House Panel Approves Ron Paul’s Fed Audit Bill November 19, 2009
Posted by Joey in Bailout, Economics, Politics.Tags: Federal Reserve, Ron Paul, Timothy Geithner
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Ron “End the Fed” Paul gets a huge victory in the House as the Financial Services Committee votes to audit the Federal Reserve.
Timothy Geithner will be looking for a new job in a few months. Count on it.
House Attacks Fed, Treasury – WSJ.com.
Political frustration over the rescue of Wall Street and high unemployment erupted in Congress Thursday, with one committee threatening to impose tighter scrutiny on the Federal Reserve and another excoriating Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The House Financial Services Committee voted, 43-26, to approve a measure sponsored by Texas Republican Ron Paul, vociferously opposed by the Fed, that would direct the congressional Government Accountability Office to expand its audits of the Fed to include decisions about interest rates and lending to individual banks. The Fed says the provision threatens its ability to make monetary policy without political interference.
The vote was the latest blow to the central bank, which has been become a lightning rod for politicians responding to popular anger that Wall Street was bailed out while the public was not. The Fed faces a stinging backlash from legislators from both parties who argue that has too much power and too little oversight. On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee began debating legislation that would largely remove the Fed from bank supervision over the objections of both the Fed and the Obama administration.
‘Going Rogue’ November 14, 2009
Posted by Joey in Media, Politics.Tags: Going Rogue, MSM, Sarah Palin, Wetting Panties
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Stand by for the wetting of the collective panties by the mainstream media and so-called progressives when Sarah Palin’s book Going Rogue: An American Life comes out.
‘Going Rogue’ is Sarah Palin’s shot at redemption and revenge — latimes.com.
For Sarah Palin, whose electrifying debut on the national stage at last year's Republican National Convention was followed by perceived missteps and critical media coverage that left her feeling unappreciated and under attack, “Going Rogue: An American Life” is a shot at redemption as well as revenge.
Like just about everything she has done publicly since she was thrust into the national spotlight as Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate, Palin's entry into the literary world has been splashy and contentious.
Her three-week, 14-state tour, to be kicked off Monday by an appearance on “Oprah,” is an opportunity to recapture the narrative of her own career, keep her political options open and make heaps of money in the process.
After suddenly resigning the governorship of Alaska this summer and lying low for a few months to write her memoir, she crashed back into the limelight this week with a book that topped bestseller lists well before its release on Tuesday.
1,000 Dominoes November 10, 2009
Posted by Joey in Politics.Tags: Berlin Wall, Collapse of Communism
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How fitting that the collapse of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago was recreated with large dominos.
On November 9, 1989, thousands rushed through the ruins of the Berlin Wall, celebrating the unity of East and West. 20 years later, millions across the world watched as one thousand seven-and-a-half foot tall dominoes fell marking the occasion.
Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes November 7, 2009
Posted by Joey in Politics, Stupid Bureaucrats.Tags: Bank of America, California, Californication
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If you had any doubt that the government of California (and probably a few other states as well) is just a bunch of thieves, then here’s definitive proof. Californication, in other words.
Also note the incompetent collusion of the Bank of America in this scheme. Since the bailouts, you can’t really consider banks as being independent of the government; instead, they’re becoming just another means for the government to take your property and snoop on your private business.
Those of you living in California might want to consider living somewhere else, given the culture of thievery in the name of government.
Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes: States Seize Citizens’ Property to Balance Their Budgets – ABC News.
San Francisco resident Carla Ruff’s safe-deposit box was drilled, seized, and turned over to the state of California, marked “owner unknown.”
“I was appalled,” Ruff said. “I felt violated.”
Unknown? Carla’s name was right on documents in the box at the Noe Valley Bank of America location. So was her address — a house about six blocks from the bank. Carla had a checking account at the bank, too — still does — and receives regular statements. Plus, she has receipts showing she’s the kind of person who paid her box rental fee. And yet, she says nobody ever notified her.
“They are zealously uncovering accounts that are not unclaimed,” Ruff said.
To make matters worse, Ruff discovered the loss when she went to her box to retrieve important paperwork she needed because her husband was dying. Those papers had been shredded.
And that’s not all. Her great-grandmother’s precious natural pearls and other jewelry had been auctioned off. They were sold for just $1,800, even though they were appraised for $82,500.
Red Light Cameras Coming Down In College Station November 5, 2009
Posted by Joey in Automobiles, Culture, Government, Politics.Tags: College Station, Jim Ash, Red Light Cameras, Texas
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A voter initiative does something useful for a change. No more red light cameras in College Station, TX.
Traffic cameras voted down | Bryan/College Station, Texas – The Eagle.
College Station’s red light cameras will be coming down.
Voters on Tuesday opted to remove the city’s nine cameras at seven intersections by a margin of 4,081 to 3,809.
For the first time since College Station resident Jim Ash began his crusade against he cameras, he had a hard time Tuesday night finding words to express his feelings.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “People told me that to challenge the status quo, it’s very difficult, and I could do nothing but agree with them after this.”
The College Station City Council approved the use of red light cameras in 2007. Four were activated in February 2008, and five were added in May 2009.
Al Gore Getting Rich Sucking the Government Tit November 3, 2009
Posted by Joey in Environmentalists, Politics.Tags: Al Gore, Global Warming, Global Whining, Silver Spring Networks, Subsidies
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Al Gore shows how money can be made off the global warming scam: Suck on the Government Tit.
Gore’s Dual Role in Spotlight – Advocate and Investor – NYTimes.com.
Former Vice President Al Gore thought he had spotted a winner last year when a small California firm sought financing for an energy-saving technology from the venture capital firm where Mr. Gore is a partner.
The company, Silver Spring Networks, produces hardware and software to make the electricity grid more efficient. It came to Mr. Gore’s firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital providers, looking for $75 million to expand its partnerships with utilities seeking to install millions of so-called smart meters in homes and businesses.
Mr. Gore and his partners decided to back the company, and in gratitude Silver Spring retained him and John Doerr, another Kleiner Perkins partner, as unpaid corporate advisers.
The deal appeared to pay off in a big way last week, when the Energy Department announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants. Of the total, more than $560 million went to utilities with which Silver Spring has contracts. Kleiner Perkins and its partners, including Mr. Gore, could recoup their investment many times over in coming years.
