Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Fri 03.26.2010
Like Christmas By Larry Wilke - CapitolHillCoffeeHouse.com "It’s just going to be like Christmas. It’s going to be great. You know, no worries about the bills..” This was the cathartic cry of one DeCarlo Flythe, yet another of the fifties of millions of new beneficiaries of today’s Bolshevik benevolence. What was once a “privilege” has now been “changed” into a “right” through collectivist chicanery and socialist sorcery. This became a “right” based solely upon the totalitarian tenets of “fairness” enabled by sclerotic socialism, not the Constitution of the United States but these type of annoying details do not matter when you have an “agenda” to impose..
U.S. Plans Big Expansion in Effort to Aid Homeowners By DAVID STREITFELD - NYTimes.com The Obama administration on Friday will announce broad new initiatives to help troubled homeowners, potentially refinancing several million of them into fresh government-backed mortgages with lower payments. Another element of the new program is meant to temporarily reduce the payments of borrowers who are unemployed and seeking a job. Additionally, the government will encourage lenders to write down the value of loans held by borrowers in modification programs.
Obama To Take Big New Step On The Foreclosure Crisis, As He Orders Lenders To Cut Jobless Homeowners A Break by Joe Weisenthal - BusinessInsider.com -- Things are starting to happen on the foreclosure front which will probably have long-tern negative consequences, but which in the short term may mitigate the the situation somewhat. Until now, the big news of the week has been Bank of America (BAC) announcing plans to get serious about principal reduction -- the one one form of mortgage mod that actually can work in some cases.
Obama Administration to Announce Expansion of HAMP Principal Reductions and Help for Unemployed Mandelman Matters Okay, so I feel a little bit like Charlie Brown looking at Lucy holding out a football, but that being said… On Friday, the White House is expected to announce an expansion of the president’s Making Home Affordable loan modification program to include reducing the mortgage loan balances for some homeowners, and providing additional temporary assistance to unemployed homeowners. Although unofficial, the rumors are that the expansion will allow unemployed borrowers to make significantly reduced payments—or potentially a break from making any payments at all—for at least three and in some cases, up to six months. The changes are also said to require banks to consider writing down principal loan balances as part of the formula for lowering monthly payments under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP.
Obama's New Radical Foreclosure Plan: Pay People To Sell Their Homes Short by Jonathan Miller - BusinessInsider.com The Obama administration has come up with a radically aggressive plan to reduce foreclosure activity which has remained alarmingly high. The key ingredient is to encourage lenders/services to allow more short sales – selling the home for less than the amount of the mortgage without going after the debtor for the shortfall. Mortgage modification plans have not been successful to date. The New York Times page 1 story today Program Will Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss does a masterful job in presenting the program and summarizing the problems of the issue to date, I just wish the title wasn’t so simplistic.
US Debt: A Bigger Threat than Terrorism? By Dave Gonigam - DailyReckoning.com 03/25/10 Baltimore, Maryland – Public opinion polls are a dime a dozen. But put a few of them together, and an interesting picture starts to emerge… Let’s start with the one that hits like a two-by-four: 79% of Americans polled by Fox News and Opinion Dynamics believe it’s possible the US economy could “collapse.” Republican, Democrat, independent – doesn’t matter, the majorities are overwhelming.
US Debt Reaches Tipping Point By: Dr. Jeffrey Lewis - GoldSeek.com Even the most statist economists can understand that a country’s debt has reached its saturation point once the change in Gross Domestic Product is less than the change in the federal debt. However, now the metrics of the American economy look even worse than the picture painted above. For each new dollar in federal debt, with productivity as measured by an increase or decrease in the GDP, 45 cents of wealth is destroyed.
Will Fed Finagling Send Gold Skyrocketing Again? By PETER COHAN - DailyFinance.com Investors don't expect the Fed to raise interest rates for a while. According to CNNMoney, the spread on a 10-year interest rate swap, reflecting how much an issuer of floating-rate bonds would pay to fix the interest rate on those bonds, turned negative this week for the first time. This is great news for gold bugs, who love nothing more than a chance to chatter about the Fed's out-of-control money printing. But this prolonged low-interest theory is at odds with the opinions of analysts at Moody's (MCO), which threatened to downgrade its U.S. debt ratings last week. The credit rating agency is worried that the rate the government pays to borrow money for five years will "nearly double between now and 2012," according to CNNMoney, and that higher interest expense could crowd out other, more productive, ways to spend government money.
Gold ticks higher as euro bounces By Lewa Pardomuan of Reuters SINGAPORE - Gold has regained strength after the euro rebounded from a 10-month low against the US dollar, while steady purchases from jewellers in Asia offered additional support. Bullion has dropped nearly $US14 this week, mainly due to a rally in the dollar and uncertainty over a bailout package for debt-ridden Greece, but an increase in ETF holdings showed gold still attracted investors as currencies remained volatile. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings stood at 1,124.647 tonnes as of March 25, up 4.568 tonnes from the previous business day.
Was gold price really manipulated? By Jon Nadler - MarketOracle.com Following their (sovereign debt jitters-induced) worst drop in seven weeks, gold prices managed to stabilize in the overnight period. Bullion climbed back towards the $1095.00 value zone after the euro regained a bit of lost ground ahead of the start of an EU summit later today. The common currency remains not too far from ten-month lows against the US dollar however, as credit problems in various EU nations continue to roil the markets and unnerve investors. For the moment, however, the euro got a bit of a reprieve following assurances by ECB President Trichet that emergency collateral rules will be extended beyond the end of this year.
EU Worries Jump-Start Spot Gold By Andrea Tse - TheStreet.com NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- New York spot gold prices have gained ground late afternoon with European Union leaders convening at a Europe Union summit, and troubleshooting Greece's debt troubles at the top of their priority list. "Following their (sovereign debt jitters-induced) worst drop in seven weeks, gold prices managed to stabilize in the overnight period," Kitco analyst Jon Nadler writes. "Bullion climbed back towards the $1,095 value zone after the euro regained a bit of lost ground ahead of the start of an EU summit later today."
Gold/Silver ratio moves sharply in favor of Silver Is silver performing better than gold? If so, why is silver turning out to be a better investment proposition than gold? In its latest Metals Monthly, VM Group research for Fortis Bank Nederland says that the gold/silver ratio has moved sharply in silver’s favor. Here is what Fortis Bank Nederland says on silver investment: "Silver has performed strongly recently, especially in comparison with gold.
CFTC to probe silver market manipulation By Debbie Carlson - MarketOracle.com The CFTC said it continues to look into allegations of market manipulation in the silver market from August 2008 when prices fell, but an acting director of surveillance at the agency proposed possible reasons why it may have happened. In written testimony at the CFTC’s hearing about possible position limits on the metals futures markets, Steve Sherrod, acting director of surveillance at the CFTC’s division of market oversight noted when Comex silver prices fell sharply there was no magnitude change in the aggregate long or short positions in the commitment of traders’ positions in the agency’s weekly data. Nor was there a significant change in open interest during the period of July and August 2008. These are some of the reasons critics claim manipulation.
China may keep yuan cheap, increase gold reserves By Thomas Hart Wilkins, CFA At a Meeting of the New York Society of Security Analysts entitled, “Gold: A Necessary Asset Class Not Just for the Doomsday Scenario” New York City, March 25, 2010 I wish to start our discussion tonight by assuming that we are turning the clock to a new Day Light Losing Standard by saying today’s date is June 5, 1947 rather than 2010. I start June 5th by saying: “Tomorrow will be the 3rd anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy and I have just learned that Secretary of State, George Marshall, will speak in a few minutes at Harvard University. He will advocate a plan for economic recovery of Europe of Western Europe. This will prevent European governments from destabilizing.
The Competitive Currency Devaluation Era Gains Momentum Ed Rollins - GoldSeek.com You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising budget is big enough. Portugal has just had its credit rating cut and both Greece and Spain are now begging the EU to set up a bailout fund to help the beggar nations (PIIGS) who are unwilling to curb their spending habits. In our previous article, we made the following comments. Indirectly they have been begging for assistance from the very start. This aid package will trigger other beggar members of the PIIGS group to eventually join the handout club. Next in line is probably Spain. If the top members of the EU wanted to send a strong message to the weak members they should have stuck hard and fast to their previous claims that no aid would be forthcoming. Euro Woes, Part II: Have We Entered the Devalue or Die Era?
China Officials Wrestle Publicly Over Currency By KEITH BRADSHER - NYTimes.com BEIJING — Signs are emerging of conflicting views among China’s leaders over whether to allow the country’s currency to rise against the dollar. The conflict, which has broken into rare public view, seems to be mainly between China’s central bank and its Commerce Ministry. But how it is eventually resolved could decide the course of trade tensions between China and the United States. Many experts contend China deliberately undervalues its currency, the renminbi, making Chinese exports more competitive on global markets and creating jobs in China at the expense of employment elsewhere.
Greenberg Says China Ties at Risk From U.S. Debate Over Yuan by Sara Eisen and Andrew Frye -- March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the investor and executive who helped open the insurance market in China, said U.S. politicians are putting relations with that country at risk by openly demanding a stronger yuan. “Doing this publicly is just a very tragic mistake,” said Greenberg, who led American International Group Inc. as chief executive officer for nearly four decades until 2005. “The risk is that we’ll have a relationship with China that’ll go down the toilet,” he said yesterday in a telephone interview with Bloomberg Television.
Niall Ferguson Repeats The Line About China Not Revaluing Its Currency Because Its Leaders Have Big Egos by Joe Weisenthal - BusinessInsider.com -- Here's a video of Niall Ferguson on Bloomberg today talking China, the yuan, and all the same trade stuff that everyone's been chewing on for awhile now. At one point he's asked why China doesn't revalue it, and he gives the stock answer about China not wanting to be bullied, but how they should. This whole thing about China, and its ego, and its desire not to be bullied or humiliated is an old story and it gets repeated about a whole host of topics.
Niall Ferguson
Admiral: China's buildup aimed at power past Asia By Bill Gertz - WashingtonTimes.com U.S. role in region challenged The commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific said Thursday that the buildup of Chinese armed forces is continuing "unabated" and Beijing's goal appears to be power projection beyond Asia. "China's rapid and comprehensive transformation of its armed forces is affecting regional military balances and holds implications beyond the Asia-Pacific region," said Adm. Robert F. Willard, the Pacific Command leader. "Of particular concern is that elements of China's military modernization appear designed to challenge our freedom of action in the region."
Swap Spreads Plunge as Portugal Downgrade Boosts Risk By Liz Capo McCormick March 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. interest rate swap spreads plunged to the lowest levels in over two decades after Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of Portugal raised the risk of owning sovereign debt and corporate bond issuance surged. The difference between the rate to exchange floating- for fixed-interest payments and comparable maturity Treasury yields for 5 years, known as the swap spread, touched 11.25 basis points, the narrowest since at least 1988, or as far back as Bloomberg compiles data. Ten-year swap spreads turned negative yesterday for the first time. Seven- 30-year swap spreads were also negative, while two-year swap spreads touched the narrowest since 1993 at 9.635 basis points.
Constitutional Awakening By Walter E. Williams - CNSNews.com If there is anything good to say about Democrat control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it's that their extraordinarily brazen, heavy-handed acts have aroused a level of constitutional interest among the American people that has been dormant for far too long. Part of this heightened interest is seen in the strength of the tea party movement around the nation. Another is the angry reception that many congressmen received at their district town hall meetings. Yet another is seen by the exchanges on the nation's most popular radio talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and others. Then there's the rising popularity of conservative/libertarian television shows such as Glenn Beck, John Stossel and Fox News.
Sean Hannity: 'If You Look Up the Dictionary Definition of Socialism, This Is It' By Terence P. Jeffrey - CNSNews.com -- In a preview of his book "Conservative Victory-Defeating Obama's Radical Agenda," due to be released Monday, Sean Hannity said of the policies President Barack Obama has been pursuing: "If you look up the dictionary definition of socialism, this is it." Hannity made the observation in a video interview with CNSNews.com.
CNSNews.com: Sean, what is the consistent theme you see in these earlier associations of Barack Obama--the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers--and what he's doing as president? What is the theme that you see there?
Sean Hannity: That's a great question. Well, because, look, Obama is a socialist. If you take over banks, if you take over car companies, if you take over financial institutions, the way that he has--now the health care system. If you're going to use every crooked deal that you can come up with to get a bill like that passed--most recently the health care bill--that is by definition, if you look up the dictionary definition of socialism, this is it.
Fed's Hoenig Backs More Diverse Financial System By Luca Di Leo - WSJ.com The U.S. economy would be better off with a system in which there are fewer big financial firms that were at the root of the recent crisis, a top Federal Reserve official signaled on Wednesday. In a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig endorsed a proposal that could force large banks to get rid of divisions that make risky bets with their capital. "I suggest that our economy would be better served by a more diverse financial system," Hoenig said. The growth of big financial companies to a level were they pose a threat to the overall economy has distorted the financial system, the Fed veteran added.
Bernanke Hints at Timing of Exit Strategy By SEWELL CHAN - NYTimes.com WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, hinted on Thursday that the central bank might be open to selling part of its huge portfolio of mortgage-backed securities when the time came to start tightening credit. In testimony Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee, Mr. Bernanke did not depart from the Fed’s stance that it intended to keep short-term interest rates near zero for “an extended period,” given that unemployment remained high and inflation was expected to remain low.
Budget 2010: Little to safeguard UK's AAA rating By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk Bond vigilantes and rating agencies gave a frosty reception to the Budget, warning that Alistair Darling has done little to restore faith in UK finances or safeguard its AAA rating. "Public debt does not fall materially until after 2014-15. This projected path leaves the public finances vulnerable to shocks," said Brian Coulton from Fitch Ratings, responding to the Budget. While eurozone states are cutting their deficits to 3pc of GDP within three years, Britain is cutting to 5.2pc over four years. "We don't see why the UK thinks it has more time than other countries," he said.
Jim Rogers quizzed on euro, Greece bailout, EU future
Chinese Banker Faults Greece Efforts By ALEX FRANGOS And KATIE MARTIN - WSJ.com A senior Chinese central bank official criticized the handling of the Greek debt crisis, highlighting global concern about the situation in Europe. Speaking at a conference in Hong Kong, Zhu Min, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, also said China "should and could" import more goods to keep its trade surplus small. And he noted that the central bank's efforts to tighten monetary policy were having their intended effect, even without China having to raise interest rates.
Eurozone agrees to Greek rescue deal By Quentin Peel, Ben Hall and Joshua Chaffin in Brussels Eurozone leaders on Thursday night agreed a rescue package for Greece including assistance from the International Monetary Fund as well as bilateral loans from fellow euro-member states. “We hope that it will reassure all the holders of Greek bonds that the eurozone will never let Greece fail,” said Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council. “If there were any danger, the other members of the eurozone would intervene.” The agreement followed a breakthrough earlier in the day between France and Germany on the principles of a rescue.
Trichet comments damp risk appetite By Telis Demos in New York - FT Euro tumbles to fresh 10-month low First, a senior Chinese central banker warned that the Greek crisis was just the beginning. “We don’t see decisive actions telling the market we can solve this,” Zhu Min, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, was reported as saying. His comments caused the euro to dip to a 10-month low versus the dollar, and encapsulated a nagging worry among investors that high levels of government indebtedness is one of the main risks facing the global economy.
Britons Cling to Services, Despite Debt By LANDON THOMAS Jr. - NYTimes.com LONDON — Britain operates one of the largest welfare states in Europe. And that, it seems, is just fine with many of the British. Despite the worst recession since World War II, many people here show little appetite for shrinking a system that eats up half the nation’s economic output, more than in Portugal, Greece or Spain — all of which are trying to push through painful cuts. Indeed, as Britain’s Labour government confronts a yawning budget deficit, public sector workers are mobilizing to head off any reductions in wages or jobs.
Regulators push InterBank to find buyer Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - by Chris Newmarker InterBank, a Maple Grove-based savings and loan mired in bad mortgages, has until June 30 to find a buyer or face further sanctions, according to a recent order from regulators. The prompt corrective action directive, issued March 18 by InterBank's regulator the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), orders the thrift to arrange a merger, or find a party willing to buy its assets and liabilities. InterBank, which has $701.2 million in assets, lost $16.3 million in 2009. It lost $23.4 million the previous year. Its risk-based capital ratio is 6.6 percent; a financial institution typically needs a ratio above 10 percent for regulators to consider it well-capitalized.
Citigroup signs up for mortgage modification program NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. today became the latest lender to commit to the government's program to modify second mortgages as a recovery in the housing market appears to be in jeopardy. With Citi on board, now four big owners of home mortgages in the U.S. have joined the program - part of the Obama administration's $75 billion loan modification plan aimed at reducing monthly payments to help customers stay in their homes. Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. already participate. A collapse in the housing market late in 2007 helped push the economy into recession as home prices fell and defaults skyrocketed. A recovery in the sector has been slow and uneven as customers continue to struggle to pay their loans. Home sales are sliding, prices are stalling and foreclosures are rising. Making matters worse, mortgage rates will likely climb after next week when the Federal Reserve ends a program that has driven them down.
Bank Launches Big Plan to Cut Mortgage Debt By JAMES R. HAGERTY And NICK TIMIRAOS - WSJ.com Under pressure by Massachusetts prosecutors, Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it would reduce mortgage-loan balances as much as 30% for thousands of troubled borrowers, in what could presage a wider government effort to encourage banks to offer debt reduction to ease the mortgage crisis. The plan is one of the boldest moves yet to address the plight of millions of U.S. homeowners who are "under water," owing more on their homes than they're worth. It could make it easier for the Obama administration to move in a similar direction with its existing loan-modification program, although senior government officials and many bankers remain very wary of offering to cut loan balances as the main way of helping distressed borrowers.
Bernanke: Fed Likely to Sell Some of Its Mortgages Eventually By Jon Hilsenrath Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke carves out new ground in his testimony to Congress today, saying the Fed is likely to start at some point gradually to sell some of its large holdings of mortgage backed securities. His goal, he says, is to get his $2 trillion balance sheet down to below $1 trillion. One way to do that is to sell mortgage-backed securities. This matters a lot for millions of Americans because if the Fed sells pieces of its trillion-dollar mortgage portfolio, it could put upward pressure on mortgage rates.
Washington to run student loans By Jennifer Libert WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress passed a bill Thursday to make Washington the one-stop shop for cheap student loans and to boost need-based scholarships. Starting July 1 nearly all federally backed student loans, like Stafford loans, will come directly from the federal government. The measure prevents private student lenders, including Sallie Mae (SLM, Fortune 500) and Nelnet (NNI), from making loans, although both have federal contracts to service government loans to students.
Futile Attempts To Reflate The Housing Bubble & The Deadly Cost By: Daniel R. Amerman, CFA When a financial bubble bursts – can it be reflated? And what are the risks for all of us the reflation attempt fails? In this article we will briefly review the six factors that came together to create the real estate bubble in the United States. As we will cover, the government has deemed a return to a normal housing market – one which is governed by market forces – to be politically unacceptable. Instead, an artificial mortgage market has been created with massive interventions in three different categories as the government attempts to reflate the housing bubble. Quite a risky undertaking, but the politicians have decided they are willing to risk everything the taxpayers and savers have, in an attempt to remain in office. These interventions include the Federal Reserve effectively creating money out of thin air to fund almost the entire mortgage market at below market rates. We will explore why the three interventions will not succeed in replacing the six sources of the bubble, and the severe risks for all of us when attempting the economically impossible becomes politically mandatory. We will close with a discussion of the likely implications for the housing market and the value of the dollar, as well as a brief discussion of alternative solutions for protecting your net worth.
Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Take Own Lives Walt Hunter - PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) The foreclosure crisis in Philadelphia is now becoming a matter of life and death. Eyewitness News has learned that in the past month, two homeowners took their own lives before sheriff's deputies arrived to tell them that they were being evicted. On March 5, deputies arriving to post an eviction notice on Lynda Clark's South Philadelphia home found she had hanged herself. "It's devastating for everyone. We're not even family members and it's just devastating to us," Captain Albert Innaurato of the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office said. Less than three weeks later, owner Gregory Bellows shot and killed himself shortly before deputies arrived to evict him from his Roxborough home.
Apartment rents cheaper than stays in homeless shelters By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY Cities, states and the federal government pay more to provide the homeless with short-term shelter and services than what it would cost to rent permanent housing, the U.S. government reports. A study of 9,000 families and individuals being released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that costs to house the newly homeless vary widely, depending on the type of shelter and social services provided by the six cities in the report.
Negative equity homes in Atlanta years from turnaround Atlanta Business Chronicle Metro Atlanta homeowners who are underwater in their mortgages are not expected to reach positive equity until 2016, according to First American CoreLogic research published Thursday. A borrower is in negative equity if he or she owes more on the mortgage than the home is worth. First American CoreLogic said more than 11.3 million -- or 24 percent of -- residential properties with mortgages in the United States had negative equity at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009. For the typical underwater borrower in the United States, it will take until late 2015 or early 2016 for negative equity to disappear.
Social Security to pay more in benefits this year than it takes in USAToday.com - OnDeadline.com The Social Security system this year will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, The New York Times reports, quoting the Congressional Budget Office. The switch comes six years earlier than expected, The Times says. The newspaper quotes Stephen Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, as saying payments have risen more than expected during the recession because jobs disappeared and people applied for benefits sooner than they had planned. At the same time, he says, there are fewer paychecks to tax.
Will America break up? By Jeffrey T. Kuhner - WashingtonTimes.com Abortion threatens to split the nation like slavery President Obama is splintering America. The passage of Obamacare was a historic victory for liberal governance. Yet, its true cost may be that it triggers the eventual breakup of the country. Mr. Obama has achieved what his liberal predecessors - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Bill Clinton - could only dream of: nationalized health care. Obamacare signifies the government take-over of one-sixth of the U.S. economy. It has dealt a mortal blow to traditional America. We are now a European-style socialist welfare state. The inevitable permanent tax hikes, massive public bureaucracy and liberal ruling elites will stifle competition and initiative.
More Doctors Giving Up Private Practices By GARDINER HARRIS - NYTimes.com WASHINGTON — A quiet revolution is transforming how medical care is delivered in this country, and it has very little to do with the sweeping health care legislation that President Obama just signed into law. But it could have a big impact on that law’s chances for success. Traditionally, American medicine has been largely a cottage industry. Most doctors cared for patients in small, privately owned clinics — sometimes in rooms adjoining their homes.
Study: Retired couple will need $250,000 for health care BOSTON (AP) — Relief to seniors facing high prescription drug costs is one of the first changes to come under the health care overhaul. But that won't offset the relentless increase in retirees' medical expenses. A couple retiring this year will need a quarter of a million dollars, on average, to cover medical expenses in retirement, according to a study to be released Thursday by Fidelity Investments. The estimate is up 4.2% from Fidelity's projection last year. The financial services company has updated its estimate annually since 2002 as part of its business helping employers design workplace benefits programs.
Final health care bill approved; on to Obama By Jennifer Haberkorn - WashingtonTimes.com Passes in House 220-207 Congress passed the final repairs to President Obama's landmark health care overhaul plan Thursday, successfully pulling off a plan to circumvent a Republican filibuster put together shortly after Senate Democrats lost their supermajority in January. The bill passed the Senate 56-43 with five more votes than needed, but it had to go back to the House for another vote after Republicans were able to delete two provisions.
Final Piece of Health Bill Hits Snag By GREG HITT - WSJ.com WASHINGTON-The last piece of President Barack Obama's remake of the nation's health-care system hit a parliamentary snag early Thursday in the Senate, and will be headed back to the House for one final vote before becoming law, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said. The legislation makes a handful of changes to the sweeping health bill, including bolstering government subsidies to help individuals purchase health insurance and closing a politically unpopular gap in prescription-drug coverage under Medicare, the health insurance for seniors. The measure has been debated in the Senate since Tuesday, and Democratic leaders had hoped to conclude Senate action Thursday.
Cantor Says Campaign Office Was Shot At, Accuses Dems of Exploiting Threats FOXNews.com Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor said Thursday that his Richmond campaign office has been shot at and that he's received "threatening e-mails" -- but at the same time the House minority whip accused top Democrats of trying to exploit the threats they've been receiving for "political gain." Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor said Thursday that his Richmond campaign office has been shot at and that he's received "threatening e-mails" -- but at the same time the House minority whip accused top Democrats of trying to exploit the threats they've been receiving for "political gain."
Markey Received Threats Over Health Care Vote Alan Gathright, 7NEWS TheDenverChannel.com Caller: 'Better hope I don’t run into you in a dark alley with a knife, a club or a gun' FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Colorado Rep. Betsy Markey is among more than 10 Democrats in Congress who have received threats over voting for passage of the hotly contested health care reform bill. A man called Markey's congressional office the day before the Sunday vote and told an assistant that "[you] better hope I don’t run into you in a dark alley with a knife, a club or a gun," MSNBC reported Wednesday. The FBI is investigating threats against the lawmakers after acts of vandalism that included shattered windows at four Democratic offices in New York, Arizona and Kansas and a severed gas line at the Virginia home of a Democratic lawmaker’s brother, MSNBC reported.
"DROP DEAD": White Powder Package Sent to Rep. Weiner's Office Preliminary field tests show white powder is harmless By JONATHAN DIENST - NBCNewYork.com Authorities are investigating a package with white powder and an angry letter that referenced the health care legislation that was sent to Congressman Weiner's Kew Gardens office today. The letter said the Congressman should "drop dead" and complained about the historic health care legislation passed by Congress this week. Preliminary field tests showed the white powder was harmless. Such testing is routine to determine whether the substance is in any way hazardous. It is being sent to a lab for further detailed testing as a precaution -- also common practice. Most often, officials say, these letters are hoaxes.
Threats against lawmakers spread after health vote By LAURIE KELLMAN and JIM ABRAMS WASHINGTON (AP) - A fax bearing the image of a noose. Profane voice mails. Bricks thrown, a gas line cut. White powder sent to an office. Democrats and a few Republicans revealed mounting numbers and unsettling details of threats against them Thursday in the emotional aftermath of the passage of the health care overhaul. Lawmakers uniformly condemned the harassment, but that's where the agreement ended. Democrats said Republicans were slow to condemn the vigilantism, while Republicans said Democrats were playing politics with the threats.
Senate Approves Health Care Reconciliation Bill By ARTHUR D. POSTAL - Property-Casualty.com NU Online News Service WASHINGTON-The Senate has approved a final reconciliation bill that completes that chamber's action on pending health care reform measures. It was approved 56-43 on a party line vote today. Democrats had predicted that they would get 52 votes on the measure. The bill is H.R. 5872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010. House final approval was expected to follow shortly. All but one Republican Senator voted "no," Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., did not vote. Democratic Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both of Arkansas, voted against it, as did Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. In a statement after the vote, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which drafted what he called a "substantial portion" of the bill that President Obama signed Tuesday, hailed the Senate action.
Judge Andrew Napolitano Speaks Out Against 'Obamacare' Law on The Alex Jones Show 1/5
Judge Andrew Napolitano Speaks Out Against 'Obamacare' Law on The Alex Jones Show 2/5
Judge Andrew Napolitano Speaks Out Against 'Obamacare' Law on The Alex Jones Show 3/5
Judge Andrew Napolitano Speaks Out Against 'Obamacare' Law on The Alex Jones Show 4/5
Judge Andrew Napolitano Speaks Out Against 'Obamacare' Law on The Alex Jones Show 5/5
Cuban leader applauds US health-care reform bill By PAUL HAVEN AP via WashingtonPost.com HAVANA -- It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for. Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago. "We consider health reform to have been an important battle and a success of his (Obama's) government," Castro wrote in an essay published in state media, adding that it would strengthen the president's hand against lobbyists and "mercenaries."
MoneyMorning.com wants to hear what you think about health care legislation.
We Want to Hear From You: What Do You Think About the New Healthcare Law? MoneyMorning.com After months of controversy, political bickering and maneuvering, and intense media speculation and scrutiny, this week became a historically significant moment in the annals of U.S. healthcare when U.S. President Barack Obama signed the new healthcare bill into law. Thus begins a new chapter in the healthcare saga, when the country will feel the effects of this sweeping, costly and controversial policy overhaul. . . . . e-mail your healthcare-related questions and comments to: Mailbag@MoneyMapPress.com
Deere: Health-Care Law to Raise Expenses Associated Press - WSJ.com Deere & Co. said Thursday that the new health-care law will raise its fiscal 2010 expenses by approximately $150 million. The farm-equipment maker said most of the after-tax expenses will likely be incurred in the second quarter and that its 2010 earnings forecast of about $1.3 billion didn't account for the expense increase because it was given prior to the law's signing. Deere, based in Moline, Ill., is the second company this week to indicate that the new law will increase its costs. On Wednesday, heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. said the new law would create a $100 million drag on its first-quarter earnings.
Conservative David Frum loses think-tank job after criticizing GOP By Howard Kurtz - Washington Post Three days after calling health-care reform a debacle for Republicans, David Frum was forced out of his job at the American Enterprise Institute on Wednesday. The ouster also came one day after a harsh Wall Street Journal editorial ripped the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, saying he "now makes his living as the media's go-to basher of fellow Republicans" and accusing him of "peddling bad revisionist history."
Nano car bursts into flames, raising safety fears By Erika Kinetz, AP via USAToday.com MUMBAI, India — Satish Sawant was proudly driving his first car home from the showroom: A brand-new silver Tata Nano, draped with a celebratory garland of marigolds. Then there was smoke. And then there was fire. Minutes after the software engineer's wife and five-year-old son clambered out of the back seat, smoke from the engine, located in the Nano's rear, erupted into flames that engulfed the tiny car. His ordeal showed just the latest problem with the low-cost Nano — raising fresh questions about safety and quality as top Indian carmaker Tata Motors sets its sights on global expansion and aims to ramp up production of the Nano with a new factory next month.
Houston Police To Begin Training Officers To Staff Checkpoints Sarge, an Anonymous Police Officer - Infowars.com The Houston Police Department is poised to do what no other civilian police department in the United States has yet to publicly do. On the desk of the Chief of Police is the authorization to begin training officers to staff checkpoints at key infrastructure points throughout the city. Although the talk about creating such a group has been discussed among supervisors of the Special Response Group for years, only in the last few months have those talks become reality. This idea received support of the former Chief of Police Harold Hurtt, but wasn’t signed before he retired on December 30, 2009 due to it being under review by departmental lawyers. Now under the just-named Chief of Police Charles McClelland, it stands ready to be signed and implemented almost immediately.
Dogs suffer cancer after ID chipping By Chelsea Schilling - WorldNetDaily.com 'I saw it growing every day, and I could see it taking his life' Do implanted microchips cause cancer in dogs and cats? That's the question owners are asking after highly aggressive tumors developed around the microchip implants of two dogs, killing one and leaving the other terminally ill. The owners – and pathology and autopsy reports – suggest a link between the chips and formation of fast-growing cancers.
U.S. Fails to Persuade Israel on Housing Plan By HELENE COOPER and ISABEL KERSHNER - NYTimes.com WASHINGTON — With Israeli officials saying that construction on a contentious Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem could begin at any time, President Obama seemed to have failed on Wednesday to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give a written commitment to rein in any further building and to move ahead on peace talks with the Palestinians. Mr. Netanyahu left the United States early on Thursday. But before departing for Jerusalem, he said that he thought some progress had been made in healing the rift with Washington, The Associated Press reported. “I think we have found the golden path between Israel’s traditional policies and our desire to move forward toward peace,” he said, according to The A.P.
Bin Laden Threatens US over Alleged 9/11 Plotter By Staff, Associated Press - CNSNews.com Cairo (AP) - Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden threatened in a new audio recording released Thursday to kill any captured Americans if the U.S. executes the self-professed mastermind of the Sept.11 attacks or any other al-Qaida suspects. The U.S. is still considering whether to put Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four of his fellow plotters on military tribunal for their role in the Sept. 11 attacks. The Obama administration is also looking into recommendations for civilian trials, and is expected to announce a decision soon. In a brief 74-second audio tape aired on Al-Jazeera television, bin Laden said if the U.S. decides to execute any al-Qaida suspects in its custody - and explicitly mentioned Mohammed - his terror network would kill American captives.
Kitty Werthmann Interview
Kitty Werthmann Part 2
Kitty Werthmann Part 3
America Truly is the Greatest Country in the World. Don't Let Freedom Slip Away Fort Worth Christianity & Culture ExaminerRene Girard By: Kitty Werthmann What I am about to tell you is something you've probably never heard or will ever read in history books. I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide - 98% of the vote.. I've never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force. . .
Freedoms can disappear in a hurry if we aren't careful Kitty Werthmann For the Argus Leader published: 3/11/2003 Kitty Werthmann, 77, of Pierre, is president of the South Dakota Eagle Forum. She lobbies the state Legislature on family issues. She has lived in the United States since 1950 and has been a U.S. citizen since 1962. Those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity. I lived in Austria under Adolf Hitler's regime for seven years. Dictatorship did not happen overnight. It was a gradual process starting with national identification cards, which we had to carry with us at all times. We could not board a bus or train without our ID card. Gun registration followed, with a lot of talk about gun safety and hunting accidents. Since the government already knew who owned firearms, confiscation followed under threat of capital punishment.
Tom Woods vs Neil Siegel on States' Rights - NPR Debate 3/23/10
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