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28 Apr 2010 20:12

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U.S.: Financial reform debate’s a go in the Senate, finally

  • Forget the full Senate vote. They shook hands on it. In what’s a pretty big #(&(@&& deal, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate agreed to bring financial reform to the floor. BBC notes that a vote failed three days in a row, but eventually went through after Democrats nearly forced an all-night session. Republicans claim they won some concessions, though. While Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who’s been working with bill mastermind Christopher Dodd, says he still disagrees with many parts of the bill, but has been promised that Republican amendments would be considered. So that’s something. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

28 Apr 2010 11:11

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Politics: The 2010 election prospects for both parties, in map form

  • Harry Reid’s Nevada seat is currently listed as “toss-up.” The Washington Post put together this huge map suggesting what’s happening with all of the major Congressional races this year. There are a LOT of toss-up states in the Senate alone. Is it enough to switch the balance of power significantly? We’ll see. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2010 23:31

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Politics: Deal or no deal, 60th vote for Senate financial reform debate in sight

  • If backdoor haggling goes on too long, Sen. George Voinovich will vote yes to get the ball moving. Many GOP senators might be ready to break ranks to make the financial reform bill happen, according to Voinovich. He says he knows how long it should take for a deal to go through, but if one doesn’t, he’ll play vote number 60. By the way, Senators Richard Shelby and Chris Dodd say they’re close to a deal, but Sen. Bob Corker (who knows the score) says they’re not as close as they say. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2010 20:27

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Biz: Fabrice Tourre: Goldman Sachs’ fraud mastermind or fall guy?

Fabrice Tourre, a kid in these circles at 31, reportedly created the ABACUS system which defrauded investors in 2007. He looked scared today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2010 20:20

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Biz: Goldman Sachs execs had a lot of sweat furrowing their brows today

  • They’re buying something from you, and you are betting against it. And you want people to trust you? I wouldn’t trust you.
  • Sen. Carl Levin • Talking in very harsh terms to Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein – a hearing put together in the wake of the SEC lawsuit against the company. He and other Goldman staffers looked really uncomfortable with being there, and Levin didn’t help – especially due to all the profanity he was using in criticizing them. He said “)*#(%@” eleven freaking times in a ten-minute period. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2010 11:51

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Politics: Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby seeing more of each other lately

  • I hope tomorrow we can get those votes; we may not, but I hope we do because we need to move forward.
  • Sen. Christopher Dodd • Regarding his push for a financial reform bill. He hopes to pull at least one Republican over with a bipartisan bill. Sen. Richard Shelby is currently working with him to make it happen. For what it’s worth, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks it’s going to happen. “We don’t have a bipartisan compromise yet, but I think there’s a good chance we’re going to get it,” he says. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Apr 2010 20:43

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U.S.: Protip: Using black bar redactions on PDFs doesn’t really work

  • Mediaite broke it. DocumentCloud totally owned it. The Blago corruption court case hit a new high today after it was suggested that Obama might be implicated in the case. But this fact didn’t come out directly. It was actually redacted in this subpoena released today. However, a glitch in the PDF software they used to make the document made the redacted statement very easy to read. Which gave the boys at DocumentCloud a chance to show off their mad skillz. Check ’em out. They’re pretty awesome. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

20 Apr 2010 10:55

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Politics: Republicans trying to railroad Charlie Crist out of Florida race

  • If any of you have influence with Governor Crist, we hope you will call his campaign and encourage him to do the right thing.
  • National Republican Senatorial Committee Executive Director Rob Jesmer • In a note regarding the current Senate campaign in Florida. Gov. Charlie Crist, despite his strong name recognition and likeliness of winning the general election, is facing a tough fight from Marco Rubio, who’s supported by bizarro hippies. Crist is seriously considering running as an independent, and if he does, he’ll likely win – at great cost to the Republicans. Even longtime friends are pressuring Crist to drop out. “They need to tell him this race is over,” said Pasco County Republican Party Chairman Bill Bunting, “I like Charlie as a friend, but this is not his time.” Ouch. Where’s the love for the moderate Republicans, anyway? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

16 Apr 2010 20:12

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Politics: GOP Senators to Obama, again: Drop dead

  • We are united in our opposition to the partisan legislation reported by the Senate Banking Committee. As currently constructed, this bill allows for endless taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street and establishes new and unlimited regulatory powers that will stifle small businesses and community banks.
  • A letter from all GOP Republicans to Harry Reid • Making it clear that the party will again be the Party of No when it comes to financial reform. Because, hey, it worked out for them last time. Obama, by the way, says he won’t pass a bill that doesn’t do something to hold back the onslaught of derivatives. Blanche Lincoln is working on adding teeth to the bill. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

13 Apr 2010 23:13

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Politics: Mitch McConnell continues policy of obstructionism by default

  • The fact is, this bill wouldn’t solve the problems that led to the financial crisis. It would make them worse. This bill not only allows for taxpayer-funded bailouts of Wall Street banks; it institutionalizes them.
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell • Regarding the financial reform bill that the Democrats are trying to push through. Let’s go back in time and remind you that this is the guy whose entire political plan of attack involves disagreeing with the Democrats on everything – a plan which wasn’t enough to sideline the health care law. Democrats wanted to work with Republicans on the plan, by the way. (They’re still working behind the scenes.) Fellow Republican Bob Corker made an effort to work across the aisle, but he couldn’t get any help. A couple of weeks ago, in fact, we posted an article titled “Could financial reform be the GOP’s way out of ‘just say no?’” McConnell gave us our answer (at least from GOP leadership). No. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 10 Comments • Permalink
 
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