Why Democrats Must Restrain Spending By Senator Evan Bayh

Progressive Government Can't Be Built On A Foundation Of Debt

By Indiana Senator Evan Bayh

America is on an unsustainable fiscal path that threatens our future. Changing course is imperative, and Democrats should lead the way.

Last month the Office of Management and Budget predicted that the national debt will increase by $9 trillion over the next decade—$2 trillion more than forecast just four months earlier. Government net interest payments exceed $1 trillion in 2019, up from $382 billion this year. Because projected deficits exceed projected economic growth, the gap will be self-perpetuating.

The consequences of all this will not be benign. A world saturated with U.S. currency will eventually look elsewhere to invest, causing the dollar's value to drop; foreign creditors, their confidence shaken by our fiscal profligacy, will demand higher payments to keep holding our debt. The net effect will be "stagflation," that pernicious combination of slower growth, higher inflation and interest rates, and lower living standards Americans suffered through in the 1970s.

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Ron Paul: The Federal Reserve Is The Culprit, They Are A Conspiracy

Excellent 6-minute interview with Congressman Dr. Ron Paul conducted by Time Magazine and released last Thursday to coincide with the release of his newest book, End The Fed.  Topics discussed include:

• HR 1207 to audit the Federal Reserve, marijuana, the war on drugs, the federal income tax, Iraq & Afghanistan (great comments), Iran, Obama, Bush, liberty, and the Constitution.

Some of his more memorable statements:

• The Federal Reserve is the key element in the formation of financial bubbles. The Federal Reserve is the culprit. They're a government unto themselves. They are a conspiracy.

• If we could get an audit we could reveal exactly what they do.  They deal in trillions of dollars of secret agreements with foreign central banks that none of us know anything about.

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The Daily Show Examines The Acorn Seed

I've been waiting for an angle to cover the ACORN scandal, and Jon Stewart provides the vehicle.  Yeah, these are serious issues, but how can you deny the humor.  From the insanely white protagonists posing as pimp and prostitute, yet not even remotely trying to disguise their educated elocution, to the sheer ridiculousness of their plan:

• We will have 13 under-age El Salvadoran girls smuggled illegally into the country who will then work as prostitutes from our home (we need a lot of bedrooms).  Then I want to launder the illegal profits from said operation into a future run for Congress, but not right away because I'm still in law school.  And yes of course, I'm a pimp. 

The comedy ratchets up a notch with each successive release.  In San Bernardino, an ACORN employee confesses to shooting her husband.  In San Diego, the employee plots to help the down-on-their luck duo achieve child-smuggling logisitcal success, while also requesting the fee of the posing prostitute.  He's just curious.

And all the way along we've been treated to the beautiful mess that is Bertha Lewis, the corrupt-CEO of embattled ACORN as she spews nonsense to anyone who will listen.  Jon Stewart took a look at the sordid nut that is also the ACORN seed.

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Revoke Rating Agencies' NRSRO Designation For Structered Products

Submitted by Janet Tavakoli

The IMF invited me to present my views on the global financial crisis as detailed in my book, Dear Mr. Buffett: What an Investor Learns 1,269 Miles from Wall Street on Monday, September 21.  Among other recommendations, I will suggest Congress approve more funding for investigations that should lead to felony indictments of financial professionals involved in the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of the capital markets.  Predatory securitizations of fraudulent loans, the credit derivatives that referenced them, and fraudulent accounting enabled former investment banks and some legacy banks to raise money from new investors to pay back old investors (themselves and mortgage lenders) in what was known to be an unsustainable and fraud riddled business model.

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Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack Breaks Bread With Gasparino (Clip)

Excellent interview with outgoing Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack from September 11, as he sits down with Gasparino and the CNBC Power Lunch crew.  Caruso-Cabrera and Bill Griffeth also participate.  Leverage on Wall Street and the financial crisis dominate the discussion, and Charlie doesn't disappoint as he takes a few shots at Bernanke, Geithner and the other failed regulators. 

Can't say the same for Mack, as he offers the golden excuse that "no one saw it coming."  What a load of bullshite, as he dutifully joins the long list of regulatory apologists.  The Gasparino shot at Hillary Clinton was entertaining as well.  The clip improves after the 5 minute mark.

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Meredith Whitney: At Least 300 More Banks To Fail

I stumbled across this clip from Friday's Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer and Meredith Whitney.  It's a good opportunity to talk about Sawyer's intelligence.  She has none.  (Editor's Note: I got stories but I'm not talking.)  Whitney reiterates her thesis that home prices have 25% further to fall and that consumer credit contraction will keep the recovery weak.  Sawyer seems almost shocked by the pessimism, as though her assistant never explained to Meredith that you're not supposed to tell the truth on morning TV.  She recovers in time to ask MW for one piece of 'advise' for everyone out there. 

Meredith Whitney doesn't give advice (Damnit Sawyer, 'advice') to coffee drinking, marmalade slapping, stay-at-home cellulite packers for crying out loud.  She was just with Warren Buffett last week (and he was so sweet!) and tomorrow she's gonna tell Blankfein to give us back our AIG-pass through $12.9 billion.  The fluff tour is over and GMA will never see the likes of Whitney again.

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After The Bubble Burst: A Look At Dubai One Year Later (BBC Video)

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Bernanke On Trial For Crimes Against Humanity; To Be Judged By Citizen Councils Led By Glenn Greenwald & Alex Jones

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Tears Of A Clown, Pelosi Gets All Choked Up

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

• “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw … I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes. “This kind of rhetoric is just, is really frightening and it created a climate in which we, violence took place and … I wish that we would all, again, curb our enthusiasm in some of the statements that are made."

Gawker wonders if Pelosi went too far with her melodrama (umm, yes).  This will backfire politically.  Never let yourself look weak. Your opponents will use this clip to destroy you. Would love to see her thrown out of office in 2010.  If Karma is listening, please end this woman's political career. Tired of her personal stylists, personal jets and personal bullshit. 

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Banking Mayhem On Display At MSNBC

Check the health of your local bank. Click the photo and you'll go directly to the article and interactive chart.  Then click on any state, then your community and see the financial health (simple easy ratios) of any bank you choose.  Best interactive graph I've come across.  My bank doesn't look so good, with an extremely high 29% of assets listed in the 'troubled' category.

Go

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The Day I Called Larry Summers A Generational Rapist

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Peter Schiff Formally Announces His Candidacy For The U. S. Senate

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Ratigan Asks: "Is There Any Sum Of Money That We Would Not Have Given To AIG"

Ratigan and Dr. Elizabeth Warren discuss AIG counterparty payments, Goldman Sachs and Geithner's testimony before the Congressional Oversight Panel.  Broadcast September 14.  Brand new video.

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Erin Burnett, (Former) Banking Apologista, Grows A Sack

Chris Whalen and Paul Miller discuss the health of the banking sector, deleveraging, credit destruction and new capital requirements with Burnett.  Near the end, the focus shifts to Goldman Sachs, where Whalen says their future is bright without Lehman and Bear Stearns as competitors, but cautions about the massive political risk:

• "The political risk is the wildcard with that firm.  They are so over-exposed politically. There's nobody even in their league right now in terms of political risk."

The interplay ends and as they head to break, Erin Burnett mumbles the following to co-anchor Kristi Yamaguchi:

• "The AIG payback, the $13.2 billion...it's just there.  People, it just raises questions."

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Dr. Elizabeth Warren: The One-Woman Transparency Machine

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The Real Crisis Yet To Unfold

Guest post by Brett Buchanan from It'sNotRealMoney

When I recently read the Wegelin & Co. Investment Commentary 265 dated August 24, 2009, it became clear to me that what would appear to be a nation where public and private borrowing has simply spiraled out of control is in fact much worse than it appears. In reading the report I skimmed down to Section 5, titled The USA’s Achilles Heel. As I read the section it became abundantly apparent that amidst all the bailout and stimulus money flying around there is an even greater story, a devastating one, the likes of which has not found its way into the main stream media. The story goes like this.

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Bush's Third Term?...You're Living It (Deja Vu All Over Again)

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Dylan Ratigan: Americans Have Been Taken Hostage By Wall Street, K Street Lobbyists & A Broken Political System

The truth hurts.  Ratigan raises the issues we choke on everyday.  Your retaliation will come at the ballot box in November 2010.  Candidates and incumbents who support the banking oligarchy and the Wall Street bailouts must be thrown out into the street.  My fear however, is that they will end up unscathed and smiling on K Street, peddling their malignant, anti-taxpayer influence to the detriment of all but their banking bastard buddies.

We've been screaming for 8 months for a high-profile mainstream journalist to take up your cause.  Above all others, Dylan Ratigan has responded as he continues to drive the hammer via any outlet he can find.  Yesterday it was an impressive op-ed at the Huffington Post.  We have the complete, systemic thrashing after the jump.

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Presidential Comedy Break: Obama Is Shouted Down By Kanye West

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Obama Slaps (Lightly) The Wall Street Hand That Feeds Him

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