Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010


Makes you wanna go out and kick some ass... right some wrongs...
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11 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10920759/gm-ipo-leaves-small-investors-behind.html

The little guy appears to be losing out on the General Motors initial public offering. Trading shops like E*Trade, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab aren't getting access to the GM public offering, expected to occur next week.

* OH, WHAT A SURPRISE...! (*SMIRK*)

One reader [of "The Street"] indicated that Fidelity, which has an online brokerage, was apparently allowing customers to invest in the IPO - but with an important caveat: A minimum of $500,000 in assets must be invested with the firm. The commenter said it represented "more proof that the small investor is being left out."

* YEP... THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION JUST LOVES THE LITTLE GUY... (*SNORT*)

* HEY... THE GOVERNMENT OWNS 61% OF GM. OBAMA IS ALLOWING THIS. (*SHRUG*)

[GM] received more than $50 billion in bailout funds from taxpayers, just $7 billion of which have been returned, according to ProPublica. That figure doesn't include $16 billion in additional aid to GM's one-time financial unit, GMAC (now known as Ally Financial); or $290 million provided to GM Supplier Receivables; or $1.5 billion in incentives committed to GMAC Mortgage for working out troubled borrowers' debt. While those companies are no longer housed within GM, they originated there, contributed to its financial woes and received taxpayer assistance, too.

(*SNORT*)

* SO, FOLKS... HOW'S YOUR FORCED "INVESTMENT" IN GM WORKING OUT? (*SNICKER*)

* SERIOUS COMMENTARY - I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OR SENATORS OR TOP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ARE GETTING BACKDOOR ACCESS TO THE GM IPO.

It's a sad irony for average U.S. investors that hedge funds, institutional giants and sovereign wealth funds are getting priority treatment while they're getting left in the dust.

* WELCOME TO THE AGE OF OBAMA, MY FRIENDS...

November 17, 2010 at 9:27 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-kass-1117-20101117,0,4152825.column?page=1

Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel was twice purged from the city voter rolls in the last 13 months but was reinstated by election officials, who allowed him to vote absentee in the February primary even though he did not live at his North Side address.

* THESE UNNAMED OFFICIALS SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AND IF CONVICTED... JAILED. FURTHERMORE, EMANUEL SHOULD BE PROSECUTED FOR VOTER FRAUD (SINCE OBVIOUSLY HE KNEW WHERE HE LIVED!) CONVICTED AND JAILED.

According to election lawyer Burt Odelson, who may someday be known around Chicago as The Rahmstopper, the case against Rahm involves voter registration notices and what he characterizes as the "mysterious" reinstatement of Emanuel's voting status.

"We have the evidence from the Chicago Board of Elections. It's all documented, and we'll prove the case," Odelson told [John Kass of the Chicago Tribune] Tuesday.

Current state law reads: "A person is not eligible for an elected municipal office unless that person is a qualified elector of the municipality and has resided in the municipality at least one year next preceding the election or appointment."

* THIS LAW HAS BEEN ON THE BOOKS SINCE 1871!

Everyone knows Rahm was living in Washington, working until recently as President Barack Obama's chief of staff. He rented his Chicago home in the 4200 block of North Hermitage Avenue to developer Rob Halpin, who refused to leave when Rahm wanted to move back in.

"Unlike many residency cases, this is an easy one," Odelson said. "We usually have to take a lot of time proving factually that the person does not live where he says he lives. This one is easy. Rahm admits he lived in Washington with his family. His children were in school there. The bottom line is that Mr. Emanuel has not lived in Chicago."

* AND YET HE VOTED IN A CHICAGO ELECTION ANYWAY...

Every year, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners conducts a canvass by mail to verify the voter rolls. This past year, a full canvass was done. More than a million voters were contacted. And the commissioners were quite proud of their work.

According to Odelson's documents, election officials twice sent notices to Emanuel's house on Hermitage Avenue.

Both times, the notices were returned to sender. Each was stamped with Emanuel's forwarding address in Washington. Election officials do not allow such notices to be forwarded to a new address. The election board purged Emanuel from the voting lists for the first time in October 2009, ruling him an "inactive" voter.

But Emanuel's voter status switched to "active" just before the Feb. 2 primary. He voted using an absentee ballot listing the Hermitage address even though the Halpin family lived there and they also voted from that address.

* AND FOR ILLEGALLY VOTING, EMANUEL SHOULD GO TO JAIL. PERIOD! (OF COURSE HE WON'T, BECAUSE THE LAWS DON'T APPLY TO PEOPLE LIKE RAHM EMANUEL.)

"By some magical means, which I think will come out after objections are filed, Emanuel was reinstated," Odelson told me.

In May, Emanuel was again rendered inactive. Just last month, he reregistered, using a new address on Milwaukee Avenue in order to vote.

* AND AS LONG AS HE'S ACTUALLY LIVING THERE THAT'S FINE! BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT. RAHM EMANUEL CLEARLY - DELIBERATELY - VIOLATED THE LAW. HE SHOULD BE PUNISHED.

November 17, 2010 at 1:58 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/129723-house-gop-to-force-vote-on-npr-defunding

House Republicans announced Wednesday they plan to force a floor vote on defunding NPR ...

* THANK GOD! IT'S TAKEN LONG ENOUGH!

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (Colo.) said that cutting funds to the publicly subsidized news organization was the winner of the conference's weekly "YouCut" contest, in which the public votes online on spending items they want eliminated.

Under the "YouCut" program, the GOP has promised to force votes on spending cuts chosen by online voters each week the House is in session. Each week, a series of proposed spending cuts is posted online and the House GOP takes up the cut chosen by the most voters.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has said he will introduce legislation to defund NPR in the upper chamber.

(*SINCERE CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

November 17, 2010 at 4:45 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12023706

American International Group will get up to $22 billion more in U.S. taxpayer funds in a restructuring that will pay off the Federal Reserve in full and allow taxpayers to begin profiting from the firm's bailout, the Treasury Department said on Monday.

* JUST RE-READ THAT TO YOURSELVES. SERIOUSLY! RE-READ THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH THREE... FOUR... FIVE TIMES.

(*MIGRAINE HEADACHE*) (*NAUSEOUS*)

* SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS DEEPLY IN DEBT. OUR OPERATING BUDGETS CONTINUE TO OPERATE AT HUGE DEFICITS EACH YEAR. YET... THE TREASURY IS PAYING OFF THE DEBTS AIG OWES TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE WITH... er... MONEY THAT IT'S BORROWING FROM THE FED IN THE FIRST PLACE VIA SELLING TREASURY BONDS... aka FURTHER DEBT. DO I HAVE THIS RIGHT...???

The Treasury reiterated that it expects the government to earn an overall profit on bailout investments in the insurance giant...

* YOU MEAN THE WAY FANNIE AND FREDDIE EXPECTED TO PROFIT BY EXTENDING LOANS TO FRAUDSTERS AND DEADBEATS...???

AIG will draw the $22 billion from remaining Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to repurchase the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's preferred stock interests in the special purpose vehicles holding two key subsidiaries being sold off,

(*HEADACHE*)

The funds had already been allocated to the AIG rescue program prior to an October 3 moratorium on new TARP spending.

* OF COURSE THEY HAD! (*SNORT*) (*RUEFUL LAUGH*)

* FOLKS... IN ALL SERIOUSNESS... DAY IN AND DAY OUT WE'RE BEING ROBBED BY OUR OWN GOVERNMENT.

November 17, 2010 at 4:45 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://reason.com/archives/2010/11/16/congress-let-ethanol-subsidies

It's time to let ethanol subsidies die.

* PAST TIME, ACTUALLY. INDEED, THERE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN ETHANOL SUBSIDIES IN THE FIRST PLACE.

In 2004, the government started offering a tax credit worth 51 cents for each gallon of gasoline containing 10% ethanol.

The 2008 farm bill lowered that credit slightly to 45 cents per gallon, but kept it going for another two years.

Meanwhile, diverting grain to ethanol production caused corn prices to soar, lining the pockets of corn growers and refiners while increasing food costs for humans and feed costs for animals.

[Obama's] EPA exacerbated the situation last month when it decided to raise the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline from 10% to 15% for fueling late model cars.

* STUPIDITY AND IRRESPONSIBILITY ON TOP OF STUPIDITY AND IRRESPONSIBILITY. WELCOME TO THE AGE OF OBAMA!

The EPA boosted the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline because the industry is currently producing 13 billion gallons. Since the U.S. consumed only 138 billion gallons of gasoline last year, that brings ethanol producers dangerously close to maxing out their market - hitting the so-called blending wall.

* AND GOD FORBID THE MAJOR POLITICAL DONORS OF THE ETHANOL LOBBY SEE THEIR PROFITS "MAX OUT."

In the meantime, higher feed costs have driven farmers to cut their herds. In July the number of beef cattle in the U.S. dropped to the fewest since 1973 and the number of breeding hogs fell to near the lowest level ever. The decision to increase the blending limit will send corn prices still higher...

* BUT, HEY... AREN'T WE ALL TOO FAT ANYWAY? NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD FOOD WILL ACTUALLY BE GOOD FOR US... RIGHT?!

(*SNORT*) (*SMIRK*)

* OH... AND FOR THOSE LIVING IN A BOX WITH ONLY THE NYT FOR COMPANY, THERE'S THIS:

[E]thanol isn't so green after all.

[A]n analysis by the EPA found that current ethanol production techniques actually result in higher emissions of greenhouse gases than refining and burning ordinary gasoline.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*) FOLKS... YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP.

[As to the] effects of devoting more land to biofuel production...many analysts argue [this] will substantially increase overall greenhouse gas emissions over those emitted by burning gasoline.

* OH... AND GUESS WHAT ELSE... YOU'RE JUST GONNA LOVE THIS:

[T]he Financial Times reported earlier this week that since the U.S. ethanol market is so saturated that American refiners are now exporting ethanol-laced gasoline to Europe. This exported gasoline still receives the 45 cents per gallon tax credit, so that means that U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing European drivers.

In an additional layer of irony, the U.S. also protects domestic corn growers and ethanol producers by imposing a 54 cent per gallon tariff on imported ethanol.

American taxpayers have showered billions in subsidies onto corn farmers and ethanol distillers, all in the failed pursuit of energy independence and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. While free marketeers and green militants rarely agree, in this case we can join together in urging the lame duck Congress to end this fiscal madness by simply letting these wasteful subsidies run out on December 31st.

* AMEN!

November 17, 2010 at 4:45 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/time_to_stand_up_and_vote_all_the_HmzTVoxb4M7ZGN237gkhSK

It's official: Charlie Rangel is a crook. A liar. And a tax cheat.

The guilty finding by a bipartisan group of his peers lays to rest any illusion the flimflam man's disgraceful conduct was an aberration or mere sloppiness. The case revealed a decades-long pattern of willful deceit and intentional evasion.

In a better world, we would be bidding him good riddance. He would be expelled from Congress, and a federal prosecutor would be waiting at the door, ready to pounce on the ton of evidence that convicted him. A grand jury would be going through the bank accounts bulging with cash, the sources of which remain suspiciously unclear.

In that better world, his colleagues, shocked and embarrassed by how he flaunted his violations of tax laws and ethics rules, would immediately tighten the screws and increase the penalties. They would denounce him from the floor, ashamed to have accepted his friendship and favors.

They would call for a vote on term limits, conceding that permanent incumbency magnifies the corruption of power. Rangel, after all, was just elected to his 21st term, and men and women of goodwill would proudly shout "aye" to eliminate the temptations that pile up in a job for life.

Of course, that's not the world we live in.

Any ordinary American who scammed the IRS the way Rangel did would be socked with fines and probably jail. Any private worker who cheated his employer the way Rangel cheated taxpayers would get fired and arrested.

Rangel will most likely get a letter of reprimand. Tsk, tsk.

And where are the prosecutors? Quaking in their hideaways, afraid to take on someone so big. Cowards all.

* ABSOLUTELY!

November 17, 2010 at 4:46 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/553993/201011161918/Turn-Issa-Loose.aspx

[Democratic "Old Bull" Charlie] Rangel's sins have been known for years and Democrats, with a solid hold on Congress, chose to ignore his misbehavior. Now, they likely will administer a mild slap on the wrist to Rangel during their lame-duck Congress, and politely ask him to go away.

Gee, wasn't it just two years ago, in the 2008 campaign, that we were promised "transparency" and "accountability"? Instead, we can't recall any time in our history when we've had a government less accountable or transparent than it is today.

Fortunately, the midterm election is putting an end to this.

You may never have heard of Rep. Darrell Issa, but you will soon. Republicans have tasked him with cleaning up four years of Democratic misrule and misconduct.

* ISSA IS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS... (*NOD*)

As the head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, California Republican Issa has promised aggressive investigations of misconduct, wherever it occurs.

The list of troubling government activities that should be investigated is a long one. Issa's already looking into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And he's been openly critical of the Obama stimulus' lack of controls and poor accounting practices. He - or other GOP committees - may also look into AIG and the other bank bailouts, and answer who got money and why.

(*THUMBS UP*)

Then there's the Countrywide VIP program, in which some Congress members got favorable mortgages.

And don't forget the $700 billion TARP program, the government's takeovers of GM and Chrysler, the links between the left-wing community organizing group ACORN and the Democrats, and even U.S. Minerals Management Service misconduct prior to the BP oil blowout.

* YEP...!

Sure, Democrats will portray this as simply partisan abuse doled out by a conservative Republican. However, as one top Democratic congressional aide told the Politico.com: "I think the White House is underestimating him. What makes him so dangerous is that he's willing to turn on Republicans, too."

It's Congress' duty to provide oversight of the executive branch, and to hold its own members to a high standard of behavior. The integrity of our constitutional democracy demands it.

That's Issa's job. We should all support him as he does democracy's dirty work.

November 17, 2010 at 7:30 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.nationalreview.com/planet-gore/253165/ge-buys-volts-taxpayers-get-charged-henry-payne

Contrary to its rhetoric, the Democratic party has presided over economic policies that have benefited Wall Street, not Main Street.

A chief example is corporate-welfare king General Electric, which has strategically used the Obama administration’s attempted takeover of America’s energy economy to pad its bottom line.

“The Obama administration gave corporate giant General Electric $24.9 million in grants from the $787-billion economic ‘stimulus’ law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009...

[Yet] despite getting $24.9 million from U.S. taxpayers, GE decreased its U.S.-based employees by 18,000 in 2009.

* OH... AND BY THE WAY...

According to Standard & Poor’s, GE took in $156 billion in revenue in 2009.”

(*SMIRK*)

Why are taxpayers giving money to a $156 billion corporate fat cat? To save the planet, of course.

(*ROLLING MY EYES*) (*SNICKER*)

GE makes “smart grid technology” where the company - along with utilities - stands to gain from Obama’s market-socialist plans that advance the electrification of the automobile. One piece of that electrification model is the Chevy Volt, a key reason the feds bailed out Government Motors with $50 billion in 2009. Subsidized infrastructure, subsidized cars, and now . . . subsidized alliances.

The Detroit News reported last week that “General Electric will convert half its 30,000 worldwide fleet of vehicles to electrics, including purchasing 12,000 cars from GM beginning with the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. In all, the Fairfield, CT.–based company, which makes charging stations, will purchase 25,000 plug-in electric cars by 2015.” [And] yes, those charging stations (GE makes the GE Wattstation) are also subsidized by up to $2,000 of your tax money.

“GE’s purchase will drive sales to help GM offset the vast investment it made in pioneering technologies.” said Edmunds.com analyst Michelle Krebs.

Um, yes, And it will also create a market for taxpayer-financed GE chargers. Small world, isn’t it?

Greased by taxpayer dollars, the corporations benefit from this false market.Greased by taxpayer dollars, the corporations benefit from this false market.

November 17, 2010 at 11:57 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/11/12/morning-bell-the-obamacare-burden-to-your-state-budget/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Facing a $25 billion deficit for their next two-year budget cycle, Texas lawmakers are considering closing the gap by dropping out of Medicaid.

“This system is bankrupting our state,” State Representative Warren Chisum told The New York Times. “We need to get out of it. And with the budget shortfall we’re anticipating, we may have to act this year,” he said.

And Texas is not alone.

Medicaid already eats up a huge share of state budgets. In Texas, for example, more than 20% of the state budget is spent on Medicaid. The crisis facing states across the country is that ObamaCare forces states to massively expand their already burdensome Medicaid rolls.

Starting in 2014 states must expand Medicaid to all non-elderly individuals with family incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level. At first, ObamaCare picks up the first three years of benefit costs for expansion.

* ACTUALLY THE CHINESE WILL PICK UP THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF BENEFIT COSTS - VIA TREASURY BOND PURCHASES THAT WILL HAVE TO BE REPAID WITH INTEREST IN THE FUTURE. (*SIGH*)

* ONE MORE TIME, KIDDIES... (*SIGH*)... A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RUNNING A DEFICIT "PAYS" FOR NOTHING... "GIVES" NOTHING AWAY THAT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE REIMBURSED (WITH INTEREST TACKED ON) DOWN THE ROAD BY US, OUR CHILDREN, AND OUR GRANDCHILDREN.

[I]n 2017 states begin to shoulder a larger and larger share of these benefit costs, maxing out at 10% by 2020.

* AND AS WE ALL KNOW, MOST STATES TODAY CAN ONLY BALANCE THEIR BUDGETS VIA SMOKE AND MIRRORS ACCOUNTING AND OF COURSE... TAKING ON MORE DEBT. (*SMIRK*) (SO HOW'S ADDING ANOTHER 10% TO THE BURDEN GONNA WORK OUT DO YOU SUPPOSE...? HMM...???) OH... AND GET THIS:

ObamaCare does not pay for any of the costs necessary to administer the expansion of the Medicaid rolls, rolls that are expected to increase by approximately 50% in states like Nevada, Oregon, and Texas.

The Heritage Foundation’s Ed Haislmaier and Brian Blase found that just the administrative costs of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion will cost almost $12 billion by 2020.

* HEY... FOLKS... GOOGLE THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: "INTEREST NATIONAL DEBT 2020"

Texas recently concluded that the Medicaid expansion may add more than 2 million people to the program and cost the state up to $27 billion in a single decade.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration estimated in April that ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion would require an additional $5.2 billion in spending between 2013 and 2019 and more than $1 billion a year beginning in 2017.

In California, the Legislative Analyst’s Office concluded that Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion will likely add annual costs to the state budget in “the low billions of dollars.”

Mississippi, Indiana, and Nebraska each retained Milliman, Inc., a national health care econometrics firm, to perform a fiscal analysis of the Medicaid expansion on their states’ budgets. For Mississippi, Milliman estimates that between 206,000 and 415,000 people will be added to Medicaid, with a 10-year impact on the state budget of between $858 million and $1.66 billion.

The seven-year cost of the Medicaid expansion in Indiana is estimated to be between $2.59 billion and $3.11 billion, with 388,000 to 522,000 people joining the state’s Medicaid rolls.

Finally, Milliman estimates that ObamaCare will result in nearly one of five Nebraskans being covered by Medicaid at a cost of $526 million to $766 million over the next decade.

ObamaCare’s unfunded mandates are a fiscal time bomb set to explode state balance sheets across the country starting in 2014.

November 17, 2010 at 11:57 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/17/bc-as-afghanistan-2nd-ld-writethru0641/

NATO forces may still lead some combat operations in Afghanistan beyond 2014, the target date for shifting authority to Afghan troops, the alliance's top civilian in the country said Wednesday.

* HEY, FOLKS... REMEMBER PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LITTLE SPEECH LAST YEAR PROMISING WITHDRAWL IN 18 MONTHS?

The comment was the latest indication that the U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan will continue to be sizable well into the next decade, despite plans to draw down troops and transfer responsibility to the Afghan government.

Mark Sedwill said the end of 2014 was not a deadline. "It's a goal," he told reporters in the capital. "It's realistic but not guaranteed."

"There might still be one or two parts of the country where the transition process is ongoing and that might last into 2015 or beyond," said Sedwilll, NATO's senior civilian representative.

(*SMIRK*)

November 17, 2010 at 11:58 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/11/17/sen_rockefeller_fcc_should_take_fox_news_msnbc_off_airwaves.html

* WOW! IF THIS DOESN'T TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LEFTIST MINDSET...

(*SHRUG*)

November 17, 2010 at 11:58 PM

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