President's Weekly Address: Learning from History to Reform Wall Street

From the White House web site:

The President explains that while he continues to focus on jobs, it is also profoundly important to address the problems that created this economic mess in the first place. He commends the House of Representatives for passing reforms to our financial system, including a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and blasts Republican Leaders and financial industry lobbyists for their joint "pep rally" to defeat it.

So much for the President being in the pocket of Wall Street... This is to me great news. I applaud this mightily. However I am sure there will be the naysayers among the Left who will say it is not enough or he was paid off or something...

It seems no matter what he does it never pleases some, so he is always fighting both sides.. the Rethugs just because they can.. and the Left because he isn't who they thought he would be in their dreams.

No, he isn't.. he is the man who was voted in by so many of you... Democrats, Republicans, Independents alike, and he is trying his very best, to work with the Congress he has to enact the Legislation he can.. to clean up the mess he was left with, to fix the problems out there.. to wind down 2 wars in the best way he knows how.. one that was scheduled already and he has to work within those constrains, (Iraq, I mean) and the other, Afghanistan, just a mess that he said all along he was going to finish the best way he knew how.. If Bush had just finished it we wouldn't be there now...I firmly believe that.. and I don't believe this President wants to be involved in either of these wars.

I have followed and studied this man since 2004. I firmly believed he would be President one day.. I really didn't think it would be this soon...because I didn't think our country was ready. However I knew this country was not ready for a woman either. I know a lot of you put your hopes on Hillary and if you think she would have done any differently than Pres. Obama would have done on Afghanistan or Iran you are sadly mistaken...

We would have been in another war in Iran if Hillary was President. She was trying to get him to use force in Iran, North Korea and other places.. Bill is the calming influence in that couple, not Hillary.. and sorry folks.. we had 8 years of Bill Clinton in the White House... Yes he was a good President.. but I don't think I want him back anytime soon.. really...

We The People to King of the World: YOU'RE FIRED!

From DailyKos

Friends,

Nothing like it has ever happened. The President of the United States, the elected representative of the people, has just told the head of General Motors -- a company that's spent more years at #1 on the Fortune 500 list than anyone else -- "You're fired!"

I simply can't believe it. This stunning, unprecedented action has left me speechless for the past two days. I keep saying, "Did Obama really fire the chairman of General Motors? The wealthiest and most powerful corporation of the 20th century? Can he do that? Really? Well, damn! What else can he do?!"

This bold move has sent the heads of corporate America spinning and spewing pea soup. Obama has issued this edict: The government of, by, and for the people is in charge here, not big business. John McCain got it. On the floor of the Senate he asked, "What does this signal send to other corporations and financial institutions about whether the federal government will fire them as well?" Senator Bob Corker said it "should send a chill through all Americans who believe in free enterprise." The stock market plunged as the masters of the universe asked themselves, "Am I next?" And they whispered to each other, "What are we going to do about this Obama?"

Not much, fellows. He has the massive will of the American people behind him -- and he has been granted permission by us to do what he sees fit. If you liked this week's all-net 3-pointer, stay tuned.

I write this letter to you in memory of the hundreds of thousands of workers over the past 25+ years who have been tossed into the trash heap by General Motors. Many saw their lives ruined for good. They turned to alcohol or drugs, their marriages fell apart, some took their own lives. Most moved on, moved out, moved over, moved away. They ended up working two jobs for half the pay they were getting at GM. And they cursed the CEO of GM for bringing ruin to their lives.

Not one of them ever thought that one day they would witness the CEO receive the same treatment. Of course Chairman Wagoner will not have to sign up for food stamps or be evicted from his home or tell his kids they'll be going to the community college, not the university. Instead, he will get a $23 million golden parachute. But the slip in his hands is still pink, just like the hundreds of thousands that others received -- except his was issued by us, via the Obama-man. Here's the door, buster. See ya. Don't wanna be ya.

I began my day today in Washington, D.C. I went to the U.S. Senate and got into their Finance Committee's hearing on the Wall Street bailout. The overseers wanted to know how the banks spent the money. And many of these banks won't tell them. They've taken trillions and nobody knows where the money went. It certainly didn't go to create jobs, relieve mortgage holders, or free up loans that people need. It was so shocking to listen to this, I had to leave before it was over. But it gave me an idea for the movie I was shooting.

Later, I stopped by the National Archives to stand in line to see the original copy of our Constitution. I thought about how twenty years ago this month I was just down the street finishing my first film, a personal plea to warn the nation about GM and the deadly economy it ruled. On that March day in 1989 I was broke, having collected the last of my unemployment checks, relying on help from my friends (Bob and Siri would take me out to dinner and always pick up the check, the assistant manager at the movie theater would sneak me in so I could watch an occasional movie, Laurie and Jack bought an old Steenbeck (editing) machine for me, John Richard would slip me an unused plane ticket so I could go home for Christmas, Rod would do anything for me and drive to Flint whenever I needed something for the film). My late mother (she would've turned 88 tomorrow if she were still with us) and my GM autoworker dad told me in the kitchen they wanted to help and handed me a check for an astounding thousand dollars. I didn't know they even had a thousand dollars. I refused it, they insisted I take it -- "No!" -- and then, in that parental voice, told me I was to cash it so I could finish my movie. I did. And I did.

So on that March day in 1989, as I was driving down Pennsylvania Avenue, my 9-year-old car just died. I coasted over to the curb, put my head down on the steering wheel and started to cry. I had no money to take it in to be repaired, and I certainly had nothing to pay the tow truck driver. So I got out, screwed the license plates off so I wouldn't be fined, turned my back and just left it there for good. I looked over at the building next to me. It said "National Archives." What better place to donate my dead car, I thought, as I walked the rest of the way home.

Though it wasn't easy for me, I still never had to suffer what so many of my friends and neighbors went through, thanks to General Motors and an economic system rigged against them. I wonder what they must have all thought when they woke up this Monday morning to read in the Detroit News or the Detroit Free Press the headlines that Obama had fired the CEO of GM. Oh -- wait a minute. They couldn't read that. There was no Free Press or News. Monday was the day that both papers ended home delivery. It was canceled (as it will be for four days every week) because the daily newspapers, like General Motors, like Detroit, are broke.

I await the President's next superhero move.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
(Go State!)

P.S. Please know that it has not been lost on any of us from the Rust Belt how our corporate bigwigs were treated (remember, the auto companies wanted a loan, not a handout) compared to how the titans of Wall Street got trillions of free cash, lunch at the White House and a photo op with the Prez. Trust me, we get it. And, if there is a God in heaven, the thieves of Wall Street will soon pay. Also... the sight of our president having to promise that he would back every GM warranty and give consumers a bonus if they trade in their old Grand Am for a hybrid, was alternately sad, hilarious, and just plain weird. This is what it's come to: the Commander in Chief of the Free World is now Mr. Goodwrench. Jeesh.

As they always say.. Follow the Money.. This Time it is in a CIRCLE..UPDATED!!

We give the money to the banks and Wall Street to bail them out. They then give the money to the politicians in DC. This makes no sense.. or does it. The same ones who rail on TeeVee the most against the bail outs, the bonuses and the Wall Street bankers on one hand are taking money from them with the other hand.

Watch this report from Chuck Todd on the Today Show this morning.. It is very interesting. I am proud of Barney Frank for his stand. When Chuck came on the Joke and talked about this the first thing he said was to try to paint Barney in a bad light and he got slapped down. Chuck broke his heart by telling him that Barney has constantly refused any and all money from the bankers and Wall Street.

From First Read:

The magic circle: Speaking of political contributions, one of us on TODAY followed up on the recent reporting that several members of Congress who have been critical of the federal government’s bailout of U.S. companies have received campaign contributions from these very firms just in the last six weeks, in the midst of the congressional venom directed toward the bailouts. Campaign-finance-reform advocate Fred Wertheimer says the government's been bailing out banks and other major "too-big-to-fail" firms -- as these same companies continue to use their PACs to make contributions. “It all adds up to kind of a magic circle involving the government, TARP recipients, members of Congress, and campaign contributions.” The reality, of course, is that these contributions, individually, aren't a lot of money. But many members of Congress (including Speaker Pelosi and Financial Services Chair Barney Frank) have decided against taking any of the money. The optics of this for both the banks and for the members of Congress is bad, and only feeds the credibility problems both entities have with the American public.
(My Emphasis)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

UPDATED!!! More from First Read:

So who is getting money and giving it right back to the politicians? Here’s a list of companies who received at least $1 billion in TARP funds and in February alone also gave money to members of Congress or national parties:

(Note: more TARP-recipients may have given money in February but not every company PAC reports their contributions monthly, some do it quarterly, meaning we won't know until mid-April if these figures are actually higher)

Citigroup
Bank of America
Goldman Sachs
U.S. Bancorp employee PAC
Chrysler
American Express
KeyCorp
BB&T
Huntington Shares

Now here’s a list of House leadership and banking committee members who got money from these bailed-out companies:

(Note: Some members of Congress received contributions directly to their campaign accounts and some received money to their leadership PACs.)

Steve Austria, R-Ohio, $1,000 from Huntington Shares
Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., $5,000 from Bank of America
Melissa Bean, D-Ill., $5,000 from Bank of America
Roy Blunt, R-Mo., $1,500 from U.S. Bancorp employee PAC
John Boehner, R-Ohio, $5,000 from Bank of America; $5,000 from American Express; $1,500 from U.S.
Bancorp employee PAC
Kevin Brady, R-Texas, $1,000 from Citigroup; $1,000 from American Express
Eric Cantor, R-Va., $2,500 from Citigroup; $5,000 from Bank of America; $1,000 from Chrysler; $2,500
from American Express
Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., $1,000 from Bank of America; $5,000 from Bank of America
Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., $5,000 from Bank of American
Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., $1,000 from Chrysler
Vern Ehlers, R-Mich., $1,200 from Huntington Shares
Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, $1,000 from Citigroup; $5,000 from Bank of America
Steny Hoyer, D-Md., $1,500 from Bank of America; $5,000 from Bank of America
Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., $1,000 from Citigroup; $1,000 from Bank of America; $1,000 from U.S. Bancorp
Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, $1,000 from Huntington Shares
Mary Jo Kilroy, D-Ohio, $1,000 from Huntington Shares
Leonard Lance, R-N.J., $1,000 from Citigroup; $2,000 from Goldman Sachs
Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., $1,000 from Citigroup; $5,000 from Bank of America
Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., $5,000 from Bank of America
Gary Miller, R-Calif., $1,000 from Bank of America
Gwen Moore, D-Wis., $2,500 from Bank of America
Richard Neal, D-Mass., $4,000 from Citigroup; $5,000 from Bank of America; $1,000 from American
Express
Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, $1,000 from U.S. Bancorp employee PAC
Devin Nunes, R-Calif., $5,000 from Bank of America
Glenn Nye, D-Va., $250 from BB&T
Mike Pence, R-Ind., $1,000 from Chrysler
Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., $1,000 from Chrysler
Mike Rogers, R-Mich., $1,000 from Chrysler
Pete Sessions, R-Texas, $5,000 from Bank of America
Lamar Smith, R-Texas, $1,000 from American Express
Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, $1,000 from Huntington Shares
Mel Watt, D-N.C., $1,000 from Bank of America; $1,000 from BB&T; $1,000 from U.S. Bancorp
employee PAC

But Senators also benefitted:

(Note: Both Reid and Shelby say they returned their checks.)

Michael Bennet, D-Colo., $1,000 from U.S. Bancorp employee PAC
Robert Bennett, R-Utah, $1,000 from Chrysler
Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, $1,000 from Chrysler
Richard Burr, R-N.C., $5,000 from Bank of America
Tom Carper, D-Del., $620 from Citigroup; $1,000 from Bank of America; $5,000 from Bank of America
Jim DeMint, R-S.C., $2,000 from Citigroup; $1,000 from Bank of America; $2,000 from BB&T; $1,000
from U.S. Bancorp employee PAC
Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., $1,000 from Citigroup
Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., $1,000 from Bank of America
Bob Menendez, D-N.J., $5,000 from Bank of America
Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., $2,500 from Citigroup; $4,000 from Bank of America
Harry Reid, D-Nev., $1,000 from U.S. Bancorp employee PAC
Richard Shelby, R-Ala., $5,000 from Bank of America
Arlen Specter, R-Pa., $2,000 from Chrysler
George Voinovich, R-Ohio, $5,000 from Bank of America

And so did the Parties.

The Democrats:
(Note: Both the DSCC and the DCCC say they never received the checks Bank of America reported in their March FEC report)

NDCPAC, $5,000 from Citigroup, $5,000 from Bank of America
Blue Dog PAC, $5,000 from Citigroup; $5,000 from Bank of America
DSCC , $15,000 from Bank of America
DCCC, $15,000 from Bank of America
FourOhDems, $1,000 from Huntington Shares

And the Republicans:

HouseConFund, $5,000 from Bank of America
GOP Main Street, $5,000 from Bank of America
NRSC, $15,000 from Bank of America
NRCC $15,000 from Bank of America

Interestingly, Goldman Sachs actually reported members of Congress who refused to cash their checks, including Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., Rep. Pete DeFazio, D-Ore., and then-Congressman and now chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Want to know if your Congressman is getting these contributions?
Check out the FEC’s reports. http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml (main FEC "Campaign Reports and Data" page)
and http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/disclosure_data_search.shtml (FEC "Disclosure Data Search" - search by donor or politician).
(Note: some companies have multiple PACs, like Bank of America.)

What about whether or not your Congressman’s contributors have taken bailout money?
Try here: http://www.ustreas.gov/initiatives/eesa/docs/transaction_report_03-16-09.pdf (Treasury TARP Transactions List)

Morning Joke Lies about Pres. Obama.. Again

Morning Joke is at it again.. This morning he is suggesting that President Obama is intentionally holding off fixing the banking problems so he can pass his budget and health care. He is also still calling for Sec. Geithner to be fired.

I think this does as much or more damage to the numbers on the stock market as anything else. How is the media, and much as I hate to admit it, this idiot is part of the media, talking down about the market helping?

All of them, who work in this medium, keep talking the stock market down.. telling us over and over it's bad, it's terrible. People hear this and react to it. They sell off. The market goes down. You would think, now that it is down to "historic lows" they would be telling people, hey there are bargains out there... BUY BUY .. but nope... they are still full of doom and gloom... so people are scared.. instead of these market analysts doing their job and telling people to buy, they are telling them how bad everything is.

Maybe I just don't understand how it is supposed to work, but that's sure how I thought it was supposed to be. You bought when the price was low and sold when the price was high... yeah sometimes things are bad and you have to sell off your stocks to cover an emergency, I get that... but if you are in it for the long haul as most investors are supposed to be, you leave it lay. When you buy stocks you buy low, you sell high.

Here is the video of the Joke... remember this guy is not just a joke he is a jerk. A failed congressman who left office in disgrace after cheating on his wife, with an unexplained dead woman in his office. Her name was Lori Klausutis, she was 28-years-old and the medical examiner's office showed no foul play or any outward indication of suicide. That was it. Never explained, never reported any more. Just covered up.

What we also need to remember about Scarborough is that his evening show-Scarborough Country - was Ground Zero for the Swift Boat Liars in the summer of 2004. If it hadn't been for him and his attacks from there, we might be in year 5 of a Kerry Presidency.



I watch him every morning. This is how I get to see what the GOP talking points of the day are. I think they must fax them to him early before he goes on the air. Or maybe he just reads Drudge, not sure. But he usually has them down pat. It is almost sickening, but it is there and no one stops him from it for the most part, because he just shouts them down. Unless you are really brave and shout louder than him.

Right Wing Claims Stock Market Declined Because Obama Was Elected

This ties into what I posted below and is from Think Progress... Here is how the right is portraying the economy:

Right Wing Claims Stock Market Declined Because Obama Was Nominated For President
Since the presidential election last November, the right wing has seized nearly every opportunity to link any sharp decline in the stock market (without any basis in fact) to Barack Obama. Yesterday, losses on Wall Street forced the Dow Jones industrial average to close “below 7,000 for the first time since 1997” and like clockwork, the right (and some on Wall Street) jumped to blame Obama. The Wall Street Journal claimed today that “Obama’s policies have become part of the economy’s problem.”

Laura Ingraham said today that Obama’s policies “are not giving us the confidence we need to get back into the market.” Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity touted the line as well, but added that the market’s problems started when Obama was nominated to be the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in the middle of last year:

LIMBAUGH: To say that Obama has been in office only one month is not accurate from an effect on the world and an effect on the country standpoint. Barack Obama has been the controlling political authority on the economy for six months.

HANNITY: Now if we go back to May 6th when it was apparent that he was going to probably be the Democratic nominee the stock market was over 13000, and if we go to October just before the election…the stock market was, what,around 11000 plus mark.

Of course, the Limbaugh-Hannity theory carries little weight as the market decline started well before Obama’s nomination. The market peaked in October 2007 and “came tumbling down last spring, when the bursting of the housing bubble started to add up to massive losses for Wall Street banks and other financial services firms tied to bad mortgages.”

In fact, yesterday’s decline came as “investors reacted to reports that construction and industrial activity had continued to decline and to a $61.7 billion loss posted by the insurance giant, the American International Group.” Moreover, the main issue surrounding the market’s fall is decreased company profits as a result of a weak economy, not Obama’s policies. As USA Today noted this morning, “[p]rofits are down sharply” which is “driving stock prices down sharply.”

President Obama noted earlier today that “the banking system has been dealt a heavy blow” to the market. “We dug deep hole for ourselves, he said. “There was a lot of bad decisions that were made. We’re cleaning up that mess. … But its going to get cleaned up.”

There is more and a video at the web site I posted above. As I said this ties into the what I posted below about Sec. Geithner. I really believe this just shows how they are trying to manipulate the markets and the economy to suit their agenda and to keep the numbers low and make it look like his policies are failing. This way they can keep everyone depressed and discouraged and stirred up.

We have to stay positive. We have to stay focused on the small gains we see here and there. Stick together and post about the jobs we see being created.

Remember we have each other and we can and will make it through this time. It may not always be easy, but we are tough people who have made it through tough times before. We will do it again.

Sec. of Treasury Tim Geithner Under Attack

Timothy Geithner is getting a bum rap.

When he was introduced in November last year everyone applauded and said it was a brilliant pick.

STOCKMARKETS soared on Friday November 21st when investors learned that Barack Obama would nominate Timothy Geithner as his Treasury Secretary.

That was from the Economist, and it goes on to say "Timothy Geithner is a seasoned crisis manager with a temperament to match that of Barack Obama". From the same article.

The 494-point (6.5%) jump in the Dow Jones Industrial Average is more a statement about investors’ anxiety over the unsettled state of economic policymaking. News of the Treasury nominee holds out the prospect of a more coherent and forceful approach to the crisis. The current treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, is reworking the $700 billion bail-out plan on the fly, policymakers are struggling over a new approach to foreclosures, the status of the mortgage agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is in limbo, and Congress has just sent the carmakers, teetering close to insolvency, home empty handed. The two months before Mr Obama is sworn in seem like an eternity.

So, as you can see, on Nov. 22, 2008 the Economist felt that Tim Geithner was a great choice.

Here's what ABC News had to say on their web site on Nov. 21, 2008 regarding the Geithner pick:

Pending Senate approval, Geithner will take over one of the most important cabinet positions as the country struggles through a financial crisis and what could be a lengthy recession.

Stocks soared late this afternoon when news reports first started to surface that Geithner's nomination will be made official Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day up 494.13 points, or 6.5 percent.

It was very good news after two dismal days on Wall Street. Obama's Treasury picks seems to have pleased many investors who are apparently happy with Geithner's familiarity with the markets.

If you examine the life story of Geithner you may think he and Obama are brothers, separated at birth.

So, once again you see a very favorable review.

It was the same with the International Herald Tribune, the world view of the NY Times.

Now, I am hearing from my TeeVee Machine a different story. This morning the Joke of the Morning, and we all know who he is... keeps repeating he wants to fire him. Also, it's too bad he is dead. Of course, I don't put a lot of credence in what Joke says, but a lot of people do, or so I guess.

I think we have to start talking about this and doing a counter plan. I really believe there is a plan to talk the markets and the economy down. Think about it for a minute.

Do you ever hear ANY republican or conservative say anything good about the economy or the stock market?? Do you ever hear them say it is going to get better??

But they all keep saying that Pres. Obama has to be positive and talk up the economy. It is his fault the market is down. It is Tim Geithner's fault the banks are not doing better. He made a terrible presentation of the bank plan.

Larry Kudlow wants him to resign. Who is Larry Kudlow?? One of the loud talkers on CNBC, where so many people go to get their stock market and financial advice. Oh, and now he has announced he will probably challenge Sen. Chris Dodd for his Senate seat. As a republican.

Kudlow is also one of the people who is pushing the Santelli rant. We all know who Santelli is.. the reporter/trader who stood in the middle of the floor in the Chicago Board of Trade and challenged Pres. Obama. Then went on G.Gordon Liddy's radio show and said Robert Gibbs "threatened" him. He was scared, he claimed and his kids were afraid to go to school. Right...

Jim Cramer is another one. He constantly complains and blames Geithner and Pres. Obama for everything. Even though the entire worlds economy is faltering. It is Pres. Obama and Geither's fault.

Not long after Sec. Geithner unveiled his Bank Rescue plan here, he left and went to Rome where he met with the other leaders in the G-7. There he revealed to them the plan and discussed what he had in mind for the banks and how to help our economy.

It was well received and went over very well. However our media has never really reported on it. From the Washington Post:

Going into the meeting, Canadian Finance Minister James M. Flaherty called the U.S. financial rescue "less than clear," echoing comments made by financial chiefs in France and Germany. Afterward, many of the officials appeared reassured, saying that Geithner provided clear answers to their questions.

Several officials said Geithner was particularly helpful in explaining how the various elements of the administration's initiatives tie together as well as how he plans to combine public funds with private resources to get more bang out of every rescue dollar the governments spends.

"What Tim Geithner wanted to do is set out the framework in which he's operating," Britain's Chancellor Alistair Darling said in an interview. "But he's made it very clear that he sees the urgency of this." Darling told a group of reporters: "It's quite clear that the new American administration is getting into its stride, it wants to make a real difference not just for Americans but for the wider world."

These articles are there, but sometimes you have to dig for them. Maybe it isn't that his plan was not detailed enough here as our so called financial experts have said, maybe it is that they didn't want it to be.

Maybe it is not what they wanted, because if it all works out like Pres. Obama and Tim Geithner and all the rest of his team have put it together and have planned, then the Democrats will have won again and it will be the end of Reaganomics and the end of the so called "conservative" tax cuts.

Bloomberg also wrote that his answers were clear and detailed and they were happy with everything they heard.

Geithner answered questions from G-7 officials “very clearly,” Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told reporters in Rome yesterday. “On paper it looks great,” said Lagarde. “The essential thing is now to implement it.”

More details on a public-private partnership to buy banks’ illiquid assets will be delivered in coming weeks, a U.S. official said in Rome on condition he not be named.

Geithner’s plan to tackle the U.S. credit crisis also includes additional injections of capital into financial institutions and as much as $1 trillion to promote new lending to consumers and businesses.

So, we have to do something to help the President and Sec. Geithner. I think they are under attack from the right wing nut jobs.

We have to stay positive, we have to talk it up. We have to keep our eyes on the ball and start looking and searching for these positive stories and not just reading these negative stories that are in the forefront.

I think Sec. Tim Geithner will be fine, if we give him a chance and if we can get these jerks from the right wing to leave him alone. Remember they have had free rein for 8 years. Their very existence is threatened, so they have to attack, and that is exactly what they are doing.

Bubba says we need to have Hope..Gives Obama an A

Yep, Bill Clinton says Pres. Obama is doing fine...he just needs to give us a little bit of his home town... Hope...lol Well, I always thought he did.. guess I get the wrong message...lol

But, Bubba as they always called him says that the President needs to start giving us more hope...other than that he gives him an A and says he is doing everything else just right.

So, keep up the good work, President Obama...you got the stamp of approval from the last two Democratic Presidents. Sorry, ABC doesn't allow the embedding of their videos so you will have to click on the link to see their interview and/or read the article with Pres. Clinton. It is good.

And for the other, probably my favorite president. Jimmy Carter. I think he is so underrated and does not get the credit he should. This is such a gentle and great man and deserves way more credit than he ever got.

Here is his interview with KO on the 13th. Talking about the peace accords and his advice and how he thinks Pres. Obama is off to a great start also.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So, with the pat on the back from both of these two presidents what more could he want?? He has all of us behind him, he has these two good men behind him. Who cares what Wall Street thinks, Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post I think said it best about them by saying that until they back trailer loads of money up to Wall Street they are going to do just exactly this. And I have a feeling if that's what they are waiting on.. they may be waiting a while.

House of Cards, CNBC Looks at the Housing Crisis....UPDATE

Last week, CNBC had a special on by David Faber, when I watched it, I did so with a jaded eye. Knowing how they feel about policing themselves usually, and how they are so tied into Wall Street and the bankers who are part of this mess that we are in.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found it was actually pretty good, and pointed fingers basically where they needed to be. From the web site of CNBC there is this review of the program:

THE HOUSE OF CARDS
CNBC presents the definitive report on the defining story of our time. CNBC correspondent David Faber investigates the origins of the global economic crisis, with first person accounts from home buyers, mortgage brokers, investment bankers and investors – most of whom let greed blind them, leading to the greatest financial collapse since the Great Depression.

Here is a quote from an internal email that was leaked out from one of the bankers that shows they knew exactly what they were doing and that there was no shame involved in it.

Let's hope we are all wealthy by the time this house of cards falters. 12/15/06

The above link will take you to the web site for CNBC and you can read more about this show which tells about this. It was a great watch. It tells about Bush's role in this, it talks about the role of many of the players in it, Chris Cox, SEC chairman, several other people who you wouldn't think about.

Another key player in this House of Cards, was former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan. He is also featured in a story on Huffington Post. It also talks about his role in the banking mess and the housing crisis.

He had such a key role in this entire decade of deregulation and financial ruin of most of the middle class. He was along with most of the republican party pushing for the upper class and putting down the little guy.

Greenspan's tenure coincided with a period during which total wealth increased dramatically, although much of the growth was concentrated among the richest of the rich, not just the top one percent of the income distribution, but the top 0.1 percent.

As I said he was all for the wealthy, with nothing for the little guy...but that is typical of all republicans. My dad used to always tell me that the republicans were for the wealthy and big business and the democratic party was for the rest. Well I think we have seen that for sure.

When he was interviewed for the program House of Cards, Greenspan admitted his role in the housing crisis and said he was amazed when they told him how bad it was. This is what he had to say.

"I remember my initial response when [in 2005] a staff member came up to me and he says, 'I don't know if you have seen something like this'," while showing the then-Fed chairman data that subprime mortgages represented 20 percent of all new mortgages. "I said, 'I don't believe that number,'"

He then said if they had acted this is what would have happened:

if the Fed had taken action, the results would have been disastrous: "We could have basically clamped down on the American economy, generated a 10 percent unemployment rate. And I will guarantee we would not have had a housing boom, stock market boom, or indeed a particularly good economy either."

Most recently, Greenspan's ideological journey has taken an abrupt left turn. On February 18, the Financial Times reported that the one-time libertarian devotee of Ayn Rand now thinks the government might be best advised to take over 'lemon' banks. "It may be necessary to temporarily nationalize some banks in order to facilitate a swift and orderly restructuring," he said in an interview.

Now, there is no way to predict what the former Chairman will say in his next commencement address.

That is my emphasis... but look at what he is saying... so would it have been better to have had that 4 years ago.. 3 years ago.. or now. Because that is what we have now basically. I guess he doesn't read the news...if you look at the real unemployment numbers, taking into account the ones who are working part time, who are now unable to draw and who fall through the cracks, our unemployment numbers are at about 13.5%, the stock market is lower than it has been in 20 years, the housing market has crashed, and our economy is in the toilet. So thank you Mr. Greenspan.

By the way...if you would like to watch House of Cards, it will be back on CNBC again Wednesday, February 25th, 8p ET; Sunday, March 1st, Midnight ET; Sunday, March 15 9p ET

************UPDATE**************

Just to add a note here.. Time had an article about the 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis, I didn't read it, I did look at the picture, but I was not interested in the article because I thought it was a little misleading just from some of the people I saw in the picture.

David Fiderer at Huffington Post has an article that exposes it as a rewriting of history. D.K.Raed pointed it out in her post over at Redheaded Wisdom. She has a neat article up about the story on Time and about the Frontline Program from PBS called Inside the Meltdown. It is still available online. You can go to her site and check it out and see the program there.

I haven't watched it yet. But am planning on it later today. Thanks D.K. for reminding me.

Senator Claire McCaskill Tells it Like It Is

I am so proud of my Senator.... She is one hell of a woman...