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Dec 19, 5:13 PM EST Investigators say 4 Reps got discounted loans By LARRY MARGASAK |
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four House lawmakers received VIP discounted loans from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the lender whose subprime mortgages was largely responsible for the nation's foreclosure crisis, according to congressional investigators. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, declined to name the four but has told the House Ethics Committee that it should investigate the lawmakers. Congressional sources said three of the four are Republicans. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. In 2009, Democratic Rep. Edolphus Towns of New York was identified in the media as having two loans that went through the Countrywide VIP program. On Monday, Towns insisted he was not involved in a VIP program of the lender and did not receive benefits that weren't available to every customer of the lender. Issa, in a letter dated Friday and released Monday, said there could be additional lawmakers who received discounted loans. The most favored customers of Countrywide were known as "Friends of Angelo," who were given discounts in a VIP section under control of the company's CEO Angelo Mozilo. However, Issa said his investigators discovered that other sections of Countrywide also processed VIP loans to public officials and others in position to help the company. Countrywide was taken over by Bank of America, which has given Issa's committee 100,000 documents in response to subpoenas. Issa's letter to ethics Chairman Jo Bonner of Alabama and ranking Democrat Linda Sanchez of California said: "Testimony and documents show that Countrywide used the VIP program to build relationships with government officials and others positioned to advance Countrywide's business interests. "Between January 1996 and June 2008, Countrywide's VIP unit gave discounted loans to employees of the federal government, including the U.S. Congress." He added, "My staff is also aware of the possibility that loans with VIP benefits were conferred to other members and serviced by a separate loan processing branch." The ethics committee determines whether House members violated standards of conduct, including a virtual ban on gifts. The committee also can refer cases to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation. It was previously revealed that Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., while still a senator, had received VIP loans from Countrywide. Both said they did not know they were getting unique deals and Dodd maintained he received no preferential treatment. Others named as recipients of the VIP program were James Johnson, former head of Fannie Mae who later stepped down as an adviser to Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, and Franklin Raines, who also headed Fannie Mae. Still other "friends" included retired athletes, a judge, a congressional aide and a newspaper executive. The Senate's ethics committee looked at the Dodd and Conrad cases and cleared them of wrongdoing, but warned that they should have exercised better judgment. |
A TRILLION DOLLAR DISASTER… CBO Confirms Obama-Pelosi Stimulus Damages Economy in Long Run
Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 6:27 PM
The
CBO confirmed today that the $787 billion Obama-Pelosi stimulus plan damages
the economy in the long run.
The
Washington Times reported:
The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday downgraded its estimate of the benefits of President Obama’s 2009 stimulus package, saying it may have sustained as few as 700,000 jobs at its peak last year and that over the long run it will actually be a net drag on the economy.
CBO said that while the Recovery Act boosted the economy in the short run, the extra debt that the stimulus piled up “crowds out” private investment and “will reduce output slightly in the long run — by between 0 and 0.2 percent after 2016.”
The analysis confirms what CBO predicted before the stimulus passed in February 2009, though the top-end decline of two tenths of a percent is actually deeper than the agency predicted back then.
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/11/a-trillion-dollar-disaster-cbo-confirms-obama-pelosi-stimulus-damages-economy-in-long-run/Panel set to fail to cut deficit $1.2 trillion
By ANDREW TAYLOR
Associated Press
Published: Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 - 7:32 am
Last Modified: Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 - 8:32 am
WASHINGTON -- The imminent collapse of a special deficit-reduction supercommittee on Monday promises to set off yet another round of the Washington blame game as the panel officially admits failure in its quest to sop up at least $1.2 trillion in government red ink over the coming decade.
The bipartisan 12-member panel is sputtering to a close after two months of talks in which key members and top congressional leaders never got close to bridging a fundamental divide over how much to raise taxes. The budget deficit forced the government to borrow 36 cents of every dollar it spent last year.
In spite of agreement among Democrats and Republicans on the urgent need to address the nation's spiraling debt problem - the national debt topped $15 trillion last week - Republicans and Democrats appeared to have never gotten particularly close, at least in the official exchanges of offers that were leaked to the media.
"There is one sticking divide. And that's the issue of what I call shared sacrifice," said panel co-chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., on CNN's "State of the Union."
"The wealthiest Americans who earn over a million a year have to share too. And that line in the sand, we haven't seen Republicans willing to cross yet," she said.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/21/4070588/panel-set-to-fail-to-cut-deficit.html#ixzz1eMoZH9lK
Congress' week: Supercommittee scramble, balanced budget pitch, gun debate
By Lisa Mascaro
November 14, 2011, 8:34 a.m.
The House and Senate are both in session this week, but the main focus on Capitol Hill will be the workings of the secret super-committee on deficit reduction, which is approaching its final days to cut a deal to reduce the nation’s deficits by $1.5 trillion.
The committee technically has until Nov. 23 to vote on a proposal, but it must post it 48 hours ahead of time, which is one week from today. Expect long days and nights under the Capitol dome as lawmakers on the 12-member panels shuttle proposals back and forth to strike a deal.
“The 23rd of November is going to be an historic day in this country--historic because we found a solution and began a process or historic because we, as Americans, for the first time looked the other way,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who is not on the 12-member panel, as he implored his colleagues from the Senate floor to find consensus.
The House returns for a one-week stint with a full agenda before recess for a long Thanksgiving holiday, with the top priority being passing a funding bill to keep the government running past Friday.
Congress has forced the federal government to operate with stop-gap funding this year, almost shutting down the government as debates have raged over spending cuts.
This week’s vote is expected to cool to a more measured agreement to simply keep government open. The proposal is expected to be a hybrid: funding some agencies through the end of the 2012 fiscal year while funding others only until December when the next stop-gap will be needed.
The House will take up the government funding bill first, by midweek, sending it later to the Senate for final passage, likely by Friday.
Jobs has been the stated focus of both Democrats and Republicans as the unemployment rate remains a top issue for voters. At the same time, the GOP-led House will take up another measure designed to appeal to its conservative base – a long-fought Second Amendment provision that would allow conceal-carry permits to be recognized across state lines.
Leaders: Asia-Pacific free trade vital to recovery
By ELAINE
KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer
Published: Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 - 1:02 am
Last Modified: Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 - 9:09 pm
KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Opening markets to freer trade is crucial to a lasting global economic recovery, Asia-Pacific leaders agreed Sunday as they wrapped up a summit that produced tangible progress toward a U.S.-backed regional trade bloc.
The plan to forge a Pacific free trade area got a big boost Sunday when leaders of Canada and Mexico joined Japan in expressing support for a deal that has received a cool reception from rising power China.
The news was a coup for President Barack Obama, who made progress on the pact one of his top priorities for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, held in his home state of Hawaii. It comes after Japan, the world's No. 3 economy, said Friday it wants to join the nine nations already involved in talks on what has been dubbed the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
In their summit declaration, leaders of the 21-member APEC said the region is now the vanguard for global growth thanks to previous progress in forging closer economic ties and free trade.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/13/4050889/pacific-trade-pact-gains-but-friction.html#ixzz1dhd6ZNJD
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Electoral College Assaulted by Jim Bratten (IN -SC) Legitimizing electoral theft Many of us have been distracted by the “Occupy” show, green energy scams,“jobs” bill fraud, and a flurry of Statist attacks on our Republic. While busy with all these, another devious plan is being hatched directly under our noses, at the state level. Few of us have taken the time to understand the Electoral College, and why the Founders were so wise in creating this mechanism for preventing tyranny in a democratic form of government. The original design of our federal system of government was thoroughly debated by the Founding Fathers, deciding state viewpoints are more important than political minority viewpoints. Opinions of individual state populations carry more weight than the proclivities of the national population as a whole. Example: Unions in highly populated areas would have more control over who becomes president than the farmers of Nebraska without the EC. Federalist Paper No. 68 explains the Founders’ intent in detail. For well over 200 years, the Electoral College has performed its function well. “Electors” of each state are determined by the count of senators and representatives per state, with three for D.C.: 538 in total. Over half, 270 “electoral” votes, are required to win the presidential election. Tampering with this careful balance of power between the federal and state governments, reflected in the Electoral College, would fundamentally alter the nature of our government, possibly bringing about consequences even the reformers would regret. Progressives have been attempting to eliminate the Electoral College for decades. Sara Noble, writing in The Independent Sentinel on October 22, 2011 laid out their plan: “They plan to do this by eliminating the role of states, a protection written into our Constitution, and they are doing it covertly... The Progressive initiative is called the ‘National Popular Vote Compact’ (NPVC) and their information has been spread via the Internet since 2008... moving state-by-state to bypass the Constitutional amendment process, relegating our Supreme Court to complete insignificance...achieving a monopoly of democratic parties for the worldwide Socialist order. Their goal is to have all the required 270 Electoral Votes needed for a ‘winner’ given to the candidate who wins the largest number of popular votes nationally – no matter how small the win margin and no difference how many states voted to oppose him.” Currently, their effort “has passed enough state houses to reach 160 EVs out of the 270 needed. It won’t matter how strongly some states are against it. NPVC has passed 1 of the 2 required chambers in more than 30 other states. This could become the Law of the Land, trashing our Constitution and the rights of individual states and their residents.” Control of major urban areas by Democrats and unions, and thereby control of the voting machines, makes the intent of the plan obvious. But who is behind this? George Soros, his son and others, have a history of taking over the politics of countries. He has already launched the “SOSP” (Secretary of State Project), a “527” group, in 2006. This effort plans to place Democrats in charge of state election offices, where key decisions are made in close races; which ballots are counted and which are not. Now we have the NPV strategy to get around the normal requirements for a constitutional amendment – undermining the Electoral College by bypassing both Congress and the voters; a great way to steal the 2012 election. And the GOP is falling for it in some cases, so Progressives can claim “bipartisan”. Doing away with the Electoral College would turn our elections into fights for urban centers instead of a fifty state struggle. Contact your state reps, immediately.
Gap Inc. shrinking in U.S., expanding globally Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek Gap to cut U.S. stores amid global expansion Gap Inc. plans to close stores domestically while expanding its international and online business. Gap will reduce its North American namesake stores to about 700 by the end of 2013, a 34 percent decrease from the count at the end of 2007, Chief Financial Officer Sabrina Simmons said at an investor meeting. The San Francisco clothing retailer also said cotton prices that have declined since reaching records this year will help increase profitability. IRS auditing how Google shifted profits offshore The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is auditing how Google Inc. avoided federal income taxes by shifting profit into offshore subsidiaries, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The agency is bringing more than typical scrutiny to how the Mountain View company valued software rights and other intellectual property it licensed abroad, said the person, who requested anonymity because the audit isn't public. The IRS has requested information from Google about its offshore deals after three acquisitions, including its $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube, the person said. Zynga plots freedom from Facebook Zynga Inc., a San Francisco online game developer that is planning an initial public offering, announced a new service geared toward reducing its dependence on users of Facebook Inc.'s social network. The site, called Project Z, will include social networking, said CEO Mark Pincus. It's part of a larger corporate strategy, dubbed Zynga Direct, that is designed to build "a direct relationship with consumers whether they are on the Web or mobile," Pincus said. Zynga has made substantially all of its $1.25 billion in sales from Facebook, the company said in its prospectus to investors. |
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/15/BUU81LHCCB.DTL#ixzz1b3lYIyuy
Survey: Americans don't know Constitution, civics
Friday, 16 September 2011 11:36
How well do you know and understand the U.S. Constitution?
A new survey released today shows Americans don't have a good grasp of the Constitution or its powers, highlighting the need for better civic education. Saturday marks the 224th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution.
"These failings threaten the future of our democracy," wrote retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in a column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. "If we don't know what makes this country special and worth saving, how will we know how to safeguard its promise of freedom and opportunity."
Voters Still Express More Confidence in Tea Party Than in Congress
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 Email to a Friend
More voters still think the average Tea Party member has a better handle on America’s problems than the average member of Congress does, but there’s a sharp difference of opinion between Democrats and Republicans.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of all Likely U.S. Voters believe the average member of the Tea Party has a better understanding of the problems America faces today, while 34% think the average member of Congress is more clued in. Twenty-four percent (24%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Still, that marks a 10-point drop in confidence in the Tea Party from March of last year when 52% felt the average member of the grass roots smaller government group had a better understanding of America’s problems. But the new findings aren’t a big boost of confidence in Congress since there’s been only a slight increase from the 30% in March 2010 who thought the average congressman had a better feel for the nation’s problems.
Sixty percent (60%) of Democrats, however, have more confidence in the average member of Congress. But 68% of Republicans - and a plurality (46%) of voters not affiliated with either major party – think the average Tea Party member has a better understanding of today’s problems.
67% Favor Finding Spending Cuts in All Government Programs
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Defense spending, along with Social Security and Medicare, accounts for over 50% of the federal budget and is sure to come under the knife as Congress and President Obama look for ways to cut the nation’s staggering deficit. Most voters think that’s a good idea.
Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Likely U.S. Voters think that thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program of the federal government as the nation searches for solutions to the budget crisis. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of voters are opposed to considering cuts in every government program. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Fifty percent (50%) oppose keeping the military out of the mix of potential cuts. But 35% think thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program except the military. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure which course is best.
In the national political debate, Republicans tend to be more protective of defense spending, while Democrats are more protective of the non-military side of the ledger. The new voter findings help to explain why.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of Republicans, for example, favor thoughtful cuts in every government program, but 58% think cuts should be considered in every program but the military. Seventy-three percent (73%) of Democrats, on the other hand, oppose spending cuts that don’t include the military, but just 59% of those in the president’s party favor the consideration of cuts in every program of the government.
Tea Party Patriots hit back on S&P downgrade
By Cameron Joseph - 08/08/11 11:28 AM ET
The Tea Party Patriots attacked the Obama administration for Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the national credit rating the day after senior Democrats tried to blame the Tea Party movement for S&P’s move.
The group seized on an editorial in a Chinese government-run newspaper that said the U.S. needed to address its “mounting debts.”
“When Washington, D.C., gets slammed from the right by communists, you know we have a problem with our leadership,” Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler said. “[Politicians’] muddled thinking comes from a lack of leadership that has failed to face our debt problems or corral overspending.”
Their response comes as recent polls show the debt-ceiling debate hurt the Tea Party’s standing with voters. A CBS News/New York Times poll conducted the first week of August had 40 percent of Americans disapproving of the Tea Party, with only 20 percent in support.
Democrats were quick to blame the movement for S&P’s actions.
“The fact of the matter is that this is essentially a Tea Party downgrade,” David Axelrod, a top adviser for President Obama’s reelection campaign, said Sunday on CBS. The United States came close to default, Axelrod said, because “strident voices” in the Tea Party were willing to see the country fall short of its debt obligations.
“Not one of the Republican presidential candidates stood up in opposition to that,” he said.
Standard & Poor’s blamed both mounting debt and the uncertainty created by the debt-ceiling negotiations for the downgrade from AAA to AA+, the first time the U.S. government has been downgraded since S&P gave it the AAA rating in 1917.
The Tea Party Patriots were the only major Tea Party group that refused to support any form of debt ceiling increase -- the other major Tea Party groups backed Republicans' plan to include a balanced budget amendment and cut spending.
Erik Wasson contributed.
This post was updated at 3:02pm.