Good for him! He’s a cool guy. Frank, a Democrat, said he’ll look into taking the roughly $1 billion in bonuses, which the company says it’s legally obligated to give out, away from the company. “We need to find out whether these bonuses are legally recoverable,” Frank said. AIG Financial Products is receiving half of the bonuses – they’re the part of the company that made the credit default swaps that screwed up the economy. source
We have succeeded in creating in the heart of the Middle East a democratically-governed Iraq, and it is in fact what we set out to do.
Dick Cheney • Ex-Veep under the Bush administration, on their success with the War in Iraq. It was disruptive and worthy of shoe-throwing incidents, but yeah, they did it. • source
As we work toward developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values and is governed by law.
Attorney general Eric Holder • On the administration’s new policy of holding detainees, which differs heavily from the Bush administration. They plan to stop using the term “enemy combatants” and say that international law governs the detention of terrorism suspects – and it isn’t like Guantanamo Bay, which they plan to close. • source
26,500teachers received pink slips before the Sunday deadline to receive them. California’s public education system needs to swallow $8 billion in budget cuts, but many of these pink slips will likely be rescinded. They must be having fun right now. source
If, in the last few years, we’ve seen too much greed and too little fear, too much spending and not enough saving, too much borrowing and not enough worrying, today our problem is very different. It is this transition from an excess of greed to an excess of fear that President Roosevelt had in mind.
Lawrence Summers • President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, on the economic struggles the country is facing, harkening back to President Franklin Roosevelt’s “We have nothing to fear but fear itself” line. His words also appeared to be critical of investors whose caution is stagnating the market even as consumer spending improves. • source