No me!

OT, but hell, who can keep track anymore?

Finance Sector Gave 51 Percent More to House Bailout Backers
September 29, 2008
Jesse's Café Américain: Did Campaign Contributions Influence the House Vote on the Bailout?

WASHINGTON -- Members of the House of Representatives who supported bailing out the financial sector with $700 billion in taxpayer money have received 51 percent more in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance and real estate sector in their congressional careers than those who opposed the emergency legislation, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics calculated following the 228-205 vote on Monday that defeated the House bill.

Also see: $5 Trillion Cash Pool Needed to Stop Rout, Ohmae Says
By Bei Hu

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion plan to buy devalued assets from financial companies is ``a joke'' because it doesn't go far enough to calm markets, said Kenichi Ohmae, president of Business Breakthrough Inc.
Jesse's Café Américain: September 2008

I recommend opensecrets.org, a bipartisan group which tracks contributions and their impact on votes.

Look what's happening on Main Street...

Due to overwhelming response, this item will be delivered in 10-15 business days.

Costco - Food For Health™ Emergency Food Kit

My parents actually bought 4 buckets of these things today... 20 year shelf life.

Argento,

Saw the emergency food bucket today at my local MN Costco. I was reminded of the internet meme with the Walrus (OH NOES THEY BE TAKIN' MY BUHKET). Significant other said, "I don't know what's more depressing.. that this is for sale for 80 dollars.. or that half the pallet is already gone."

I guess when the buhket is empty, you could use it for ice fishing.

McCain has already scared 3/4's of the attendees

That's a real version of "real" economic activity I can understand. Thanks, CR.

OT: Caruso-Cabrera mentioned she heard retailers weren't accepting bank cards from Britain on the continent. Ruh-roh.

"Keep house prices up artificially so you can all afford them, don't you get it?

Buy up bad loans to stabilize home prices? What?

Nemo writes:
I've noticed that my packs of Fritos have had less stuff in them lately. Maybe it's like that with the cargo containers.

There's been a lot of that type of "
downsizing" going on. 5# bags of granulated sugar are now 4# bags. Coffee (brands like Maxwell House, Folger's, etc....not the "designer brands) come in smaller sized containers.

I have had the strangest night. Went out for pizza (nice place)and some guy in the parking lot tried to throw a rock at our car and was calling us socialists. I wonder if he knows I've spent the last two weeks adamantly defending capitalism?

You need to move away from West Virginia

Went out for pizza (nice place)and some guy in the parking lot tried to throw a rock at our car and was calling us socialists.

MaxedOutMama?

Let's settle for unseating Pelosi, Frank, Boehner, and Bachus. Non-partisan.

attaboy McCain. Tell it like it is! Stick it to him with Fannie and Freddie. He's got no comeback!

Other than the fact McCain's campaign mgr. made $300k lobbying for FRE and FNM

Uncle Billy,

Was it full?

trader: he was an alcoholic homeless looking fellow :

Someone should ask them how important it is to beat out Russia in the current eBay bidding for Iceland.

Has it really come to this?

Page Not Found - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - CBMove.com

I can't keep up, slow down...

Re: Why are we financing India?

Because they have a shit load of physical gold

Holy Moly

Look guys, part of the reason I think that homeless Finn was angry was that his bottle was empty.

STOP MOCKING DRUNKEN FINNS.

I don't like McCains suit, looks cheap and he looks like a slob

Shop till you drop baby and run up credit cards!

Uh oh. "Too much credit..."

Nova,

Any more "good news"?....G.

If Obama sounds smart he is called elitist.

"STOP MOCKING DRUNKEN FINNS."

Nobody can drink like the Finns, except maybe the Poles, the Russians, but especially the Georgians, who can hold their liquor like nobody else can. They should have challenged the Russians to a drinking bout.

That's why no one has called him an elitist yet.

Heeheehee:)

Both of these dudes will have to raise taxes, period, neither of them can do a tax cut in a recession and they are both talking up old talking points which are unrealistic in this crisis!

Thanks for the chart CR. Good to know that there is still considerable export activity.

During the GD, the loss of the export markets was not just due to Smoot-Hawley tariffs and the retaliation of the targets of that nasty bit of law, it also was the result of the economic collapse of our trading partners. Don't think many alive today understand that we export so much both manufactured goods and food and that those exports support our wages and consumption. This data is important to watch.

It is somewhat disturbing that "economists are having a hard time keeping their projections current". A collapse of exports would be very bad.

Why aren't either of them answering the questions?

Why aren't either of them answering the questions?

Is this the first presidential debate you've ever watched?

Drill for oil, more nuclear. Kick the can.

Uh oh, too smart.

President Nader got us off oil permanently in the 80's, remember?

I like the computer analogy, but that took a lot of dough, and you can't cut taxes and then spend a shit load of cash, this is a nice story, but... taxes will go up, period!

Oh come on, any private based energy product that is used for energy production, like fuel cells, will probably be mass produced in China and then sold at wal-mart

You don't like it, I don't like it but we need to raise taxes and yes that will affect the economy but sometimes events drive policy and not vice versa. As part of these unfortunate taxes I pledge to change the system that got us to this point."

That's basically what Obana said. If you make less than 250k no new taxes. more you go to Reagans tax table

Oh these fuc-king pork bills and corruption and these wonderful oil companies will help us all

I agree but Reagan made the T-word taboo.

I went on a booze cruise between finnland and sweden. At four in the morning, there were very few swede's and russians left standing. There were plenty of finns left, singing away. I'm not sure how I got there, but I woke up in a room occupied by the Finnish Women's National Nordic Ski Team.

I did not pay for the trip with credit.

You know I think watching these two has made me
think I will vote for Nader. Don't agree with him but
at least he is honest I think.

"Politicians must attempt many things which they know in their hearts to be impossible either because there is no alternative, or because the only alternative is the one which they refuse to contemplate."

-- Western Society and the Church in the Middle Ages, R.W. Souther

Japan down 404.28

Healthcare must be socialized like banking and education!

Nova,

I agree about the bucket. And you can use it as a portable toilet too!

Pavel, WONDERFUL book, so good to see it quoted!

Billy/Pelerin,

Yes, there is that, I concede.

STOP OBJECTIFYING NORDIC SKIERS.

Ok, now wait a tic, both of these dudes are talking up a game plan from a year ago, neither one is reacting to the financial crisis and the way it will change the entire game plan!

senator obama will KILL you!

Question: does the cumulative area between the red and blue lines represent the trade deficit?

Nyuck Nyuck. Oh wow... I actually remember that one of them was named Pia(?). It's starting to come back!

Legalize Pot , Tax it , Use it to buy foreclosures , Stop burning corn , we need nuclear , Stop SPENDING , Fire Congress , Cap LAWSUITS , free up the prisons system , start making shit again , we need a crash to get are priorities in order .We make DEBT bottom line thru housing. There's no wall street jumpers yet so IMHO where are no where near bottom. I still do think white American will vote for Obama . He's No JFK . Disclaimer I'm still a Ron Paul fan.

Re: Kona: If my wife gives me permission, we'll do it in 2012, okay?

Ok, why not, that gives us plenty of time to see if we still are here at CR making lots of cash

Credit enima is coming
Legalize Pot , Tax it , Use it to buy foreclosures , Stop burning corn , we need nuclear , Stop SPENDING , Fire Congress , Cap LAWSUITS , free up the prisons system , start making shit again , we need a crash to get are priorities in order .We make DEBT bottom line thru housing. There's no wall street jumpers yet so IMHO where are no where near bottom. I still do think white American will vote for Obama . He's No JFK . Disclaimer I'm still a Ron Paul fan.

Enima for President!

Boo AIG!!

I spin Obama, just because at least he said drilling is not the answer.

I hope CR puts up another post soon.

Bottom line the dude is 72 with skin cancer. Bad actuarial risk.

1 in 4 melanoma returns. 1 in 7 he don't make it to age 76

Watching these debates... are these two HONESTLY the best candidates out there? I'm watching this from Canada.. and whoo boy.. talk about 'yuk'. None of them inspire any confidence.. sorry..

The Democratic head of NOW in Los Angeles supports Palin.

LA NOW Prez on Palin: 'America, This is What a Feminist Looks Like' - Political Punch

LA NOW Prez on Palin: 'America, This is What a Feminist Looks Like'

October 06, 2008 11:45 AM

Shelly Mandell, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin over the weekend in California, speaking not on behalf of NOW but "as an individual, as a woman's rights activist for 30 years who has worked for all those years to see this day."

Going through her feminist bona fides -- the International Women's Year, the Equal Rights Amendment, Geraldine Ferraro -- Mandell said she is "proud to support Sarah Palin, a woman who will fight for women's rights ... a woman who will, Lord knows, shake things up."

"Make no mistake," Mandell said. "I'm a life-long Democrat ... I don't agree with Gov. Palin on several issues." And yet, she said, "I know Sarah Palin cares about women’s rights, she cares about equality, she cares about equal pay, and as Vice President she will fight for it. She cares about our children and she cares about women's lives. She's an athlete and she knows what Title Nine did for girls like her."

McCain just told Obama that "we don't have time for on the job training"

YUP!

OC Dan.

You mean the "Cheating 5" don't you?

hair transplant voters for Obama!

the alternative is a nation of combovers.

No Way No Combover No McCain!

McCain just told Obama that "we don't have time for on the job training"

YUP!

What will we do then when the old bastard croaks and Sarah's the Prez?

Dow zero? At this rate, we'll almost be there by Halloween

Dow zero? At this rate, we'll almost be there by Halloween | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times

"Lord knows"... says it all.

get long tobacco, alcohol, and whatever CSC has on sale at the local pub...

you're gonna need it.

If he says "my friends" twice in one answer to his opponent and others who aren't, drink 2 shots to the head.

After 'lunch' with a guy from Kiev I had to walk around my neighborhood for two hours before I could find my house.

One serious question:

When the Dow dropped 508pts on Weds, why did the bond yield go up??????

I don't get it...Shouldn't bond/bill yield go down and their prices go up????

Bond market should rally...

hero

Whrere's Bob Barr ?

Is he a black guy or a white guy? I never can tell

1 in 4 melanoma returns.

I am not sure that is correct.

When the Dow dropped 508pts on Weds, why did the bond yield go up??????

Hacks on CNBC said it was a good sign. Money is sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy into TARP and his li'l bro CREFF

Soy Sauce may be coming down in price?

Re: With a shortage of credit around the globe, many farmers in South America are having trouble finding the capital to run their farms. This could severely cut into any expansion plans that we may have had for South America. Also, with fertilizer prices coming down and the New Crop Soybean New Crop Corn ratio at 2:1, the soybeans stand to lose acres in the U.S.

Nemo writes:
I've noticed that my packs of Fritos have had less stuff in them lately. Maybe it's like that with the cargo containers.

I don't care much for Fritos. I prefer Cheese Nips.

10 comments a minute...

splain that.

Look, it's "enema".

WOW!

Report: State unemployment fund to run out in March - Sacramento Business Journal:

Report: State unemployment fund to run out in March

The fund that pays unemployment benefits to laid-off workers is projected to go broke by March, state officials told lawmakers at a hearing in Sacramento Tuesday.

It could even be earlier. That forecast, prepared in May, was based on an unemployment rate of 6.4 percent in 2008 and 6.6 percent in 2009. Unemployment hit 7.7 percent statewide in August and the number of unemployed workers is rising steadily, according to figures the Employment Development Department (EDD).

Worried about the state’s ability to meet the needs of rising numbers of unemployed workers, Assembly Insurance Committee Chair Joe Coto (D-San Jose) and Budget Subcommittee chair Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) held the joint hearing Tuesday to investigate the issue and look at solutions.

Unemployment insurance is funded entirely by employers, who pay taxes per employee based on payroll. Workers laid off through no fault of their own receive maximum benefits of $450 per week, depending on their income. Benefits generally last 26 weeks, but many unemployment workers qualify for a 13-week extension.

"The fundamental purpose of the unemployment insurance program is to put money in the hands of folks who need it in order to benefit the economy,” said Maurice Emsellem, public policy director for the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy organization that represents low-wage workers.

Yet rising unemployment has put extraordinary pressure on the fund. An average of 504,667 claims were filed in August, up 43 percent from August 2007, according to EDD.

Initial projections show the fund in the red by March and a deficit of $1.6 billion by the end of 2009. But rising unemployment means the fund could go bust even earlier.

Among the options on the table:

Restructuring the fund so that employers pay an amount during good times to offset need in bad times
Adjustment of the taxable base to keep pace with increases in cost of living and wages. It is $7,000 in California. Nearby Oregon’s taxable wage base is $30,200; Nevada’s is $24,600
Increase the tax rate. The feds require a minimum of 5.4 percent, which is the California rate. Other states go as high as 10 percent
Levy an insolvency charge
Change eligibility requirements
Issue a state bond to help the fund

Business leaders acknowledged the problem Tuesday but lobbied for a fix that does not put more of the burden on employers.

“We recognize the challenge, but we do not believe California business should be burdened with an additional tax as we work to restore the fund,” said Cynthia Leon, a lobbyist for the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.

Leon suggested the problem be addressed in any special session that might be called to address California’s ongoing budget problem.

California has high unemployment but the sixth-worst business climate in the nation, said Jason Schmelzer from the California Chamber of Commerce, known now as CalChamber.

“We are willing to sit down and discuss how to move forward (on fixing the fund), but a fundamental piece needs to be moving California to a better position on the cost-of-doing business index.”

I'll vote for Palin over Obama . Palin won't genocide us

Obama will kill the whities

I'll vote for Palin over Obama . Palin won't genocide us . How come Fema has a million coffins in Atlanta ? I'll never drink the bird flu kool aid cure . By the way It's really sad this is happening . I think this was well planned to get the world on one government and world population . How can this gone this far out of wack. Anyone else short Toll Brothers ? I'm sitting 25000 shares short on them . I can't understand why they are still alive. It's been a hell of a year watching history in action .I'm working on a new book Bong hits and banks .

What is this?? Flight of ideas?

"Pavel, that sounds like a neat alternative Winter Olympics event! If it is indoors... what type of heating stove should be shown near the kitchen table in the film-gas, coal, or wood? I'm guessing that if it is in town it would be gas, but out in the country coal or wood."

Fireplace in the basement banqueting room of a 'House of Culture' at a vineyard outside of Tbilisi - mid-80s. The master of ceremonies - tamada (accent on last syllable) - sets the pace of drinking by proposing toasts, to which everyone must drink to the bottom of a glass of Georgian brandy - water glass size. First toast traditionally "to the beauty of Georgian women." Drink every ten minutes or so all night - possibly until dawn. I didn't stay that long. As I left they had gathered at one end of the table and were singing in complex harmonies.

Nobody writes:
WOW!

bizjournals: Not Found daily27.html

Report: State unemployment fund to run out in March

The fund that pays unemployment benefits to laid-off workers is projected to go broke by March, state officials told lawmakers at a hearing in Sacramento Tuesday.

Hey there, I'm from Clownifornia and thankfully have a job. However, if you don't have any nice things to post, please don't post here.

Tongue firmly planted in cheek.

here a you tube on the coffins YouTube -

Palin coming in third in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant isn't saying alot.

What, how many women were in the event 3 and how many were actually men?

I'm just sayin'!

UB,

I'll be back after the children leave

Palin beauty pagent:

YouTube - Palin Beauty Pageant - Miss Alaska 1984

We can't raise taxes . We need to reduce spending .

Credit enima is coming..... writes:
We can't raise taxes . We need to reduce spending .
Credit enima is coming..... | 10.07.08 - 10:27 pm | #

I couldn't agree more with you.

However, getting Duhmericah and the goobermints at alllevels to stop spending and/or seriously cut back is like trying to get an addict to stop cold turkey.

My gosh, isn't it amazing how same these two are except for how they look. You vote for them, you lose either way

McCains world idealogy mirrors Bush. Free these people and they will live democratic lives. Bullshit. Democracy can not come from the end of a gun. Communism maybe, but not democracy
Anonymous | 10.07.08 - 10:28 pm | #

What's Communism? Also didn't the "founding" fathers call for violence to obtain "Democracy"?

MetLife Inc., the biggest U.S. life insurer, withdrew its 2008 earnings forecast and said third- quarter operating profit fell as much as 48 percent as investment income declined. The company plans to sell 75 million shares.

I saw that earlier on the Wall Street ESPN channel.

Isn't this a company w/more than 1.5 trillion? Glad I didn't go with them for my life insurance 3 years ago! Whew!

"McCain wants membership for Georgia in Nato? "

If Gruzya (Georgia) were in NATO and Georgia got into a tussle with Russia, that would mean that Germany would have to attack Russia. Doesn't seem likely that Germany would be too enthusiastic about Georgia being in NATO.

However, if the US were to station troops in Georgia, I don't think Angela Merkel would mind too much. Maybe.

All in favor of john to be captain of the Titanic raise your hand.

All in favor of john to be captain of the Titanic raise your hand.
swimming naked with the sharks | 10.07.08 - 10:32 pm | #

Is John going down w/the ship or is he off to Paraguay w/Bush?

If he goes that is a deal breaker for me!

@My gosh, isn't it amazing how same these two are except for how they look.

Not when it comes to the Supreme Court. Want more Scalia types on the SC?

Also didn't the "founding" fathers call for violence to obtain "Democracy"?

Yes Alivia they did. But violence was against those who invaded their land not against those whose land they invaded.

Taxes? We don't need no stinkin taxes. We're beyond taxes. They are meaninglees. I want my pony!

Obama is killing McCain on CNN's independant voters "thought analyzer"

I briefly worked for MetLife in a different life. Miserable compensation plan which was manipulatative. Their execs were two faced. Some good people, but not in managment. Their lawyers kept their late trading scandals undercover, and paid a 50 Million dollar fine for it.