Where'd the bailout money go? Shhhh, it's a secret

By GottaLaff

1. Find pillow and/or wall. 2. Make fist. 3. Read this post. 4. Punch pillow and/or wall. 5. Scream loudly. 6. Nurse fist back to health:

Think you could borrow money from a bank without saying what you were going to do with it? Well, apparently when banks borrow from you they don't feel the same need to say how the money is spent.

After receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending it. Some won't even talk about it.

"We're choosing not to disclose that," said Kevin Heine, spokesman for Bank of New York Mellon, which received about $3 billion.

Oh really? I'm choosing to disclose that Kevin is a defective-minded little wretch. And thanks for the transparency.

Now on to JPMorgan Chase:

Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money, said that while some of the money was lent, some was not, and the bank has not given any accounting of exactly how the money is being used.

"We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to," Kelly said.

To be fair, that's only two measly banks. I can't imagine that all of them are so tight-lipped. That would be astoundingly, maddeningly unforgivable.

The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest?

None of the banks provided specific answers.

I'msorrywhat?

Some banks said they simply didn't know where the money was going.

That's not exactly the answer we were looking for.

The answers highlight the secrecy surrounding the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which earmarked $700 billion - about the size of the Netherlands' economy - to help rescue the financial industry.

There has been no accounting of how banks spend that money. Lawmakers summoned bank executives to Capitol Hill last month and implored them to lend the money - not to hoard it or spend it on corporate bonuses, junkets or to buy other banks. But there is no process in place to make sure that's happening and there are no consequences for banks that don't comply.

Wow. That should bode well for our tanking economy. What could possibly go wrong from here?

Pressured by the Bush administration to approve the money quickly, Congress attached nearly no strings to the $700 billion bailout in October. And the Treasury Department, which doles out the money, never asked banks how it would be spent.

Good for you, Congress! Living right up to that big approval number, are ya?

Approval of Congress' job performance is down to single digits again for the first time since early September.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters found that only nine percent (9%) give Congress good or excellent ratings, while 54% give the legislature poor marks. Just one-out-of-50 voters (2%) think Congress is doing an excellent job.

One more time, now, because I'm having a tough time believing what I'm hearing:

[N]o bank provided even the most basic accounting for the federal money.

Most banks wouldn't say why they were keeping the details secret. [...]

One didn't even want to say they wouldn't say.

I am now a believer.

[Elizabeth Warren, the top congressional watchdog overseeing the financial bailout], said her oversight panel will try to force the banks to say where they've spent the money.

"If the appropriate restrictions were put on the money to begin with, if the appropriate transparency was in place, then we wouldn't be in a position where you're trying to call every recipient and get the basic information that should already be in public documents," she said.

Garrett, the New Jersey congressman, said the nation might never get a clear answer on where hundreds of billions of dollars went.

Your government dollars at work. Oh, and thanks for that whole "who needs oversight" policy, Republicans. It's really paid off.

VIDEO: Rove Will ‘Help Lead’ GOP’s Fight Against Eric Holder For Attorney General

By GottaLaff

Chris Matthews' show: Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly

How many more days until January 20, again?

On Friday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) released a statement noting that the Republicans initially praised Holder, but now seem to be taking their marching orders from Rove:

LEAHY: In addition, Senator Grassley has acknowledged Mr. Holder’s impeccable credentials while reserving judgment. But of course since then, Karl Rove has appeared on the Today Show and signaled that Republicans ought to go after Mr. Holder. Right-wing talk radio took up the drum beat.

I believe it was Thom Hartmann (or not) who mentioned that Holder has said he'd be willing to investigate BushCo. There's your motive.

Here's a little something to put BushCo into perspective. When your sides start splitting, blame Kingsburyqc.

Mark Halperin on biggest media failure in the past 7 years - “It was extreme bias, extreme pro-Obama coverage.”

What a serious dumbass. What John says-

If there was a journalist out there who you wanted to talk to about media bias, would you start with Mark Halperin? Listening to Mark Halperin discuss media bias is like listening to Michael Brown opine on the benefits of good disaster relief. Halperin, you will remember, is the deep thinker who informed us all that McCain’s inability to explain how many houses he owned was… bad news for team Obama.

Was Howard Kurtz unavailable for comment? What about Brent Bozell? And really, being insufficiently hostile to Obama was the media’s biggest failure the past seven years? Really?

Vice President Cheney and former Attorney General Gonzales indicted

By GottaLaff

Via Think Progress:

A South Texas grand jury has returned multi-count indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers:

The indictment accuses Cheney and Gonzales of engaging in organized criminal activity. It criticizes Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and “at least misdemeanor assaults” on detainees by working through the prison companies.

Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

One down, 17519718 to go. Add this to the mix:

Taxpayers to pay for Alberto Gonzales’ private attorney

This summer, six attorneys “rejected from civil service positions at the Justice Department filed a lawsuit” against “former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and three other top officials for allegedly violating their rights by taking politics into consideration” in the hiring process for the Honors and Summer Law Intern Programs. Today, McClatchy reports that the Justice Department has agreed to pay for a private lawyer to defend Gonzales, which could cost taxpayers up to $24,000 a month.

I wish them the same legal considerations* they've offered us over the past eight years.

*Rendition them. Torture them. Incarcerate them indefinitely.

H/t: Eve

VIDEO-- Reid and Lieberman, starring in "As the Stomach Turns"

By GottaLaff

If only this were simply a soap opera. But it isn't. We're stuck with the Lieberman/Reid Show, despite the lousy ratings.

BREAKING: Lieberman will stay on

By GottaLaff

Harry Reid just announced. It wasn't even close, from what he said. Lieberman keeps his chairmanship.

"We need to be unified. We need to be unified as Democrats. We need to be unified as a Senate."

He defies anyone to be as angry as he was, Reid says. But, he doesn't want to "get even". He "feels good" about what they did today and doesn't "apologize to anyone". It's time to move forward.

He'll never understand or approve of what Lieberman did, but he's been one of the more progressive members, he said. He fought of the civil rights movement, says Reid. We need to handle the problems that face our country.

Do I trust him? Yes, I do.

Hey Harry? We don't. Not one bit. Not at all.

Traitor Joe is thanking Reid.

UPDATE:
Traitor Joe says the resolution nails him on his campaign remarks. He's denying some of the statements, saying they are "not true". He regrets "some" of his statements. Time to move on.

Claims what he said at the Republican convention were to explain his support of McCain. Uh huh.

He thinks he can reach across the aisle. He's defending his "independence of mind". But he considers himself to be a good member in standing of the Dem caucus... "that's what the record shows".

He's very enthusiastic, he says. He's excited about the chairmanship. He's relinquishing his seat on the Environment Committee.

Wow, that's some sacrifice.

He and McCain will introduce a new version of their anti-global warming rule.

Reid's New Rule: From now on, each member will be limited to chair one full, and one sub-committee.

See "labels".

VIDEO: Lying about Barack Obama runs in the McCain family

By GottaLaff

How admirable. Gramm-pa has now gotten his own daughter to lie on his behalf:

Daughter Megan claims NOW endorses her dad.

The McCain camp will say anything to get elected, even if it's not true. Yesterday 10/31/08 wife Cindy and daughter Megan appeared on FOX and Friends. Megan told this whopper, which Gretchen Carlson let go without comment, as it fit perfectly with the talking point they were trying to sell (Sarah Palin is a feminist).

National Organization for Women PAC Endorses Obama-Biden

STATEMENT OF KIM GANDY
Chair, National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC)

September 16, 2008

It is with great enthusiasm that I announce today, on behalf of the nation's oldest and largest women's rights organization, that the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee (NOW PAC) proudly endorses Sen. Barack Obama for President of the United States.

It's so comically easy to disprove these lies. Do they still not get that these new-fangled inventions like YouTube, computers, Tee Vee Machines, radios, and telephones exist? Communication happens, Gramm-pa. Deal.

The Politics Of Auntie Zeituni: The plot sickens

By GottaLaff

Background here. Timing is everything. Via TPM:

The real story, though, is down in the third paragraph of the AP story ...

Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.

That's about as transparent a red flag as an outfit like the AP is usually willing to give. And there you have it. Quite likely working in concert with the McCain campaign, a Bush administration official is leaking details on an immigration case to try to help McCain three days before the election. It's shades of Bush I's riffling through Bill Clinton's passport files just before the 1992 election in a desperate last minute gambit as they were swirling down the drain.

Late Update: Note too that the story first got leaked to the Times of London, a Murdoch paper with a history of taking planted stories from Republicans for siphoning back into the US media.

Next:

Dear Mr. Chertoff:

I was startled to read in today's Associated Press that a "federal law enforcement official" has leaked information about an immigration case involving a relative of Senator Obama. Even more troubling, the AP reports that it could not "could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved," a very disturbing suggesting indeed. This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible.

I note that this is not the first leak of law enforcement information apparently designed to influence the coming Presidential election -- in recent weeks law enforcement sources leaked information about an alleged investigation of a community services organization, a leak that the Department of Justice informs me is now under investigation by the Department's Office of the Inspector General and Professional Responsibility.

Such leaks are deeply harmful to the political process, and the American people expect and deserve better from their government and its law enforcement agencies.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.

See labels.

Gramm-pa McCain Camp Launches Lame October ‘Surprise’: Rezko

By GottaLaff

According to CNN, Gramm-pa's campaign is convinced their tax talk is working. But, of course, that's not dirty enough for them:

In what appears to be an attempt to gin up an “October Surprise,” the McCain campaign teamed up with the American Conservative Union today to make a campaign issue of Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to convicted Chicago real estate developer Tony Rezko.

The ACU quietly filed a formal complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee — the group’s Website features no mention of the action — against the Democratic presidential nominee. From The Boston Globe:

Rezko was convicted in June on federal corruption charges not involving Obama. [...]

[I]ndependent fact-checking groups have concluded that there’s no proof that Obama was involved in any wrongdoing.

Still, the American Conservative Union filed a formal complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee today alleging that Obama’s home purchase violated the Senate’s gift ban. In the letter to the Ethics Committee, ACU Chairman David Keene said that “sufficient information exists to demonstrate that Sen. Obama solicited, received, and accepted a gift greater than $50 from Mr. and Mrs. Rezko, and Sen. Obama failed to disclose this gift.”

Right on cue, the McCain campaign held a conference call with reporters that featured former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.), who was a colleague of Obama’s for two years in the Illinois Senate, and Ed O’Callahan, a former federal prosecutor in New York.

During the call, the participants wanted to know why Obama has never answered questions from the media about the matter, while acknowledging Obama did answer questions about the matter from The Chicago Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times in March.

O’Callahan, clearly reading a script, veered off-topic into McCain campaign talking points:

“Obama needs to come clean on this deal before the election, so that voters can judge whether Obama received monetary benefits from these Rezko favors.

Since the Democrats took control of Congress only two years ago, they have driven our economy into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. What’s their solution to the problem? To spread more of our wealth around by giving it to those who don’t pay a single penny of federal income tax. With friends and priorities like these, Barack Obama and his Democrat allies lack the judgment to lead our country.”

Fitzgerald and O’Callahan had taken just one question from the reporters before the call was abruptly ended.

I’ve sat in on dozens of these conference calls, and I’m pretty sure this is a record for fewest questions allowed from reporters.

The obvious question is: If this is such an important controversy, why did the ACU wait until five days before the presidential election to file its complaint?

With no new information being offered, the complaint appears to be a stunt aimed at influencing the election. However, if this is what the McCain campaign has been holding up its sleeve, to be sprung at the last moment, it doesn’t look like Obama has much to fear from this year’s October surprise.

The wrong people are being reported to the ethics committee.

I'm running out of derisive adjectives. See "labels" for what's going through my mind right now.

The good news is, it's a lame attempt that will fail. Four and a half days. It can't come soon enough for me.

VIDEO-- Desperation Time: Gramm-pa McCain's spokesman speechless + Bonus Hillary Fliers!

By GottaLaff

They are running on fumes. Smelly, noxious fumes:


CNN's Rick Sanchez discussing Rashid Khalidi with Gramm-pa's spokesman Mike Goldfarb. Oh-h-h, suh-nap!

And as if that weren't enough, look who's er, borrowing Hillary. (click on images to enlarge)

Responds Hillary spokesperson Kathleen Strand: "It is safe to say Hillary Clinton does not approve this message. She made history earning 18 million votes and has urged everyone who supported her to vote for Barack Obama because they have so much more in common with him than they do with Senator McCain. Voters should not be distracted by last minute, desperate attempts that claim otherwise."

Pathetic losers.