- Mitt Romney Ad: "Day 1" May 18, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- "I'm Not A Birther, But..." May 18, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- "Sodomy Is Not A Civil Right." May 18, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Condoleezza Rice Doesn't Want To Be Vice President May 18, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Buy Me Stuff, Ctd. May 17, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Marriage Equality A Double-Edged Sword For The President May 17, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Happy Fifth Blogiversary To Me May 17, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Ron Paul Is Out May 15, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Michelle Obama Is A Muslim May 15, 2012 Bert McBrayer
- Mitt Likes Music May 15, 2012 Bert McBrayer
Lately the McCain campaign has been attempting to hammer home the idea that American’s should question Barack Obama’s character and judgment based on a tenuous at best association with William Ayers a former member of the Weather Underground, an organization that performed a series of bombings in the late 60′s in violent protest to the Vietnam war. McCain and Palin want American’s wondering whether or not Obama has the same radical views as those of the unrepentant but reformed domestic terrorist.
So, this begs the question. In a nation where the Justice system is supposed to be based on the principle that your innocent until proven guilty, is it fair, in a presidential election, to try and pin the radical beliefs of one man on a candidate simply because they happen to live in the same neighborhood and both worked on some of the same education boards?
I find myself not too happy with Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today. It appears that on Wednesday he went on to the liberal talk radio show of Bill Press and said?
Economy
The TARP Money Maker
Yesterday the Treasury announced that it would let 10 of the largest TARP recipient banks to start paying back as much as $68 Billion of the $200 Billion that was given out. While this is definitely a good sign we are not yet in the clear.
ROBIN SIDEL and DEBORAH SOLOMON of the Wall Street Journal write?
While the collapse of the U.S. banking system is no longer seen as an imminent danger, access to the capital markets remains difficult and bank balance sheets are clogged with troubled loans and other assets. Most of the nation’s 8,000 banks are being hammered by the recession, and the number of bank failures is expected to climb. The 10 banks seeking to return government money will be able to continue leaning on the U.S. government in other ways, including by issuing debt guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Micro-managing the Tax Payer Checkbook
The President and congress have been working on getting an $85 Billion dollar war spending bill passed. On Thursday the House approved the bill but added almost $12 Billion dollars in spending above and beyond what Obama asked for.
I understand what the first 85 Billion is for. Increased numbers of troops in Afghanistan requires money for transportation, supplies, and infrastructure to maintain them. Money is also needed to continue operations in Iraq.
So what does this extra 12 Billion get us?
First of all, they added an extra $2.2 Billion in foreign aid, above and beyond that of what the president asked for. Why is congresses added more money to foreign aid than what the president wants? I don?t see any reason for it.
Second, $4 Billion of it goes to the purchase of military equipment, including the C-17 cargo planes that the Pentagon has stated it doesn?t need. Hello? If they don?t need them, why are we buying them?
This is the part that gets me. What gives congress the authority to tell the Pentagon that they have to buy these planes even if the Pentagon says they don?t need them? I understand that congress sets the budget, but shouldn?t it be the Pentagon that decides how the money is spent? I can even understand congress saying ok, here is this program for buying cargo planes, you have this much cash to do it with. Then if the Pentagon says they don?t need them or buys what they need, the left over money goes back to congress for other projects. It just doesn?t make sense that congress has the ability to say to the military, or any other government organization, that you have to buy this or that regardless of if you need it or not, that?s just wasteful. Why are we letting congress micromanage the checkbook?
Cross-posted on The Pajama Pundit
Chrysler sends Dealers the Pink Slip
Today, Chrysler sent 789 dealerships around the nation packing, by telling them that their franchise license would not be renewed.
Here is the full list of dealerships getting the Ax.
There are 22 dealerships in Iowa that are on the list. I?m not sure what this exactly means for them. I?m glad to see that the Wes Finch dealership here in Grinnell was not on the list, especially after having just bought a car from them. The sad part of it is that dealerships, especially in smaller towns, are often times serious contributors to things like as local high school sports teams and events. If this means that some of these companies actually go out of business, which right now is anything but certain, then those towns could definitely be hurting.
After the break, a list of the Dealerships in Iowa that are affected.
Chrysler Bankruptcy In the Works
The New York Times and MSNBC are reporting that the Treasury is preparing a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filling for Chrysler. The filling could come as early as next week. While it seems that there is a deal in the works to preserve the pensions and retiree health care benefits of UAW members, there is still a lot of things up in the air, especially regarding the creditors that Chrysler owes approximately $6.9 billion. The times reports…
The government?s most recent offer, presented Wednesday, would give the company?s lenders about 22 cents on the dollar, or $1.5 billion, and a 5 percent equity stake in a reorganized Chrysler. Earlier this week, a steering committee of the lenders proposed that they receive 65 cents on the dollar, or $4.5 billion, and a 40 percent equity stake.
There seems like there is still a fairly significant gap between the two offers so right now it’s hard to tell how painful or easy the company will be able to work through bankruptcy protection. It is expected that the Treasury, along with the Canadian government, will be backing and providing financial support so that the company can operate while in protection. The merger with Fiat also appears to be moving forward, and is expected to be able to move along easier under bankruptcy protection.
bankruptcy case would allow Fiat to more easily select the assets of Chrysler that it wants to preserve, such as dealerships, factories and the company?s product development operations, these people said. The approach, which relies upon Section 363 of the federal bankruptcy code
The interesting part of this is that how this all plays out could provide a blueprint for a possible bankruptcy plan for GM as well.
The only question I have really is, do the taxpayers get back their bailout money in this deal and the potential GM deal?
While I’m still in favor of the fact that we gave these two companies money, it would be nice to get some of it back. I feel that a controlled bankruptcy is a far better path than the sudden collapse that say Lehman Brothers suffered.