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24 Jun 2010 19:45

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U.S.: The DISCLOSE (unless your lobbying group is huge) Act passes

  • good The House passes the DISCLOSE act, designed to make political groups disclose who their five largest donors are (and to make the head of the largest company appear in the ads).
  • bad It sounds good for fans of political transparency, but it makes notable exemptions for the largest lobbying groups – inculding  the Humane Society, NRA, and AARP. WTF? Why are they special? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jun 2010 11:14

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U.S.: Financial reform bill is nearing the finish line. WHOO!

  • DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! We’re so pumped to see financial reform finally pass between the House and Senate that “DERIVATIVES!” is kinda like a battle cry for us. Or not. But Christopher Dodd gets his name on the broadest rewrite of financial law since the 1930s, and the deal-brokering has if nothing else, made the bill palatable to some on both sides of the aisle. Congress has given themselves a deadline of today, so some stuff may end up on the cutting-room floor, but it would still be a big victory. Right? Right? DERIVATIVES! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jun 2010 11:04

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U.S.: Did Robert Gates want to keep Gen. Stanley McChrystal?

  • YES at least that’s what CNN’s source says source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jun 2010 10:49

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U.S.: Supreme Court sides with Enron on a case for some reason

  • what? The Supreme Court favored limiting a law used to prosecute white-collar criminals, the “honest services” law, from being used that way ever again.
  • but … Two cases which used this law (Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling and newspaper magnate Conrad Black) were not simply overturned, but sent to lower courts. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jun 2010 22:30

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U.S.: Was Al Gore investigated for a sex crime within the last five years?

  • YES believe it or not; it was in Portland, Oregon source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jun 2010 21:37

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U.S.: Some key numbers from the whole Stanley McChrystal thang

  • 40minutes, the length of the interview David Patraeus got
  • six days ago, the White House got some fact-checking calls from Rolling Stone
  • 48 hours ago, the article came out (though Rolling Stone sat on the hit machine at first, idiots)
  • <30 number of minutes it took Obama to talk it through with Stanley McChrystal source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Jun 2010 11:22

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Biz, U.S.: BP’s new oil disaster plan: Command center in Houston

  • We were always going to set up the organization. We have across the Gulf Coast, people that are there, temporary, rotating in and out. We’re going to bed this down now. We’re in for the long haul and we’re going to make sure that it’s sustained and efficient.
  • BP top staffer Robert Dudley • Regarding his role in the oil spill cleanup, along with the changes BP is making. The company has put together a command center, based in Houston (a bit off, but close enough), to deal with the spill. Why? And why now? Dudley says they needed “a more sustainable organization” to see things through. We have to agree with that. They’ve looked pretty disorganized so far. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

23 Jun 2010 09:43

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U.S.: Gen. Stanley McChrystal could have his ass handed to him, guys

  • He’s in the midst of meeting with Obama this morning. Will he lose his position? Well, Obama wants a list of replacements. We’re guessing it’ll be people who aren’t loyal to McChrystal. It does not look good for the dude. The Pentagon would prefer that he be reprimanded but allowed to continue. Obama and McChrystal are meeting now. This is what happens when you do an article in a magazine that gives a general as much press as Lady Gaga. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Jun 2010 21:26

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U.S.: At the top of South Carolina’s ticket: Nikki Haley, Alvin Greene

In case you were wondering, at least one state is probably going to have a bizarro hippie governor by the end of the election cycle. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Jun 2010 20:45

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U.S.: Judge in drilling moratorium case may not be impartial, guys

  • yes Judge Martin Feldman decided against the federal government in the drilling moratorium case.
  • yes Feldman happens to own stock in as many as five major offshore drilling companies. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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