My jury duty was Right Next Door to the Occupy LA site so..., why the hell not. Let's ask some questions.

My goal was not to engage in a debate, just ask the same questions to typical looking occupiers and see what's up.

No pictures. Verum Serum was All Over That yesterday so look at his stuff.

I walked past at noon and did my interviews after 4pm. There was a lot of occupation and damn little protesting. There's typically more protestors in that area when the Occupy LA guys aren't around. One guy with a bullhorn was yelling that this was more important that the Jackson Dr. trial. He was ignored. The very close entrance to the Superior Court house is prime protesting area as is City Hall (where the Occupy LA guys are). When you walk by Occupy LA you see rows and rows of tents and, occasionally, scruffy looking people in the area. I guess they don't like daylight?

Unlike OWS (NY) they have lots of porta-potties. And drum noise isn't an issue. No residential areas nearby. But I didn't notice any drums.

Place seemed mellow. It's LA, not surprising.

I asked these 4 questions.

more...

Posted by: Open Blogger at 11:41 AM | Comments (58)
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We totally, totally do.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, approved the bonuses for 10 executives from the two government-sponsored agencies after they met modest performance targets tied to modifying mortgages at risk of foreclosure, Politico reports.

Given that there have been very few modifications, critics can be forgiven for questioning why the generous bonuses were doled out. They come only two years after the agencies received $170 billion in taxpayer aid. The housing finance agency pledged at that time that it would curb executive pay after the humongous compensation offered to former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines and others.

Ed Haldeman, who announced last week that he is quitting as Freddie Mac’s CEO, received a base salary of $900,000 last year — and garnered a $2.3 million bonus. Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams received a $2.37 million bonus.

Update To Last Story: I'm posting it here so it gets seen.

The funds found at JPMorgan are not the funds missing from MF Global.

That didn't really make sense to me. We're missing $630 million and we have this huge investigation over it. Oh, here's the money, over here.

Just seemed like something they'd find out within 24 hours, if that was all there was to it.

Posted by: Ace at 10:31 AM | Comments (115)
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First of all, Corzine just resigned as head as MF Global. I think that's a breaking development.

"I have voluntarily offered my resignation," Corzine, 64, said in a separate statement. "This was a difficult decision, but one that I believe is best for the firm and its stakeholders. I feel great sadness for what has transpired at MF Global and the impact it has had on the firm's clients, employees and many others."

Corzine's "regulator" at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (which was supposed to regulate MF Global) is an old Corzine crony from Goldman Sachs.

Gary Gensler, the regulator overseeing the investigation of Jon Corzine's collapsed securities firm, built close ties to Corzine as they rose through the ranks of Goldman Sachs. Later, they collaborated on Capitol Hill to pass an anti-corporate fraud law.

When Corzine ran for New Jersey governor, Gensler gave $10,000 to the state Democratic Party, which was trying to get Corzine elected.

Now, Gensler, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is leading an inquiry into how hundreds of millions vanished last week from client accounts at Corzine's firm, MF Global.

And now he's talking super-tough about his old crony:

At a Senate hearing Thursday, Gensler had harsh words for Corzine's company.

"You don't put your hand in the cash register; you just don't," Gensler said.

He said MF Global's failure to separate clients' money from its own assets violated "the core foundation" of investor protection.

Gensler has a clear conflict of interest here, and people are demanding he recuse himself from the investigation.

Now, Gensler actually did try to get this rule changed. He tried to change the easy-peasy current rules about firms like MF Global "borrowing" its employees money for its own purposes.

But after some intense lobbying by his old crony Corzine, he relented.

The proposed rule would have restricted a complicated transaction that allowed MF Global in essence to borrow money from its own customers. Brokerage firms are allowed to use customersÂ’ money to earn interest, not unlike banks, but this rule would have outlawed using customer funds for a loan to the firm itself.

While such financing is not unknown on Wall Street, it carries substantial risk. An outside lender would require a firm like MF Global to produce strict accounting for a loan. Without that oversight, regulators worried that firms could use such internal customer money inappropriately, including bolstering the business in hard times. The proposed rule would have affected several dozen other financial firms.

Regulators are now examining whether these transactions explain the missing money at MF Global, according to people briefed on the investigation.

...

Just three months ago, Mr. Corzine’s firm assured regulators that the proposed rule could cripple the futures brokerage industry by hurting their profitability. In a letter, MF Global told regulators that they were trying to “fix something that is not broken,” adding that the firm was not aware of any brokerage firm like itself that was unable to “provide to their customers upon request any segregated funds.”

...

Leading the governmentÂ’s effort to curtail these arcane practices was Gary Gensler, the chairman of C.F.T.C., who had worked for Mr. Corzine at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Gensler pushed for the proposed change in October 2010, and planned to bring it to a vote this summer.

MF Global has four outside lobbyists in Washington, tiny by Wall Street standards. But it was Mr. Corzine who marshaled the firmÂ’s response to the proposal, lobbying most of the agencyÂ’s five commissioners directly. One commissioner said he visited with Mr. Corzine in MF GlobalÂ’s headquarters, and acknowledged being impressed by the Wall Street titan, said a person with direct knowledge of the meeting who asked for anonymity because the meeting was private.

...

Mr. CorzineÂ’s efforts culminated on July 20, as the agency was preparing for a vote on the proposal. That day, MF Global executives were on four different calls with the agencyÂ’s staff. Mr. Corzine himself was on two of those calls.

One of the calls was with Mr. Gensler. Both men are active Democrats, and served on financial panels together recently.

Shortly after the calls, Mr. Gensler, aware that he lacked the support to push the vote through, decided to delay the proposal indefinitely. He did so at the urging of Republican commissioners, according to people familiar with the matter.

Again, I have to note that Gensler at least seemed to want to change the rule. I don't know if his old crony Corzine effectively lobbied him or just lobbied enough of his fellow regulators to make the matter moot.

But it is interesting, isn't it?

Let me talk about Herman Cain for a moment. Newsbusters reported that, as of two days ago, the major news outlets had done 50 stories on Herman Cain.

Now, some conservatives say this isn't a story at all. I disagree. I think of course it's a story.

But just because something is a story doesn't mean it is, or should be, the story.

Now, the media, supposedly, is all interested in these crony connections between Wall Street and government, and Wall Street getting big favors due to influence and money and the revolving door system whereby a guy walks out of Goldman Sachs, gets a position regulating Goldman Sachs, and then rejoins Goldman Sachs immediately after regulating it.

Gee, I'm sure that someone in that situation is really, really, really incentivized to be tough on his once and future employer.

Here we have a story that would seem to illustrate this perfectly.

Alas... it's about Democrats. The media is not interested in Democrats who are are stealing the public's money, just like they're not interested in stories about Democrats in sex scandals.

They are only interested in pushing these stories if they involve Republicans.

This one doesn't, so hardly anyone is talking about, despite the fact that Jon Corzine, Wall Street Titan and former Democratic Senator and former Democratic Governor, has hired a criminal attorney to represent him as the FBI probes his company, and despite the fact that Corzine's supposed regulator was an old crony who donated to his political interests.

By the way, the suspicion is that the money was "borrowed" to finance purchases of risky sovereign debt in all the European countries that are probably going to go under. MF Global denies that, but that's the point of the investigation.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move on.

The Media Protects Those On The Side of History: 97% of MF Global's political donations went to Democrats.

According to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, MF Global employees have contributed $408,000 to federal candidates and political parties since 2007. That sum includes $38,000 in donations to President Barack Obama, who is the largest recipient of MF Global employee contributions.

During the 2008 election cycle (the last full cycle before Corzine joined the company), Democrats received 68 percent of MF Global employees' total contributions. But after Corzine joined in 2010, employee contributions shifted even further to the left: A full 97 percent of MF Global-related campaign contributions benefited Democrats during the 2010 cycle. Democrats had maintained that advantage this year, as well, collecting about 94 percent of MF Global employee donations through June...

... A known supporter of Obama, Corzine also fund-raised for the president during his 2008 presidential run and has tapped his moneyed connections to bundle upwards of $500,000 so far for Obama's 2012 run.

Only one tracked donation (donations under $200 aren't tracked) went to a Republican -- one lone MF Global employee donated $2,500 to Romney.

Let me propose the media's actual rule for covering scandals:

If the scandal is about sex and a Democrat, they don't cover it, because it's just about sex.

If the scandal is not about sex, but is about a Democrat, they don't cover it, because it's not about sex; it's too confusing and dry. Hey, we're a business, right? We have to sell product.

Thanks to WilliamAmos.

Money Found? ZeroHedge, without a cite, says it is "said" that the money has been found at JPMorgan. I don't see any indication of who's saying that. Answer: Guy Fawkes says it from the NYSE Market Ticker. Still, it doesn't say the money is at JPMorgan, just that it's "said" to be there. Not confirmed, then.

Thanks to kdabear.

Obama: Corzine is "Our Wall Street Guy:" Was his Wall Street Guy. Now Corzine is just, as an article noted yesterday, just a "volunteer fundraiser."

Posted by: Ace at 09:46 AM | Comments (134)
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Maybe.

The settlement agreement between the National Restaurant Association and a woman who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment was reached in September 1999--and was not signed by Cain himself, according to Joel Bennett, a lawyer for the woman.

Bennett, who has a copy of the settlement agreement, said four people signed it: the woman, two lawyers representing the association and Bennett himself.

Bennett said the agreement was resolved relatively quickly, about two or three months after she complained.

That means it may have been reached after Cain left the association, and Bennett said it's conceivable that Cain didn't even know about it.

...

Cain has insisted he only knew of one complaint, and says he knew of no legal settlements--only what he calls a severance agreement with one woman. This timeline could well bolster his claims.

I only say "maybe" it explains his lack of knowledge because, timeline aside, it seems to me that if you're accused of something after you leave a job, you still hear about it. Someone is going to call you up and ask for your side of it.

Posted by: Ace at 09:18 AM | Comments (307)
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Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq is largely pacified.

American troops there would have guaranteed freedom from domination by Iran.

But Obama has chosen to cede Iraq to Iran.

Why? He doesn't answer, but a good answer would be, "Because liberal Democratic theory holds that the Iraq War was unwinnable, therefore, even if won, it must be lost." Lest anyone think something positive came from it.

Posted by: Ace at 09:10 AM | Comments (118)
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It's not subtle.

As many of you know, I'm not a fan of Cain's candidacy, so add whatever amount of salt you need to the rest of this post.

I'd be sympathetic to this notion that there's a racial angle here if Cain or his team provided a single shred of evidence for the charge. Put it this way, Mitt Romney has been a CEO too, if he had settlements (or "agreements" if you prefer) in his past based on allegations of sexual harassment, you don't think we'd hear about them? If Rick Perry had complaints lodged against him by female staffers while he was Governor, you think they'd be hushed up because he's white?

I think the most comical thing in the spot is the woman on the Imus program that kicks off the ad. No one is taking Cain on over his policy positions? What policy positions? Sure, he's got his 9-9-9 plan but plenty of people have taken him on over that. Our own Andy has been leading the charge in pointing out the holes and flaws in it. Beyond that, what great policy plan has Cain laid out that we're ignoring?

I'm not a fan of playing fast and loose with charges of racism when the left does it, I'm not entirely sure why I'm supposed to nod my head in agreement when Cain does it.

By the way, who exactly is Cain charging with figuratively lynching him? Sure the spot goes after Al Sharpton and Cornell West but Cain is still insisting that the harassment story was leaked by a Perry staffer. Is that staffer or Perry the lyncher here? Don't forget that Cain was quick to jump on Perry over the 'racist rock' crap, so there's some history here.

If Cain wants to call someone in the Republican party a racist and a lyncher, have the guts to say it.

Added: If you want to say this is a separate PAC and not Cain himself, note that the themes and charges echo exactly what Cain has been saying.

Related enough: Cain, hey maybe I should sue Politico.

From floating the idea that communities could ban mosques because they don't like Islam and now considering suing a press outlet, Cain is actually worse on the First Amendment than John McCain. Who even knew that was possible?

Also related: Cain keeps climbing in the polls post allegations. Sometimes polls are lagging indicators as there's often a rush to rally around "our team" and the allegations are nebulous at best. The real damage has been done by Cain's handling of the situation and judging by some here, that's just not a factor for them.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:30 AM | Comments (449)
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Obama's economy created a whopping 80,000 jobs last month, so happy days are here again!

As Jim Pethokoukis points out, in October of 1983 the Reagan Recovery produced 271,000 jobs. We should also note that was in an economy with far, far fewer workers.

This is the economy and unemployment record is going to have to run on. It would be hard for the GOP to screw this up. Alas, I think they might be up to the challenge.

Consider this ad from Rick Perry. He "boasts" his plan will create two and a half million jobs in 4 years. Um, 2.5 million divided by 48 months is about 58,000 per month.

Yes, he says his plan could generate more (and it probably would) but why put that number out?

I've joked that we could beat Obama with a ham sandwich next year. Apparently the GOP decided to take that as a challenge.

Added: Some folks are saying the 2.5 million jobs Perry is talking about are just energy related. I don't think that's a fair reading of the spot. He declares the 2.5 million new jobs number, talks about his record in Texas and then talks about energy plan as how "he'll start" creating those jobs. He never links the number to the energy plan and then indicates there's another plan to create more jobs.

I've added the video below the fold so you can decide for yourself. more...

Posted by: DrewM at 05:30 AM | Comments (280)
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I know, I know. Pointing out that Mitt Romney flip-flops like a fish out of water is no big news. It would be more surprising, frankly, to be able to point to an issue on which he hasn't held more than one position.

I was starting to think that issue was immigration. One of the few things that I've heard people say Romney has been firm on is immigration. And, in fact, folks have been contrasting Romney's supposed hard-line stance on illegals with Rick Perry's more "nuanced" approach.

So I thought I'd check. It turns out Romney wasn't nearly as troubled by the Bush-McCain-Kennedy Comprehensive Immigration Reform POS as the rest of us.

Here he is in 2005, saying that it was not an amnesty and that its path to citizenship was reasonable:

I think that an amnesty program is one which all of the illegal immigrants who are here are now citizens and walk in and get your citizenship. What the President has proposed and what Senator McCain and Cornyn have proposed are quite different from that. They require people signing up for a, well registering and receiving if you will, a number, a registration number, then working here for six years and paying taxes. Not taking benefits, health, Medicaid, food stamps, and so forth. Not getting benefits. And then at the end of that period, registering to become a citizen or applying to become a citizen and paying a fee. And those are the things that are being considered, and I think that those are reasonable proposals.

Romney started saying in 2007 that he opposed the path to citizenship and the McCain-Kennedy amnesty proposal. There's the expected flop.

What does he really believe about immigration policy? I'm sure he'll tell us again.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 03:29 AM | Comments (277)
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Whew. Friday, at last. What a week. more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:50 AM | Comments (112)
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News You Can Use: How to Fly a Rocket Belt
Yes rentals and personal trainers are available.

How To Make Your Own Hard Candy
Any chemistry knowledge gained is a bonus.

How to Break Down a Door Without Hurting Yourself
Assuming you don't have Mr. Shotgun-Sledgehammer.

Will You Get Sick From Zombie Stench?
Interestingly Mark twain actually has something to add to this question. But the short answer is no:

However funky their smell, dead bodies arenÂ’t especially dangerous, setting aside those that are trying to eat your brain. Precautions may be in order when the cause of death is an infectious disease. (Tuberculosis is said to be especially problematic.) But for the most part toxic pathogens are waterborne, not airborne. True, some germs can be spread by aerosol droplets, but these are exhaled only by the living. The dead have stopped breathing, and one assumes the undead have, too.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:56 PM | Comments (873)
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