is simply an attempt by the administration to fulfill a campaign promise , I honestly don't believe that this is really what the administration wants I think it's just another attempt to burn the republican party and point the finger at conservative right as a label them as radicals !!

Again why is something that is supposed to be so good for Americans so F&$%ing complex , and why does it have to be 1000 pages? What's the point ?

Lack of posts

It's been pretty busy at the moment however there are several items I would like to post about very soon.

Work is a killer at the moment and I expect to be posting again in a few days.

Stay put.

Politico Reports : "GM CEO resigns at Obama's behest"

My predictions for this event.

1. This bailout will cost the U.S. tax payer - we are talking about our kid's kids money at this point - 30 to 40 billion.
   
2. GM will eventually fail and take all of our money with it.
3. Some sort of bonus scandal will emerge.
   
4. Congress will pass this 30 to 40 billion in near record time, 24 hours.
5. Every poll in America will say that no wants the government to spend this money.
6. We will hear some terrific speech from Obama that will have a ton of "Buzz" word and mean absolutely NOTHING.
7. The Dow will take a dive.
8. The Forex Market will end the day with a weaker dollar.

Or.... Congress will have listened to the People they claim to represent and not support or approve any spending for the Auto Industry.. Probably Not. So many of the members of Congress(House/Senate) are the in pockets of the UAW and the Auto Industry.

I bet we spend at least 30 billion.

“And that's gonna mean a set of sacrifices from all parties involved — management, labor, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, dealers. Everybody's gonna have to come to the table and say it's important for us to take serious restructuring steps now in order to preserve a brighter future down the road."

Loosely translated. We are screwed - Spend Billions to save a million..

Origional Article : http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20625_Page2.html

As reported from www.politico.com by MIKE ALLEN & JOSH GERSTEIN | 3/29/09 5:23 PM EDT

Why we are so Screwed !!

OK,

I consider myself informed but I like to dig a bit more and find out what I can .. Cenk Uygur from the Daily Kos write an article: The Real Crime in the Bailout -- Naked CDS Deals which can be found here -> Read this.

At the heart of the article was these two paragraphs:

"What doesn't make sense is for the insurance market to be many times larger than the value of all of the underlying assets combined. Well, it turns out there is a reason for that. It's called the "naked" CDS. These deals are not attached to any underlying asset. They are not collateralized. They are not attached to anything of real value. They are simply bets. As in wagers. As in gambling.

For example, one bank will bet another bank that a group of mortgages will go under, and the other one will say they won't. Neither one owns the mortgage; they're just "insuring" it in theory. The reality is they are gambling - pure and simple. Now, the numbers make sense. The CDS market got to be so large because people were making bets in ways that were not attached to the value of the underlying assets at all. So, they were free to bet as much as they liked."


Cenk Uygur references a RollingStone Article: The Big Takeover which goes into some serious depth of the NCDS issue.

For those that want to know a bit more about why we are paying Billions and Billions of tax payers money to AIG this is a must read. What an eye opener.


While CDS have been covered before on news shows and networks no one really has a solid understanding of the situation and why so much money is going to AIG. I am a bit flustered with our leadership and why no one has really gone to bat to try and explain what is really going on.

I don't know what to think. I am going to digest a bit more and post some thoughts.

The first article is short and I recommend reading it, the second article from the RollingStones is a bit longer and I recommend getting a cup of joe before you sit down and read it.

NewsWeek - Follow the Bailout Cash

Good Read -> NewsWeek Article Right Here

Follow the Bailout Cash

By Michael Isikoff and Dina Fine Maron | NEWSWEEK

Published Mar 21, 2009

There was plenty of outrage on Capitol Hill last week over the executive bonuses paid out by AIG after getting federal bailout money. But another money trail could make voters just as angry: the campaign dollars to members of Congress from banks and firms that have received billions via the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

A NEWSWEEK review of recent filings with the Federal Election Commission found that the political action committees of five big TARP recipients doled out $85,300 to members in the first two months of this year—with most of the cash going to those who serves on committees who oversee the TARP program. Among them: Bank of America (which got $15 billion in bailout money) sent out $24,500 in the first two months of 2009, including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels. Citigroup ($25 billion) dished out $29,620, including $2,500 to House GOPWhip Eric Cantor, who also got $10,000 from UBS which, while not a TARP recipient, got $5 billion in bailout funds as an AIG "counterparty." "This certainly appears to be a case of TARP funds being recycled into campaign contributions," says Brett Kappel, a D.C. lawyer who tracks donations. (A spokesman for Cantor did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Hoyer said it's his "policy to accept legal contributions.")

The cash flow is already causing angst inside the Beltway. "The last thing I want to do is wake up one morning and see our PAC check being burned on C-Span," said one bank lobbyist, who asked not to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Financial Services chair Rep. Barney Frank both said recently they won't take donations from TARP recipients. But House Democratic fundraisers have quietly passed the word that the party's campaign committee will resume accepting them—down the road, though; not right now. Said one fundraiser, who also requested anonymity, "These are treacherous waters."

© 2009

Tell me this isn't true ???

Blaiming AIG Bouns Takers ??

This is a solid example of how well our federal and state governments are just completely screwed up, morally bankrupt and utterly useless.

I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage. Dear A.I.G I Quit !! - NY Times Opinion

This former AIG employee worked for a $1.00 per year salary and helped dismantle (ie. Sell off) parts of AIG to help replay / pay back ( parts of the 85 billion) to the American People. In return for his work he was guaranteed in writing to recieve a bouns for his time and effort. This was the contract that congress orignally approved and then decided - in outrage (Washington Post) - to attack these people with a vengence.

Our elected officials have become low life thugs..

The only real motivation that anyone at A.I.G.-F.P. now has is fear. Mr. Cuomo has threatened to “name and shame,” and his counterpart in Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, has made similar threats — even though attorneys general are supposed to stand for due process, to conduct trials in courts and not the press.

New York Time Article: (A.I.G. Bonuses of $50 Million Will Be Repaid)

Mr. Cuomo said he was working his way down a list of A.I.G. employees, ranked by the size of their bonuses, and had already won commitments to pay back $50 million out of the total $165 million awarded this month. But in a reversal of the stand he took last week, he said he did not intend to release any names.

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH and CARL HULSE

Published: March 23, 2009

And we elect these people... Why???

A contract used to mean something in this country, but not any more. Our government screwed up and is looking to blame everyone else, perhaps we should blame ourselves because we are the ones who elected these politicians.

Overseas Contingency Operation In !! Global War on Terrorism Out !!!

Ok I am a bit worried about the way this sounds.

Not really sure if this was just a way to make the formally Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) seem less like a combat operation and more like a combined training exercise, but I get a really funny feeling when I read between the lines.

No matter which way you cut it or how you name it GWOT or OSCO we still have troops in harms way.

Obama has reportedly ordered an end to use of the phrase "Global War on Terror," a label adopted by the Bush administration shortly after the September 11 attacks.

Foxnews.com