STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday December 8

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday December 8, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 7, 2010

Dow 11,359.16 -3.03 (-0.03%)
Nasdaq 2,598.49 UNCH (UNCH)
S&P 500 1,223.75 +0.63 (+0.05%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.18 +0.04 (+1.21%)
30-Year Bond 4.37 -.00 (-0.02%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Reports

07:00 MBA Mortgage Applications 12/03
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior -16.5%

10:30 Crude Inventories 12/04

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[ozymandius]

2. Oil falls below $88 in Asia on profit-taking

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Oil prices fell Wednesday in Asia as traders locked in profits after crude rose above $90 a barrel for the first time in more than two years.

Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 86 cents to $87.83 a barrel at late afternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Traders will seek more clues on the strength of crude demand from U.S. government supply figures later Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute's report Tuesday was mixed, showing a drawdown in crude oil stocks but a rise in distillate and gasoline inventories.

more

[Festivito]

3. Debt: 12/06/2010 13,834,824,737,060.60 (UP 1,312,998,068.40) (Mon)

(Up a little. Good day.)
Everything got cancelled, so, instead it was a nice quiet day, but a short night.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,270,196,784,106.59 + 4,564,627,952,954.01
UP 77,038,802.53 + UP 1,235,959,265.87

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,216.87 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.65, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,860,992 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,504.86.
A family of three owes $133,514.58. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 5,574,733,827.50.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,716,489,218.34.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,596,602,469.36.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 45 reports in 67 days of FY2011 averaging 6.07B$ per report, 4.08B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 776 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.9 and 17.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
12/06/2010 13,834,824,737,060.60 BHO (UP 3,207,947,688,147.52 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,273,201,706,168.90 ------------* * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,488,337,653,009.68 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/15/2010 +065,794,144,300.11 ------------********** Mon
11/16/2010 +000,750,562,513.87 ------------********
11/17/2010 +000,670,859,874.97 ------------********
11/18/2010 -002,271,166,541.35 --
11/19/2010 +002,392,756,046.31 ------------*********
11/22/2010 +000,068,056,529.55 ------------******* Mon
11/23/2010 -000,022,584,331.05 ----
11/24/2010 +000,282,063,227.86 ------------********
11/26/2010 +003,743,380,701.15 ------------*********
11/29/2010 +000,134,381,143.81 ------------******** Mon
11/30/2010 +065,487,463,946.10 ------------**********
12/01/2010 -005,680,380,232.98 --
12/02/2010 +000,827,003,518.64 ------------********
12/03/2010 -000,051,568,825.48 ----
12/06/2010 +000,077,038,802.53 ------------******* Mon

132,202,010,674.04 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4646129&mesg_id=4646274

[Festivito]

94. Debt: 12/07/2010 13,838,490,314,497.64 (UP 3,665,577,437.04) (Tue)

(Up a little. Good day.)
Surveyed the day away at a glacial speed and a stopped internet connect.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,270,374,861,308.27 + 4,568,115,453,189.37
UP 178,077,201.68 + UP 3,487,500,235.36

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,216.80 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.65, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,868,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,515.62.
A family of three owes $133,546.86. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,483,821,618.43.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,838,675,132.90.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,598,757,937.10.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 46 reports in 68 days of FY2011 averaging 6.02B$ per report, 4.07B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 775 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.9 and 17.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
12/07/2010 13,838,490,314,497.64 BHO (UP 3,211,613,265,584.56 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,276,867,283,605.90 ------------* * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,486,125,860,531.67 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/16/2010 +000,750,562,513.87 ------------********
11/17/2010 +000,670,859,874.97 ------------********
11/18/2010 -002,271,166,541.35 --
11/19/2010 +002,392,756,046.31 ------------*********
11/22/2010 +000,068,056,529.55 ------------******* Mon
11/23/2010 -000,022,584,331.05 ----
11/24/2010 +000,282,063,227.86 ------------********
11/26/2010 +003,743,380,701.15 ------------*********
11/29/2010 +000,134,381,143.81 ------------******** Mon
11/30/2010 +065,487,463,946.10 ------------**********
12/01/2010 -005,680,380,232.98 --
12/02/2010 +000,827,003,518.64 ------------********
12/03/2010 -000,051,568,825.48 ----
12/06/2010 +000,077,038,802.53 ------------******* Mon
12/07/2010 +000,178,077,201.68 ------------********

66,585,943,575.61 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4648408&mesg_id=4648412

[ozymandius]

4. Anger of House Democrats boils over

This is going to be a tough sell if the tax plan sells at all.

Speaker after speaker expressed frustration at the president's acquiescence to Republican demands for a multi-year freeze on the rates for top income in exchange for an extension of unemployment insurance and a basket of Democratic-favored tax breaks, according to several Democratic sources.

The anger Democrats telegraphed in public comments Monday turned quickly into an escalating gripe session Tuesday night, according to those present. Those who spoke in favor of the plan were greeted with silence; those opposed received lusty ovations.

A tempestuous caucus meeting won't necessarily translate into defeat of the president's proposal. The question in the minds of many Democrats is whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will put the plan to a vote. Republicans say they will provide near-uniform support for it, meaning only a small share of House Democrats — probably fewer than four dozen — could put it over the top.

more

The Estate Tax expiration is another issue. California Democrat, Brad Sherman wants the Estate Tax to be retroactively applied to 2011 and 2012 at the 35% rate.

[Demeter]

10. It Better NOT Sell!

Congress can just sit on its hands, and all the Bush giveaways expire, and then we can talk.

[fasttense]

26. Of course this will sell.

This is how Obama works. He goes behind closed doors and makes secret little deals with RepubliCONS, Wall Street and Corporations. Then he comes out and dumps the big steaming pile on the Democrats. Then they all scream while the RepubliCONS snicker.

Obama and his corporatist administration then start complaining about liberals, accusing his party and supporters of everything from whining to living in a fantasy land that will destroy America. Eventually the Democratic Congress gives in to their leader and the steaming pile is passed as legislation.

That's why we have health care legislation that has added 10 million more people to the uninsured roles and forces people to buy useless, overpriced health insurance instead of getting them medical care for their money. That's why we have Wall Street regulations that have so many loop holes, it caused practically nothing to change.

Sorry I rant, but I have given up on expecting any change. Not until the poor, unemployed, suffering masses get up and protest on the streets for weeks and months, will anything change. Even that has a slim, at best, chance of changing Obama's rightward trajectory. But no one has tried it yet so Obama's sense of compromise may make him deal with the protesters, maybe.

[dixiegrrrrl]

83. Speaking truth is not ranting, in my book.

[InkAddict]

42. Good actors, those CongressCritters n/t

[Demeter]

61. Good as in ethical, or good as in convincing us in their lies?

[ozymandius]

5. Consumer credit jumps by most in more than 2 years

A new picture of the American consumer has emerged over the past two years. It seems that our addiction to credit cards has come to an abrupt end as the Great Recession has exacted its punishment on consumer spending.

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that consumer credit rose at an annual rate of $3.4 billion in October, the largest increase since a $5.7 billion gain in July 2008. Consumer credit was also up in September.

But the strength in both September and October is being heavily influenced as the result of a recently enacted law that makes the government the primary lender to students.

The increase of $3.4 billion in overall credit surpassed the flat reading that economists had expected. The gain translated into a 1.7 percent rise and followed a 0.6 percent increase in September. Those were the first back-to-back monthly gains since mid-2008. Consumer credit had fallen for 19 straight months before the rise in September.

more

While student and auto loans saw an increase over the past quarter, revolving credit -namely credit card debt- decreased by 8.4%.

[xchrom]

6. recommend

[ozymandius]

7. Anger in Pictures

Two pictures show the frustration of those on the other side of the barricade. The last is on sickening image of absolute glee with McConnell, the human turtle, and Senator Thune.

[ozymandius]

8. Banks in Europe Fail Stress Tests With No Authority

The EU stress tests yielded vulnerabilities in the European banking system.

The failure of the EU tests to restore confidence in the region’s banks was underscored last month when Ireland directed its two biggest lenders, both of which passed the exams, to raise additional capital. Since the results were disclosed on July 23, the cost of insuring the senior debt of 110 European banks against default rose 113 basis points, or 1.14 percentage points, while credit-default swaps on 34 of the largest U.S. banks are unchanged, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Now, amid a widening European debt crisis, regulators from 27 nations are searching for ways to improve the tests, which will be repeated next year. That won’t be easy as long as national leaders and central banks remain unwilling to cede bank oversight to a central authority, said Nicolas Veron, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics research group.

The European Central Bank -- the regional counterpart of the U.S. Federal Reserve -- isn’t responsible for bank supervision. Instead, the exams were coordinated by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors, a London-based forum for national regulators that will be renamed the European Banking Authority Jan. 1.

more

Unlike the Federal Reserve system, European banks function more like a confederation, only relying on the central authority when national banks fall into crisis such as that we've seen in Greece and Ireland. The latest crisis seems to have sparked a sense of urgency to restructure hierarchical systems of oversight, and fractional reserve lending standards.

[Demeter]

9. Today's Cartoon--It Was NEVER About Bipartisanship

I can think of two possibilities:

1) the President is mentally incompetent
2) the President is in the bag.

Sounds like W, doesn't it? Except Boy George was both.

[ozymandius]

12. Naïve, maybe?

He has piss-poor negotiating and governing skills. A pattern has emerged with Obama that says to me that he is a champion campaigner but a weak administrator. He has no stomach for a fight.

Candidates typically fall into three categories in terms of their political aptitude. (1) a lackluster candidate will win the election and emerge an outstanding public servant. (2) A fiery, inspiring campaigner becomes a bumbling milquetoast administrator. (3) The person is gifted with both qualities, which is exceedingly rare.

[Demeter]

15. Even the Most Naive Will Get a Clue. It's Been 2 Years!

There's no bubble big enough to keep out the world.

The viciousness of his attacks on the Left, that is more than naivete.

[Tansy_Gold]

22. I partly disagree, Ozy

I think Obama does have the stomach for a fight, but only when he's fighting for himself. Fighting for other people, uh, not so much.

Has Obama, as president, come across sometimes as a kind of pathetic individual striving to be liked or loved by everyone? In a sense, probably yes. But because I've spent some time in the company of an individual whose personal background has some striking similarities to Obama's and who seems often to have the same emotional need, I would venture to say that Obama's need for approval/acceptance/love strikes me as much more pathological. Obama's need is not to be liked/accepted by everyone but only by those he sees as advantageous to his own success. He uses them, or tries to, perhaps because he has no faith in his own ability to achieve. But once used to his advantage and no longer perceived as needed or useful, he seems to lose respect for those who have helped him.

So it's so much a matter of his needing to be liked by everyone, because if that were the case, he was the object of the world's affection on 4 November 2008. But for some reason that wasn't enough. He wanted something more, something else.

And it's interesting, too, that the general Democratic electorate still seems to approve of him. The polls are posted here on DU showing that our criticisms here are not apparently shared by the vast majority of the public, whether they vote or not. We can blame this on the media if we like, except the media tends not to be biased in Obama's favor. So what's going on here? Is Obama losing his base as he courts the power and the money on the right? Democrats certainly lost big time in the election, which is the most important poll. What's going on? And how do we go forward?

I don't know.

Bill Furlong, sports columnist for the Chicago Daily News back in the 1960s, ran afoul of some baseball fans when he criticized one of the local teams. He was peppered with letters calling him disloyal, stupid, etc. Furlong stood his ground and ended one column with a line that maybe he stole from somewhere else but which I will always remember as his: "'Tis better to be honest and hated than corrupt and despised."




TG, TT

[Demeter]

24. God knows, I'm good at despising the corrupt

but that's because Demeter would rather be honest and hated...

Found a good campaign platform, Tansy:

http://www.truth-out.org/real-family-values-9-progressive-policies-support-our-families65741

[Robbien]

54. Obama never has supported leftist causes

He gives the causes lip service to get votes but has always behind the scenes actively worked against programs for the environment, the poor, public health and education and public infrastructure.

He gives the public impression he is for the masses while really privately holding them in great disdain. That his special power.

I discovered this after working so hard to get him elected to state senator of Illinois in the 90's. That is the last time I supported him.

[Demeter]

13. If You Want Humor: Obama admits: I was born in Morocco

http://www.bilerico.com/2010/12/obama_admits_i_was_born_in_morocco.php

[Ghost Dog]

11. Should states be able to go bankrupt?

Jimmy P has discovered a secret GOP plan to push states to declare bankruptcy in order to avoid bailing them out. Like most secret plans, it was splashed all over the Weekly Standard in a piece by David Skeel, and it does make a certain brutal sense:

Although bankruptcy would be an imperfect solution to out-of-control state deficits, it’s the best option we have, at least if we want to have any chance of avoiding massive federal bailouts of state governments…

The effectiveness of state bankruptcy would depend a great deal on the state’s willingness to play hardball with its creditors. The principal candidates for restructuring in states like California or Illinois are the state’s bonds and its contracts with public employees. Ideally, bondholders would vote to approve a restructuring. But if they dug in their heels and resisted proposals to restructure their debt, a bankruptcy chapter for states should allow (as municipal bankruptcy already does) for a proposal to be “crammed down” over their objections under certain circumstances.

Skeel doesn’t mention the single biggest problem with this idea. If it were implemented, or if it even looked like it might get implemented, prices of municipal bonds would plunge, and most states would find it pretty much impossible to borrow money. As such, facing a massive and immediate liquidity crisis, they would be in more need of a federal bailout than before the bankruptcy legislation was seriously mooted.

/... http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2010/12/07/should-states-be-able-to-go-bankrupt/



In this context, does it sound reasonable to compare California to Italy? This is not an accident. Not only are US states not exploiting their tax base in the fashion of Europe, their debt is also structured conservatively. (State and local borrowers tend to favor level debt service payments, spread over a long period of time – this is very different than sovereign or corporate credits.) Even if one treats unfunded pension liabilities as if they are bonded debt (using the most conservative assumptions), states do not have debt burdens comparable to Europe. It is difficult to see how these markets are logically comparable when one substitutes numbers for rhetoric.

...

It is undeniable that states’ resources have deteriorated and that many had structurally imbalanced budgets even going into the recession. They have blown through their reserves, used a great deal of one-time revenues (including a considerable amount of federal funds, debt restructuring, asset sales…), and employed plenty of accounting gimmicks, to be sure. But to say that debt is the primary budget-buster instead of the design and demand for programs is clearly mistaken. And to suggest that states are on the brink of default implies that they have exhausted their tax base, which is also clearly mistaken. States have a policy crisis on their hands not a debt crisis.

The unfortunate thing about all of this is that the default/contagion hysteria is being used as ammunition to promote reckless policy. (Perhaps it would be more accurate here to say “to add to existing reckless policy.”) Do you think that levees break, that bridges collapse, that in the eastern US billions of gallons of sewage pour into major rivers and lakes during heavy rains because policymakers have been on some madcap infrastructure spending spree for years? In reality, the US has done a very poor job of replacing and expanding aging infrastructure for decades now, and each year the scope and cost of catching up increases – hence more debt. We have done a brilliant job of destroying and replacing infrastructure on the other side of the world for basically the last decade, however.

...

Somehow the media has manufactured a debt crisis that is leading federal policymakers to vilify investment in projects with long useful lives, postpone necessary government expenditures, and capriciously increase state and local borrowing costs. Are federal policymakers pretending that their constituents only pay one kind of tax? What is fiscally conservative about that?

/... https://self-evident.org/?p=876

[Demeter]

16. We are a Wussy People

and until the wusses allow those with rudimentary spines into office, we will continue to be the doormat of the Corporations.

[Tansy_Gold]

35. How do we get this to the public?

I saw this info posted over in the Economy forum yesterday and asked the poster to put it here this morning. No response.

But isn't this the real army in the trojan horse? Isn't this the deal that will kill any hope for the American people to stay out of virtual slavery?

And I don't throw that hyperbole lightly.

For all the talk of the US being a banana republic, I think essentially there is still a strong enough and wealthy enough middle/working class that general riots aren't on the immediate horizon. There are still plenty of cars on the road, most people have adequate shelter even if it is cramped or less than ideal. NOT ALL, I understand. Not all.

But we don't have vast camps of starving displaced persons. We have a decline from our peak, yes, and that decline hasn't stopped. Maybe it's inevitable and we're just the unfortunate ones to be caught at the changing of the guard. I don't know.

But I think we're ignoring a lot of symptoms of a far more insidious and potentially dangerous disease.

Just as the importing of "foreign" car makers, who did not have lavish and expensive retiree bases to fund, had a serious impact on the health of the Detroit automakers, the destruction of the public employee pension funds and social security puts us right on the path to serfdom.

I'm one of the fortunate/unfortunate ones, caught in the middle. Unable to find a job that would support me after my husband's death in 2005, I scraped by for three years on savings, insurance, part-time work until eligible for survivor's social security benefits. I currently have sufficient self-employment income -- which means no benefits whatsofuckingever and double FICA payments -- that with my reduced SS benefits I can get by reasonably comfortably. My wants are not lavish.

But I am also reasonably healthy and have no major medical expenses. Just one of them would wipe out my meager savings and force liquidation of what few assets I have. The question is not what happens to me, but what happens when that situation is multiplied thousaands, and then millions of times? We aren't there yet, but we are on the brink, and while SS is for the present time more or less untouchable, I think this move to force states like California into bankruptcy so the pension funds are available for looting is a back door entrance into the "entitlement" funding vault.

Each of us, and I mean that in terms of our microcybercommunity on SMW/WEE as well as the greater American and indeed world community, has our obligations and our greater or lesser abilities to meet those obligations: spouses/partners/SOs/ISOs, children, parents, pets, friends, neighbors, extended family. I always believed it was the purpose of "government" to mitigate the effects of catastrophe on the individual. What I see now, in the present administration, is an effort to exacerbate the effects of catastrophe on the masses, while protecting and indeed enriching the chosen few in such a manner and to such an extreme that that protection becomes a catastrophe for the masses.

We have not tumbled so far down the well that we can't climb back out. But the oligarchs at the surface keep throwing rocks down at us, and unless and until someone stops that, there may indeed be no hope for the long term future.

A friend and long-time Democratic party activist in her native midwestern state asked me the other day why I didn't run for office, even if only on the county level. I told her there are two reasons. The first is that I have no patience with either idiots or assholes, and Pinal County has more than its share of people who fit both categories. The second is that there are enough skeletons in my closet to make me a less than desirable candidate. Oh, nothing serious. No crimes, no major scandals. Just a few things that would negatively affect other people about whom I care very much. So it's not likely that the person behind the Tansy Gold persona is ever going to enter the real-world political ring.

She said, "That's a shame. I think we need someone who's really fearless, who will speak the truth even when it hurts. But I understand."

In a way, however, that does leave me free to say exactly what I feel, what I think, what I mean.

As I said downthread (or upthread???) quoting Bill Furlong, 'tis better to be honest and hated. . ..



TG, TT

[Tansy_Gold]

37. Link to Economy forum thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x84609#84622

Because the comments are interesting.

[dixiegrrrrl]

85. I do believe that is their plan.

It has been obvious down here in the South, the still beating heart of "State's Rights", that Repubs focus on individual states..we saw it with voting fraud, we saw it with foreclosure issues.
Here in Alabama our state legislature very very quietly,this spring, changed the foreclosure laws of the state, so that now they read a judge HAS TO accept the foreclosing company's word that all documents are legal.
I read that with my own eyes.

Medicaid, SSI and pensions are a drag on the state economy. Right now they are hollowing out the teacher's pay and pensions down here. Indeed in other states.
State government pensions, not so much, of course.

[Hawkowl]

97. Slavery for everyone!

It's just not for Black people anymore! Yes, I do believe this is the Rethuglican master plan.

[snot]

91. +1

[Demeter]

14. WikiLeaks bank dump could make Assange a 'hero'

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20101207/bs_ac/7353988_wikileaks_bank_dump_could_make_assange_a_hero_of_sorts

Julian Assange was arrested today in Britain on charges of rape and sexual molestation. With his WikiLeaks website besieged and his Swiss bank account closed, lawyer Mark Stephens arranged Assange's cooperation and surrender to British authorities in London.

Assange is a hero to some, villain to others, but his reputation will certainly suffer from the charges he faces in Sweden. The charges against Julian Assange include one count unlawful coercion, two counts sexual molestation, and one count of rape. The alleged offenses were said to occur in August of this year.

It will be difficult for the U.S. to prosecute Assange for leaking state secrets. The Espionage Act has never been applied to a third party, and U.S. prosecution would be hindered by 1st Amendment rights. Assange has provided much of the leaked information to news outlets around the world, providing himself with the firewall of a free speech defense.

Ironically, Julian Assange's image could improve with a dump of confidential bank information. To many Americans, the Paulsen-Geithner-Bernanke financial triumvirate engaged in a credit collapse shell game in which common people were helpless as government pilfered the coffers to save government-friendly titans of the financial world....

WITH PAYPAL, VISA AND MASTERCARD SUSPENDING SERVICES TO ASSANGE'S DEFENSE FUND, AND HACKERS SHUTTING DOWN VISA AND MASTERCARD, THINGS ARE GETTING HOT.

THE REVOLUTION MAY NOT DRAW BLOOD THIS TIME...I AM EVER THE OPTIMIST.

GEEKS RULE!

[tclambert]

17. Is this the beginning of the first real cyber-war?

It's not nation against nation, it's website against website.

[Demeter]

20. It's Dilbert Against All the Pointy-Haired-Bosses and Crooked Politicians

And they will never know what hit them...because they rent brains, not develop their own.

[TalkingDog]

52. +1

[Demeter]

33. It's the establishment vs the web

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article937990.ece


The most obvious lesson is that it represents the first really sustained confrontation between the established order and the culture of the internet. There have been skirmishes before, but this is the real thing...

And as the backlash unfolds — first with deniable attacks on internet service providers hosting WikiLeaks, later with companies like Amazon and eBay and PayPal suddenly “discovering” that their terms and conditions preclude them from offering services to WikiLeaks, and then with the U.S. government attempting to intimidate Columbia students posting updates about WikiLeaks on Facebook — the intolerance of the old order is emerging from the rosy mist in which it has hitherto been obscured. The response has been vicious, co-ordinated and potentially comprehensive, and it contains hard lessons for everyone who cares about democracy and about the future of the net...


One thing that might explain the official hysteria about the revelations is the way they expose how political elites in western democracies have been deceiving their electorates...

The attack of WikiLeaks also ought to be a wake-up call for anyone who has rosy fantasies about whose side cloud computing providers are on. These are firms like Google, Flickr, Facebook, Myspace and Amazon which host your blog or store your data on their servers somewhere on the internet, or which enable you to rent “virtual” computers — again located somewhere on the net. The terms and conditions under which they provide both “free” and paid-for services will always give them grounds for dropping your content if they deem it in their interests to do so. The moral is that you should not put your faith in cloud computing — one day it will rain on your parade.
.............................................................................

What WikiLeaks is really exposing is the extent to which the western democratic system has been hollowed out. In the last decade its political elites have been shown to be incompetent (Ireland, the U.S. and U.K. in not regulating banks); corrupt (all governments in relation to the arms trade); or recklessly militaristic (the U.S. and U.K. in Iraq). And yet nowhere have they been called to account in any effective way. Instead they have obfuscated, lied or blustered their way through. And when, finally, the veil of secrecy is lifted, their reflex reaction is to kill the messenger.

As Simon Jenkins put it recently in the Guardian, “Disclosure is messy and tests moral and legal boundaries. It is often irresponsible and usually embarrassing. But it is all that is left when regulation does nothing, politicians are cowed, lawyers fall silent and audit is polluted. Accountability can only default to disclosure.” What we are hearing from the enraged officialdom of our democracies is mostly the petulant screaming of emperors whose clothes have been shredded by the net.

Which brings us back to the larger significance of this controversy. The political elites of western democracies have discovered that the internet can be a thorn not just in the side of authoritarian regimes, but in their sides too. It has been comical watching them and their agencies stomp about the net like maddened, half-blind giants trying to whack a mole. It has been deeply worrying to watch terrified internet companies — with the exception of Twitter, so far — bending to their will.

But politicians now face an agonising dilemma. The old, mole-whacking approach won't work. WikiLeaks does not depend only on web technology. Thousands of copies of those secret cables — and probably of much else besides — are out there, distributed by peer-to-peer technologies like BitTorrent. Our rulers have a choice to make: either they learn to live in a WikiLeakable world, with all that implies in terms of their future behaviour; or they shut down the internet. Over to them.—

[ozymandius]

18. The news that we would celebrate here at the SMW, I hope, is tempered

with some dirty laundry on that Three Stooges Triumvirate.

There was a saying in Georgia that held up until a few years ago. The saying was, "You cannot get rid of a politician unless you catch him in bed either with a dead girl or a live boy."

I really hope there is something in that information dump that will give the low-brow piranhas something to eat.

[AnneD]

44. Quote is from...

Huey Long, La.
FYI

[Demeter]

21. BuzzFlash at Truthout Emailed Editorial

A BuzzFlash reader suggests a new advertising slogan: "Freedom of expression is priceless. For everything else, there's MasterCard."

Or how about, "Don't pay at all with PayPal."

In light of the decisions - no doubt US government induced - by MasterCard and PayPal to cut off financial transactions that would benefit WikiLeaks - both of these new ads may be a good rallying cry for those who champion the truth. And let's not forget that Amazon.com was the first to cut WikiLeaks loose. Visa also has just joined the corporate financial giants who are trying to stifle the truth.

But there is a heartening revolt against government/corporate efforts to hide their dirty laundry in a closet of secrecy. According to the BBC, hackers from around the world have been launching "attacks" on PayPal in a moment of spontaneous online activism. It's a warning that there will be a price to pay for trying to shut down the truth.

As WIRED magazine emphatically editorialized:

WikiLeaks stands to improve our democracy, not weaken it.

The greatest threat we face right now from WikiLeaks is not the information it has spilled and may spill in the future, but the reactionary response to it that's building in the United States that promises to repudiate the rule of law and our free speech traditions, if left unchecked.

Secrecy is routinely posited as a critical component for effective governance, a premise that's so widely accepted that even some journalists, whose job is to reveal the secret workings of governments, have declared WikiLeaks' efforts to be out of bounds....

A government's best and only defense against damaging spills is to act justly and fairly. By seeking to quell WikiLeaks, its U.S. political opponents are only priming the pump for more embarrassing revelations down the road.

WikilLeaks founder Julian Assange has now turned himself in to face charges relating to two sexual encounters in Sweden. Whatever the outcome of this personal, high-stakes legal case, it appears that others have been awakened to the cause of truth.

As BuzzFlash noted in a recent commentary, "President Obama Hangs an Iron Curtain Between U.S. Citizens and the Truth", WikiLeaks has enlightened the public and fostered transparency.

Let's hope that there is no going back.

Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout

[Po_d Mainiac]

28. Why do I get that 9/11 Deja Vu feeling all over again?

As horrendous as that day was, it pales compared to the acts of the HSA, and the shredding of civil rights/civility that accompanied the legislation.

This will not have a happy ending

[Demeter]

32. Wikileaks Is Happening AFTER All That Fascism

therein lies the key to freedom. They can't keep the lid on anymore, and they are starting to realize tha. If one alienates enough little people, even the biggest giant will fall.

[Po_d Mainiac]

36. It's the additional push back to try to put the genie back

Which will not prevent a frigging thing. But it will make life more repressive as Big G shreds a few more lines of the parchment ratified back in 1788, under the guise of HS.

The lid may be off, and the threads stripped beyond further use. That will not prevent the PTB from trying to force the lid back on, or trying to design one that automatically seals itself on demand.

[bread_and_roses]

25. Go Hackers, Go!

Bring it down (waves to Agent Mike).

[Demeter]

30. A Global Timeout Might Be Just What Is Needed

to stampede the sheeple. If commerce is shutdown, globalism dies a quick death, as do global corporations.

[TalkingDog]

49. From Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/cyber-hackers-that-took-down-swiss-bank-site-have-now-taken-down-mastercardcom-2010-12#ixzz17Wtjfeko

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=dVlrOvORECrl2mMAfRQNwvUSA8SmM


I don't think pandora's box quite does it justice......

And yes, Geeks indeed rule.

[ozymandius]

59. Just had a random thought about Wikileaks -

It really is interesting to see how our government reacted over the Wikileaks exposé compared to the reaction over the Valerie Plame affair in which a clandestine global arms control network was destroyed.

[Demeter]

63. Don't get me started!

It depends on who is goring the ox--the self-appointed masters of the universe, or the common folk. Valerie's husband was just an honest man doing an honest report--the destruction of his wife's industry was the overkill revenge of the PHB Morons...

wikileaks is another common folk endeavor...but trying to blackball Assange from the web is backfiring. If Visa, MasterCard, Paypal and a Swiss Bank are shut down because they truckle to the illegal orders of criminal regimes, there will be hell to pay. People will revert to cash, and the entire banking-debt system will completely collapse.

There's no such thing as a little freedom--it's either freedom, or it isn't.

[dixiegrrrrl]

87. Because Assange threatened to expose the...banks!!!!

Joe Bageant, that wordsmith genius, stated it beautifully in a longish piece he put out this week>

In one place he asked:
"I for one am in favor of giving Assange the Médaille militaire, the Noble Prize, 15 virgins in paradise and a billion in cash as a reward for his courage in doing damned well the only significant thing that can be done at this time -- momentarily fucking up government control of information. But "potentially stimulating a new age of U.S. government transparency," (BBC) it ain't."

Which brings us to back to the question of cultural ignorance. For ten points, why was Julian Assange forced to do what the world press was supposed to be doing in the first place?"

The whole piece is brilliant and worth the read:

http://worldnewstrust.com/all-content/america-y-ur-peeps-b-so-dum-ignorance-and-courage-in-the-age-of-lady-gaga-joe-bageant.html

[Demeter]

71. Why Is the Government Waging a Doomed (and Illegal) War Against WikiLeaks?

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/380468/why_is_the_government_waging_a_doomed_%28and_illegal%29_war_against_wikileaks/#paragraph4

Probably because when you are a drug-addicted, zombie government armed with a hammer, everything looks like a nail....

[Demeter]

19. Max Keiser on the end of the world as we know it

3 part video at link:

http://www.goldmansachs666.com/2010/12/goldman-sachs-baleful-and-maleficent.html

he's looking less like a mad man and more like an oracle with every passing week...

[Demeter]

23. Pithy Observation By JACQUELINE MARCUS FOR BUZZFLASH

Last night I watched "The Great Debaters" with Denzel Washington again, and it occurred to me that during the arguments given in support of civil disobedience that Julian Assange, publisher of WikiLeaks.org, is practicing civil disobedience and that the Obama administration is on the wrong side of history...

http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/12048

That is precisely what is going on with this administration. All the time, on every issue. The pocket veto of the big out-of-state notary fix was the only time Obama did the right thing. Thank you, Elizabeth Warren!

If she isn't careful, she could be Tansy's Secretary of the Treasury!

[Demeter]

27. Don't Buy Currency Devaluation? It's Been Done Before by: Paul Krugman

http://www.truth-out.org/dont-buy-currency-devaluation-its-been-done-before65710

...In a Nov. 21 story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about his strong opposition to the Federal Reserve's plan to pump another $600 billion into the economy, Mr. Ryan posed an interesting question: "Name me a nation in history that has prospered by devaluing its currency."

Well, let's look at an analysis first pointed out by Menzie Chinn, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin, when he took up Mr. Ryan's challenge.

In March 2009, Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote in The Guardian: "In the 1930s, it is true, with one country after another depreciating its currency, no one ended up gaining competitiveness relative to anyone else. And no country succeeded in exporting its way out of the Depression, since there was no one to sell additional exports to.

"But this was not what mattered," Eichengreen wrote. "What mattered was that one country after another moved to loosen monetary policy because it no longer had to worry about defending the exchange rate. And this monetary stimulus, felt worldwide, was probably the single most important factor initiating and sustaining economic recovery."

My question is this: Why go back to the 1930s for examples?

— How about Britain, which saw a strong recovery from its economic doldrums after it devalued the pound against the mark in 1992?

— And Sweden, which recovered from its deep banking crisis in the early 1990s with an export boom, driven by a devalued kronor?

— And South Korea, which roared back from its 1997-1998 economic troubles with a strong export boom, driven by a depreciated won?

— What about Argentina, which also roared back from its 2002 crisis with an export boom, driven by a depreciated peso?

And the list continues.

The truth is that every financial recovery since World War II that I know of was driven by currency depreciation.

In fact, this is the biggest reason for pessimism now: due to the global scope of this crisis, the usual exit is blocked.

Now, I'm sure that naysayers, especially the gold bugs, will somehow come up with new ways to explain away all these historical events.

At that point, however, I think we are just not learning from history.



I TAKE ISSUE WITH KRUGMAN HERE--THESE CURRENCY DEBASERS BOUGHT SOME TIME, BUT NOT PROSPERITY. IT WAS ANOTHER FORM OF BUBBLE, AND THE TIME THEY BOUGHT WAS SQUANDERED ON IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND OTHER STUPID EXERCISES.

[Po_d Mainiac]

29. There are more comparisons to be made to colonial Britain

A devalued currency and trying to wage multiple military actions at the far end of the supply lines.

That played out well also :sarcasm:

[Demeter]

31. I'd call it Imperial Britain

her victims were the colonists...

[Po_d Mainiac]

38. agreed. n/t

[fasttense]

41. In 3 out of the 4 examples, devaluation of the currency accompanied

an export boom. We in America have very little chance of creating an export boom, since most of our factories have been closed and moved to other countries. We may be able to export weapons, trash and some raw materials, but that is not enough to create a boom. We are the world's market place and turning a consumer driven economy into a manufacturing economy will take decades.

[Demeter]

65. 5 Years, Max

It's not like we are starting with illiterate peasants without public health...

of course, if it doesn't start within 5 years, we will be starting with illiterate peasants without public health programs....

[Demeter]

34. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Ford Starts to Ship an Electric Delivery Van

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/business/08electric.html?_r=1&ref=business

The Ford Motor Company said on Tuesday that it had started shipping a battery-powered version of a delivery van, the Transit Connect Electric, to a handful of business customers.

The Transit Connect is Ford’s first electric vehicle, coming to market about a year before it plans to challenge the Leaf and the Volt with a battery-powered car, the Focus Electric. The first electric vans are being delivered to several companies that agreed to be early users, including AT&T, the Canada Post, the New York Power Authority and Southern California Edison.

Ford will ramp up production in April and produce about 600 or 700 a year initially. In comparison, General Motors is building 10,000 Volts in the first year.

Ford started with the Transit Connect because it wanted a vehicle that it could develop quickly, in part to play catch-up. Development of the electric van began 13 months ago — about three years after G.M. had started work on the Volt — and offers Ford a chance to test its technology in a limited number of vehicles before putting it into a large number of cars...Ford says the electric Transit Connect has a range of about 80 miles on a 28 kilowatt-hour battery that can be recharged using 240-volt systems in about six to eight hours, which matches the needs of most businesses that operate delivery fleets...The electric Transit Connect costs $57,400, more than double the price of the gas-powered version even after federal and any state or local incentives for electric vehicles are factored in...

[Po_d Mainiac]

43. Still leaves the problems associated with large scale

electric power production derived from the combustion of something. Replacing tail-pipes with smoke stacks does little to restore the integrity of the biosphere.

There is the plus side of importing less oil, but we should be addressing both issues.
YMMV

[Demeter]

39. Gross: Wall Street Considers Early Bonuses if Bush Tax Cuts Get Slashed

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/379797/gross%3A_wall_street_considers_early_bonuses_if_bush_tax_cuts_get_slashed/#paragraph2


In perhaps one of the starkest examples of why the Bush Tax Cuts for rich people need to be cut, Wall Street is considering speeding up its notoriously fat bonuses in case their disproportionate tax breaks come to an end. Generally offered at the beginning of the year, Goldman Sachs and other firms may dole out the dough this month in lieu of being taxed more under an Obama plan. The fact that they're freaking out about their end-of-year cash cows just as the unemployment rate nears 10 percent is disgusting, but not surprising––

[DemReadingDU]

40. Good news, spouse's arrest was dismissed!

Today was to be the jury trial for spouse's alleged disruption of our village meeting 7/27/10. The county prosecutor dismissed the case Friday 12/3/10. Here is the corresponding newspaper article in today's Springfield newspaper.

The important thing to take from this article is that on 7/27/10 the mayor ordered the police chief to remove spouse from the meeting because of a difference in opinion concerning missing public records in the police chief's file. It was the police chief who took it upon himself to arrest spouse and have him booked into jail.

But in this article the mayor said "he doesn’t regret his decision to have Clark arrested, but he is “kind of pleased (the charges) were dropped.”"


What do you think...the mayor and police chief pre-arranged spouse's arrest? And well, now you know our name too.
:)


12/8/10 Charges dropped against man who publicly criticized village council
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/charges-dropped-against-man-who-publicly-criticized-village-council-1023404.html



Previous link from 11/10/10 at #25 for several postings
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4608780#4608934

[Po_d Mainiac]

45. ....

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[DemReadingDU]

51. Thank you!

[AnneD]

46. Your secret is safe with me....

as long as we don't mention my famous cousin once removed that is soon to be wearing an orange jump suit.

He never writes, never sends a Christmas card, never gives me an envelope stuffed with money.....sigh.

[DemReadingDU]

48. That rascal

Maybe you'll get that Christmas card with him wearing the orange jump suit
:)

[AnneD]

55. Actually...

I am looking forward to some personalized tags for the car...

[Dr.Phool]

47. Another bought-off Judge.

John Gotti used to do the same thing.

:evilgrin: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :evilgrin:


:hi:

Congrats.

[DemReadingDU]

50. Thanks!

Actually the judge is an older, strong Democrat. Last year we went to a fundraiser breakfast, for other Democrats, and he showed off his famous yo-yo tricks he did to win contests in his youth.
:)

edit: we don't personally know this judge!
and he doesn't know us either. Well, he probably knows about us now.

[jtuck004]

68. Just the same, you sitting in the front row playing with a yo-yo didn't hurt...

Seriously, glad ya'll came out ok.

[Robbien]

56. “We’ve got better things to worry about. Hopefully, Mr. C---- feels the same way.”

Does that sound to you like he is saying "don't you dare even think of suing me"

Too bad filing a suit is so costly, both in cash and in emotions.

[DemReadingDU]

64. We just settled one suit with this village

This started in June 2009. We kept asking for Public Records concerning the police chief's reprimands, suspensions, etc, and were told they didn't exit. But we know they did exist, so we had our attorney to file a Writ of Mandamus to obtain these documents. While waiting for that trial, we kept uncovering additional 'missing' Public Documents, and eventually spouse was arrested at the village meeting, for allegedly disrupting the meeting for inquiring about all these 'missing' documents.

We have no idea how many Public Records are missing nor who removed them, but we settled that case for small sum. Spouse is meeting with attorney to proceed with a lawsuit with multiple constitutional and civil violations, emotional stress, pain and suffering, slander, libel, defamation, etc, etc.

So yes, wheels of justice do turn slowly, but they do turn! And while this could indeed be a huge monetary suit, we would be personally happier if both the mayor and police chief would resign. If they could retaliate against my spouse, and me and our son, anyone in the village could be next.

[Demeter]

69. Fight Fiercely DRDU!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w4bHvrFUgI&feature=related

by their accent, I think they must be from Down Under...s

[DemReadingDU]

74. Nice! thanks!

[TalkingDog]

57. Glad things are working out.

Is there a complaint to the state or civil suit in the works?

[DemReadingDU]

60. Well!

The village attorney wrote a letter last month to the Attorney General's office to investigate the possible criminal wrongdoings whereby Public Records were improperly removed from the police chief's files. The police chief has a history of incompetency from previous and current employments. However, nothing negative appears in the police chief files. We are still waiting whether the AG's office will investigate these 'missing' Public Records'.

Spouse is currently talking with our attorney to proceed with a lawsuit with multiple constitutional and civil violations, as well as slander, libel, defamation, emotional stress, pain and suffering. Nothing filed, yet.

[Demeter]

67. Nastrovya!

[DemReadingDU]

76. WooHoo!

Really, we've only begun this fight. It's as if the mayor and chief think this is a game, and we messed with their power. If they don't want to see how we play, then they should just resign, now.

[Roland99]

77. Pop the bubbly!!! woo hoo!!

[tclambert]

89. Fight the power!

[xchrom]

53. kick for the great conversation. nt

[Demeter]

70. That's the thing we do best--Kvetching!

[xchrom]

81. lol! that was conversation -- not kvetching.

but i love to kvetch -- so carry on!

[TalkingDog]

58. I don't know a lot about markets, but I know what I like

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-reasons-to-shun-stocks-till-banks-crash-2010-12-07?siteid=yhoof

This guy.

He cracks me up. How much more blunt can you get?

[xchrom]

62. +1

[hamerfan]

66. Thanks for the link!

A good article. I like what he says and his reasoning.

[Robbien]

72. Another of his articles: How hackers can help us defeat Wall Street

“American capitalism is broken,” warns economist Peter Morici. Worse, American government is broken with “two bankrupt political parties bankrupting the country,” warns Stanford political scientist Larry Diamond. Why? Because Wall Street is broken: Our engine of capitalism is broken.

Morici warns that Wall Street’s insatiable gluttony is strangling America’s 8,000 regional banks: “About 3,000 regional banks face extinction, and ordinary Americans can only borrow money at government run Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or at extortionist rates on big-bank-controlled credit cards.” Time to counterattack, or the clock runs out.

The plan? Hackers are America’s “Hail Mary pass” against Wall Street’s power play to rule America. In fact, hackers may be the only solution left, our last line of defense in this economic class war to save America. Hackers can operate like secret CIA special ops commandos to help take America back from the Wall Street Conspiracy of super-rich.

Yes, only solution. Why? Two bankrupt political parties. Forget gridlock, it’s worse. The GOP will restore Reaganomics for the rich. The Dems are proven gutless fighters. And an activist Supreme Court unleashed the floodgates for billionaires, foreign corporations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobby to gain absolute control of Washington.

So it’s now or never. America is no longer a democracy. Voting is a cruel joke. America is now an anarchy being divided up by and for the rich. Today’s world reminds me of British oppression that triggered the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

Yes, America’s problem is very simple: Wall Street. Capitalism is broken. Wall Street broke it. Beyond repair. And it has no intention of ever changing its gluttonous ways.

more . . .

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-hackers-can-help-us-defeat-wall-street-2010-11-08


He is saying New Robin Hoods: Hackers, WikiLeakers and whistleblowers
and he wrote this about a month ago!

Thanks for the link

[Demeter]

75. But it will still take infantry, to enforce the pressure

Boycotts, especially. This beast has no brains, no heart, no lungs...the only place to hit it is in the pocketbook, and the nervous system.

[Demeter]

79. Yes! It's SOOOO Heinlein!

[AnneD]

80. I like to read his column .....

he is one of the MW's more interesting writers...he still writes thoughtful business articles-not shill pieces.

[dixiegrrrrl]

88. America’s divided into two stock markets:

one for Wall Street’s rich insiders, another for Main Street’s suckers.

I am familiar with this guy, he is always worth the time to read.


Keiser and Denninger have been saying the same thing for at least the last 2 years.
In fact, Denninger is happily shorting finance stocks, esp. LPS, the company that was found to be using so many robosigners.

[Demeter]

73. TIDBIT FOR PO: Big Bank Sitting On A Big Pile Of Copper

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703471904576003940890805016.html

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has emerged as the mystery buyer of more than $1 billion of copper, accounting for more than 50% of all the metal stored in official London warehouses and stoking worries about an impending supply shortage.

The New York bank's purchases have caused a stir in commodities circles in recent weeks. The London Metal Exchange late last month revealed a buyer had snapped up a large chunk of the exchange's copper stockpiles, leaving some to question whether a trader was trying to corner the market for the metal.

J.P. Morgan's appearance as the owner of the copper alleviated some of those worries.

The bank bought the copper mostly on behalf of clients, according to a person familiar with the matter, so it doesn't directly own all the metal. But the buying spree does leave a large swathe of copper in the hands of one bank and its clients....

[Po_d Mainiac]

96. Wow..the WSJ is only about 2 weeks late on this story

Damn, at this rate they might get within 48hrs of a hot one!

Smart money thinks they are going to try and pawn it off as silver if they can't push spot back into the teens.

If they had any real money they'd be hoarding rhodium.

[Roland99]

78. 10-year bond yield nears 3.3%.

damn! That's about a full 1% over where it was just a few weeks ago. (ok, well, early October anyway)

[Robbien]

82. Sign of the times. Food pantry for pets

Pet Food Pantry seeking donations to help families keep their pets


There have been stories about shelters being overloaded with "foreclosed on/lost the job" pets but now it is so prevalent a suburb of Chicago opened up a food pantry for these pets.

[Tansy_Gold]

84. That's practically my old back yard.

:cry:



TG, who grew up about 2 blocks from Northwest Hwy in another suburb. ..

[Robbien]

86. Mine also

hi :hi:
from Robbien, Almost Previous Neighbor of Tansy Gold

[TheWatcher]

90. I have to admit.....

it is a bit of fun today to watch the Boot Lickers, Status Quo Addicts, Propagandists, Message controllers, and Gatekeepers scurry around all nervous and desperate because they can't keep the rabble in check and focused on their desired paradigms and perceptions.

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, just check any thread referring to the Hackers taking down mastercard.com.

A lot of True Colors being revealed today. :)

[StarburstClock]

92. I read some of those, your description of it is perfect!

"keep the rabble in check and focused on their desired paradigms and perceptions."

So many people act as if being informed of something by someone (learning) is a bad thing and that the teacher is somehow rabble or low class. It's true 1984-ish, wherein ignorance = strength. It's a daily amusement to me how many people are thoroughly brainwashed and don't even realize it and further resist even being made aware of it. It's a mass hysteria of historical proportions, duped and greedy capitalists just keep feeding their false beliefs with any form of misinformation they can get or invent. I say it's amusing because the entire corporate media has become the equivalent of The Weekly World News and people don't even think to question the validity of Batboy living in a West Virgina cave! Instead, people would rather shove their officious fraud of knowledge onto you and me via propaganda recitals steeped in whatever false premise, be it political or whatever, they've chosen to be duped by.

[AnneD]

93. This whole Assange Wikileaks.....

reminds me of the movie Sneakers by Redford.

The most they have Assange on is sexual assualt for refusing to wear a condom during consensual intercourse. Now I am a Nurse and feminist, but that seems a far cry from rape to me. This all smacks of a PSYOP operation. Why would he be on Interpol's most wanted for that? He always answered any question through his attorneys and never fled. He didn't need to flee because there was no warrant issued until the other day, and he went willingly when they came for him. This was what I heard his lawyers say and frankly I believe them and not ANY of our media at the moment.

The whole think stinks like 3 day old fish.

[DemReadingDU]

95. or maybe Interpol

is keeping Assange safe from our government?
:shrug: