Where’s the Outrage?

I support the extension of loans by the United States government to help save the American auto industry. What the auto companies are looking for are loans and not handouts.

The United Auto Workers union has agreed to major concessions to help the big three car makers and to help gain approval in Congress to pass the loan package.

Republicans in Congress would love to see the UAW go away as payback for its support of Democratic candidates. Revenge is not a suitable justification for endangering the jobs of hundreds of thousands of people.

One poll suggests the American people are currently opposed to what is being termed–incorrectly–as a “bailout.”

One can understand the fatigue with government money for private concerns. But where are we going to work in this country? How are we going to live? Where are decent jobs going to be found?

I think most people understand–on some level they understand–that what is at issue in this current economic downturn is not simply ”when will it end” or “how will I get by for the next few months.”

Rather, the issue is that when the recession has passed as determined by the so-called economic experts, will we as individuals, as families, as members of a community, have viable economic futures? What jobs will be left with salaries and benefits able to sustain us?

I’m not going to oppose this loan package because of private jets, or political calculations, or pointless resentment over what UAW workers are earning. Instead, I’m going to support the future well-being of American workers.

By advocating for other working people, we are advocating for ourselves. By supporting this temporary assistance to the American Auto industry, we are backing the long term economic future of all Americans.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Economy by Texas Liberal
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Monday Evening News Roundup

It appears that the United States warned India back in October that there was going to be an attack on the hotel and business centers in Mumbai.

Contrast the above intelligence “success” to President Bush’s interview with Charlie Gibson last night. Bush admitted that the biggest failure of his presidency was the cataclysmic lack of weapons of mass destruction. Bush had the audacity to place the blame for that travesty at the doorstep of the CIA, when in fact the blame is entirely his. It was his job to look at all the information.  It was his job to weigh the pros and cons. He abdicated that responsibility.

The indictments that a Texas grand jury turned in against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been dismissed. Who’s surprised?

Blogger Glenn Greenwald, who has been on my radio show on a number of occasions, had another great post yesterday. He commented on an issue of the New York Times in which an article brought attention to a number of conflicts of interest regarding General Barry McCaffrey. General McCaffrey is on the payroll of NBC News. Glenn does an excellent job highlighting the hypocrisy of NBC. Generals who show up on the evening news should really be free of conflicts of interest.

The National Bureau Of Economic Research has now officially stated that December 2007 was the start of this recession. So what has the Bush administration been doing for the last year? With the stock market dropping almost 700 points today, I must say I do not believe Bush administration has done enough.

Barack Obama has announced his national security team. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will continue in his present position. Eric Holder will be the Attorney General. Former General James Jones ( see the Jones commission report) will be his National Security Adviser. Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona, will become Secretary of Homeland Security. Susan Rice will be nominated for Ambassador to the United Nations. Finally, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will serve as Secretary of State. This team is tremendously qualified. As usual, however, I have some questions. Where is General Wesley Clark? I really thought Senator Chuck Hagel would be appointed to Defense. Is there a spot for him in the administration? (By the way, the “fair and balanced” Fox News didn’t even cover the Obama press conference.)

Almost a quarter of United States employees who use the Internet at work spend a little time during the workday looking at on-line pornography. :-)  Nice. Nothing else need be said.

Tags: Bush Administration, Economy, Obama administration, Terrorism by ecthompson
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As humans, we are supposed to learn from our mistakes, having larger brains than most other mammals. When I see us making the same mistakes over and over again, though, I just have to wonder if our larger brains are working.
Although Tiger Woods is an athlete, he seems to be someone who has at least a few neurons that work. Why wouldn’t someone want to make an alliance with Woods to strengthen their company? How about adding Tiger Woods to a creative team to completely re-do the Buick line? How about using Tiger Woods is an example of someone who does not rest on their laurels, but instead tries to get better every day?

Instead of doing any of the above, GM has decided to cut their contract with Tiger Woods. They are saving money, they say. Give me a break! Fire a couple of executives who continue to make bad decisions again and again… now that would save billions.

From AP:

Turns out, Tiger Woods wouldn’t really rather have a Buick. At least not anymore.

When Woods ended his nine-year relationship with General Motors Corp. on Monday — a mutual decision between a megawatt celebrity who doesn’t need the work and a teetering corporation that needs every penny — it offered yet another snapshot of how badly the American economy has deteriorated.

Woods is the world’s most marketable athlete with an estimated $100 million endorsements a year. If his agreement with one of the world’s most active sports sponsors broke apart, some experts to wonder if any endorsement or sponsorship deal is really ironclad in these tough times.  (more… )

Tags: Economy, Sports by ecthompson
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Barack Obama held an interview with Barbara Walters of ABC News and even on the opening question it is beautifully apparent how Barack Obama won the election. Barbara Walters asks, as he prepares to lead the country, what his biggest fear is. This sounds like an innocent question. Maybe it was. I can promise you that right wing extremists like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity leaned toward the television when they heard that question. The president of the United States should fear no one; therefore, it is important how he answers this question.

Barack Obama reframes the question with a statement. “There are a lot of things that keep me up at night.” Absolutely brilliant. Traditionally, one reframes a question by asking a new, different rhetorical question. Barack Obama does something different.

Nice interview.

Tags: Economy, Obama administration by ecthompson
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I have been wondering about this one for some time. CitiGroup gets insta-moolah over a weekend. The auto industry flies into Capital Hill, gets a spankin’ and is summarily sent away to do their homework. Why?  Why does CitiGroup get money (to be accurate…more money) and Lehman brothers gets nothing? I don’t understand. Could the problem possibly be that Henry Paulson, Secretary of the Treasury has no overall plan..?  Rachel Maddow tackles these questions:

John Nichols from The Nation has more:

“This is the part of our nation’s surreal economic crisis that seems particularly surreal:

The US auto industry, which employs 3 million Americans in auto plants, parts and supplier networks and dealerships nationwide is broadly understood as being essential to maintaining America as an industrial force. It’s financial collapse, which even critics of moves to bailout the industry suggest is imminent, would devastate workers, retirees and communities in every state of the nation. Despite the grumbling from anti-union zealots, the auto giants have radically retooled in a manner that makes the cost of producing a vehicle at a unionized plant of General Motors, Ford or Chrysler roughly equivalent to the cost of running a car off the line at a non-union plant. And to top it all off: Auto plants actually produce something that most Americans consider to be useful.

Yet, proposals to provide what now seems to be a very small bailout — $25 billion — are currently stalled.

At the same time, the whole of the federal government is scrambling to buy as much as $50 billion in “toxic assets” — bad loans and other products of irresponsible financial practices that are of dubious value — from Citigroup, a global banking concern that makes money by charging working families exorbitant interest rates for credit. According to the Wall Street Journal, “[The move to protect the banking concern] would mean taxpayers could be on the hook if Citicorp’s massive portfolios of mortgage, credit cards, commercial real-estate and big corporate loans continue to sour.” (more… )

Tags: Economy, Media by ecthompson
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Tuesday morning news Roundup

(My blog is acting a little funny. I’ll see if I can get the computer gurus to look at it.)

• President Bush pardoned 14 people yesterday. He has been extremely stingy with the pardons. What makes these 14 people so special?
• Financial guru Allan Sloan is handing out this year’s turkeys. The Federal Reserve gets a turkey for allowing Lehman Brothers to go into bankruptcy.  Yahoo gets a turkey for telling Microsoft “thanks but no thanks.” Sloan also includes Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson’s turnaround. This is a really good article.

Check it out.

• What about the men who crafted the CitiGroup bailout deal…Henry Paulson, Robert Rubin and Timothy Geithner? I have to wonder why do all these bailouts happen on a Saturday or Sunday?
• A “new” study suggests some cancers can just simply disappear…not really news, per se.
• Allen Colmes is leaving Hannity and Colmes. Thank god. No liberal should be trapped anywhere near Sean Hannity.
• Nevada’s Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki believes that he is going to be indicted but claims that it is only for political reasons. We’ll see.
• Fareed Zararia believes that those of us Americans under the age of 60 wanted to a part of history. Maybe there is some legitimate point there, but I certainly don’t remember sitting up at night thinking that I wanted to be a part of some historic event. Even if I were to ponder something so crazy, this financial crisis is for the birds. Yes, this is a once in a generation event, but not one anyone sane would have conjured up intentionally. I would be very happy to skip this and relive the landing on the moon.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Economy by ecthompson
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Keith Olbermann discusses what a 21st century progressive economic stimulus package looks like. He chats with President Clinton’s former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich.

From the Center for American Progress:

When President-elect Barack Obama officially introduces his economic team today, he is also expected to lay out his vision for a “massive fiscal stimulus program.” While estimates of its size vary — from $300 billion to over $700 billion — the expected stimulus package is now almost certain to eclipse the $175 billion package that Obama proposed during the election. The need for a stimulus increases with each passing day. Last week, new unemployment claims reached a 16-year high and are expected to increase again this week, while the total number of individuals seeking jobless benefits is now at a 25-year high. More worrisome for the nation’s overall economic outlook is the very real threat of deflation. While the current crisis looks to be the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, economist Dean Baker explained recently this crisis needn’t be as bad as the Great Depression. Baker wrote bluntly, “There is a simple way to get out of that sort of prolonged downturn: spend money.” Despite such a simple prescription for our economic ills, conservatives who enthusiastically embraced President Bush’s record deficit spending to fund the war in Iraq and tax cuts for the rich, are now recklessly opposing a stimulus package that would include necessary and significant spending to jump-start the economy and fund tax-cuts for the middle class.

NEW DEAL MYTH-BUSTING: In the past, rewriting the history of the Great Depression remained the favored pasttime of activists on the radical right: Grover Norquist, Jonah Goldberg, and the Heritage Foundation. In their erroneous view, FDR’s New Deal was not only ineffective, but was responsible for “prolonging” the Great Depression. Increasingly, however, this view is breaking into the mainstream. Yesterday, for example, conservative columnist George Will said on ABC’s This Week, “Before we go into a new New Deal, can we just acknowledge that the first New Deal didn’t work?” But as Brad DeLong, Paul Krugman, and others explain, the New Deal did in fact work for Americans. Where the New Deal had shortcomings, they were the result of the initiative not being bold enough in the short-term. DeLong explained recently that after the New Deal policies went into effect, “[p]rivate investment recovered in a healthy fashion,” but as the economic outlook began to brighten, Roosevelt chose to “adopt more ‘orthodox’ economic policies and try to move the budget toward balance.” Roosevelt’s attempt to return to “conservative budget principles” by cutting spending and raising taxes precipitated “an economic relapse that drove the unemployment rate back into double digits.” “What saved the economy, and the New Deal, was the enormous public works project known as World War II, which finally provided a fiscal stimulus adequate to the economy’s needs,” Krugman wrote.

THE RETURN OF DEPRESSION ECONOMICS: Those on the right arguing against a sufficiently large economic stimulus and in favor of “belt tightening” at the federal level have been aptly labeled neo-Hooverists. Like President Hoover before them, such neo-Hooverists fail to grasp that admirable policy goals can become harmful in moments of economic crisis. As Krugman wrote recently, the U.S. economy is “well into the realm of what I call depression economics…a state of affairs like that of the 1930s in which the usual tools of economic policy — above all, the Federal Reserve’s ability to pump up the economy by cutting interest rates — have lost all traction. When depression economics prevails, the usual rules of economic policy no longer apply: virtue becomes vice, caution is risky and prudence is folly.” Indeed, while conservatives argue for reduced spending and balanced budgets, New York University Economics Professor Nouriel Roubini testified before Congress’s Joint Economic Committee that failure to enact a fiscal stimulus could actually result in wider deficits as the economy contracts. In his estimate, this would send the U.S. into a “very severe recession.”

Tags: Economy, Obama administration by ecthompson
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Barack Obama announces his economic team. This is a progressive solution to our crisis…exactly what the doctor ordered.

From NYT:  With the financial crisis looming as a priority of his term, President-elect Barack Obama sought to put his imprint on efforts to stem the turmoil as he introduced his economic team on Monday, nominating Timothy F. Geithner as Treasury secretary and Lawrence H. Summers to head the White House Economic Council.

By naming a team deeply experienced in dealing with financial crises — Mr. Geithner was heavily involved over the weekend in the efforts to stabilize Citigroup — Mr. Obama underscored his determination to assure Americans and foreign investors that he would aggressively step into a leadership vacuum in Washington during the transition.

Moreover, by pledging that his economic team would begin work “today” on recommendations to help middle-class families as well as the financial markets, the president-elect sought to convey an impression of continuity and coordination, so that his administration can “hit the ground running.”  (more… )

Tags: Economy, Obama administration by ecthompson
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Friday Evening News Roundup

Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed during a speech last night. The exact etiology of his collapse has not been revealed. He was admitted to a hospital overnight and released today, so one would assume that the requisite tests were performed and they were all negative. Of course I wish him well.

I find all the leaks around Barack Obama’s Cabinet choices very compelling. There has been no official confirmation of any Cabinet post of which I am aware. The speculation on whether Senator Hillary Clinton will take the job of Secretary of State continues to fill the airwaves. Speculation has also turned to Governor Bill Richardson , reportedly being considered for Secretary of Commerce. The current governor of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Timothy Geithner, may be chosen as the Secretary of the Treasury. Other Cabinet possibilities include Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano heading up Homeland Security, though I’m not sure that this department doesn’t need to be completely dismantled…but that’s another discussion. Former Senator Tom Daschle has been chosen for Health and Human Services if he can work out some of the conflicts of interest. Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder has been chosen as theObama team’s Attorney General. There is still speculation on whether or not Barack Obama will keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense. Remember, though, with the exception of Rahm Emanuel, there has been no official announcement from Barack Obama or any of his team members.

Former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft (served under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush) and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (served under President Jimmy Carter) wrote a nice op-ed in the Washington Post today. They have asked that Barack Obama not squander the goodwill that he has garnered throughout the world and focus his attention on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This certainly needs to be put on the front burner. As a matter of fact, Obama might consider appointing a special envoy to negotiate the peace settlement. Maybe someone like former President Bill Clinton would be appropriate. Now wouldn’t that cause a ton of conjecture about Bill’s muscling in on Hillary’s territory?

There seems to be a fly in the ointment concerning the conviction ofSenator Ted Stevens. David Anderson, a prosecution witness, has written a letter stating that he was extensively “coached” by the prosecution. He went even further, saying he would not have testified the way he did without the coaching. This is starting to look less like a case of corruption and more like an episode of LA Law (I don’t want to know who slept with whom in this case!).

Huge rally on Wall Street. I will repeat what I said about Wall Street a couple months ago, however. It will take some time for the stock market to recover. Look for continued volatility for the next six to eight months. The overall trend of the Stock Market will be down during this time. 

Tags: Domestic Issues, Economy, Israel, Obama administration, Senate by ecthompson
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Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has written an op-ed in the New York Times about the auto industry. Gov. Romney is uniquely qualified to comment on the industry…not only due to his personal knowledge of the business but also because his father was the president of American Motors. I was expecting, then, something that was thoughtful and insightful; unfortunately, this article included the same old Republican talking points. It could have been written by Newt Gingrich or Rush Limbaugh.

In a little less than 900 words, Gov. Romney summed up the problems of the auto industry in one word…unions. Unions are the sole problem. Not once in the article did he mention anything about management. He did not mention anything about healthcare costs. The problem was simply labor costs. The former governor mentioned that American automakers spend the extra $2000 per car. Other car manufacturers like BMW, Honda or Toyota don’t have to pay this expense.  Unions are the root of all evil.  That’s Romney’s argument in a nutshell.

Nowhere in Gov. Romney’s article does it mention anything about CEO pay. He doesn’t mention that the CEO of General Motors, G. Richard Wagoner, is getting paid about $14.4 million per year. That is not much when compared to hedge fund managers who made hundreds of millions (some times billions) of dollars per year…but when you compare that to less than $1 million per year that the CEO of Toyota takes home everything comes into focus.

Gov. Romney, like many other Republicans, argues that America does not need to bail out the auto industry. Instead, America needs to let the auto industry go bankrupt. Once they file for Chapter 11, the auto industry can renegotiate contracts and refocus on their product.

Lee Iacocca , 1979, received loan guarantees from the United States government. His Chrysler Corporation began to produce smaller, cost-efficient cars. The Dodge Aries and the Plymouth Reliant are examples.. In 1983, Chrysler introduced the minivan to the United States. Because of these innovations, Chrysler was able to pay off its loans seven years ahead of schedule. (Iococca’s silence is troubling.  I hope that he isn’t sick.  I hope that he will weigh in on this subject.)

I will not pretend to know all the ins and outs of Detroit. What I will tell you is that throughout the 1980s and 1990s they pumped out a series of cars that were unreliable, expensive and guzzled gas. During this time, Toyota and Honda chipped away at their market share by delivering small, cost-efficient and reliable cars. There is no doubt that mistakes were made both by management and labor throughout this time. For too long Detroit has continued to rely on SUV and truck sales which have large profit margins. A new model needs to be developed. Detroit has to figure out a way to develop cars quicker and faster. Detroit needs to innovate. Detroit needs to develop several types of new cars. These cars should include electric cars and hydrogen cars. There should be new fuel-efficient cars. We need to be more and better hybrid cars. The reliability of American cars should be unparalleled. Detroit should not expect Americans to buy a new car every 3-4 years. Americans don’t make that kind of money anymore.

The American auto industry must take risks. In the past, the auto industry was making way too much money to take any risks. They never sqw the need to do so. They were forced to embrace seatbelts, safety glass, anti-lock brakes and other innovations. In my opinion, small divisions should be set up to take risks, while they alll design and research auto safety to see if it all works.

Finally, Detroit needs to look at several problems and work with labor unions and the government to fix these problems. These problems include (but are not limited to) healthcare costs, pension costs…labor costs. If Detroit can build a car that is as good as a Mercedes, Audi or BMW…I don’t mind paying the extra $1000 - $1500 more if I know the workers are being well compensated.

Tags: Economy by ecthompson
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Remember back in 2000 when AOL bought Time Warner? There was a lot of speculation at the time regarding the wisdom of AOL. Remember also that AOL, Amazon.com and Yahoo! were the titans of Wall Street at that time. They were worth billions and billions of dollars. Well, eight years later, AOL proves to be the smartest of the bunch. Amazon.com attached themselves to traditional stores like Target. It was Yahoo! that thought they were smart enough to keep the good times rolling.

Yahoo stock traded above $400 per share in 2000. Currently Yahoo is trading at $12 per share. This is well below the $33 per share that Microsoft offered Yahoo! earlier this year. Founder and CEO Jerry Yang has offered to step down. Which, in my opinion, is too little, too late. Mr. Yang missed multiple golden opportunities. He could have invested in a cable company as they were developing broadband access. He could have invested in Dell computers or Hewlett Packard. He could’ve invested in just about anything with the exception of AIG and Bear Stearns… (oh, or the auto industry), and come out ahead of where he is now.

This is a video from a few months ago. An investor and friend of Jerry Yang sing the praises of Yang.

Tags: Economy by ecthompson
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From Think Progress: In a hearing today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) excoriated “bailout czar” Neil Kashkari after reports emerged saying that AIG doled out $503 million to top executives. Noting the financial troubles in his Baltimore district, Cummings asked rhetorically whether his constituents would think Kashkari is a “chump” after learning of the AIG bonuses:

CUMMINGS: I’m just wondering how you feel about an AIG giving $503 million worth of bonuses on the one hand, and accepting $154 billion from hard-working taxpayers. You know, because I’m trying to make sure you get it. What really bothers me is all these other people who are lined up. They say, well, is Kashkari a chump?

“I wouldn’t want to be asking my friend for some money to stay afloat. … Then my friend, who can barely afford to go to McDonald’s sees me in a restaurant costing $150 a meal. There’s absolutely something wrong with that picture!” exclaimed Cummings.

Tags: Economy by ecthompson
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Kicking and screaming or not, the political establishment is going to have to change the way in which they communicate with the American public.  Barack Obama is making sure of that. The weekly radio address is a video podcast!!

Tags: Economy, Obama administration by ecthompson
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Wednesday Evening News Roundup

The stock market continues to tank. Over the last three days the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen over 600 points. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced today that the $700 billion bailout will no longer buy up these bad assets but instead would inject money directly into financial institutions, which should quickly restore confidence and ease credit conditions. I hope that no one believes that this announcement will turn things around quickly. We are in a for prolonged volatile time.

I have talked about the auto industry’s standing in line with its hand out. Please don’t think that other corporations and industries are not thinking about getting in that same line. American Express is the latest large corporation to ask for money. They only want $3.5 billion. That is chump change compared to the billions of dollars that we’ve thrown at AIG. Speaking of AIG, just a couple weeks ago the House held hearings about a lavish corporate meeting in AIG held in California. It appears that old habits are hard to break. AIG has held another corporate junket complete with cocktail parties, limousines and fancy dinners. I’m so happy that we didn’t pay for that…oh, wait…I guess maybe we did. When is somebody going to jail?

Before Barack Obama has even taken office, Republicans have taken potshots at him. Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona has already vowed to filibuster any possible Supreme Court nominees that Barack Obama may present. So, before Barack Obama has even nominated anyone…I mean before there’s even a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the “fair-minded” Jon Kyl of Arizona has vowed to filibuster. I know, fair-minded and Republican…It is kind of an oxymoron. Oh, wait, maybe they’re “fair and balanced.”

The Congressional Review Act of 1996 may make it much easier for the Barack Obama administration to reverse rules and regulations implemented by George W. Bush in the last six months of his presidency. Now this is a piece of good news.

Remember when the immigration status of Barack Obama’s aunt was revealed…just before the election…? This was an obvious violation of confidentiality. It appears that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office has no intention of revealing who leaked the information. Secrecy from the Bush administration..? Is anyone surprised?

Union leaders are trying to get together a set of parameters so that they won’t be caught flat-footed when the auto industry begins its negotiations with the government for supplemental bailout funding. This is a good thing. All major players should be at the table during this negotiation. I suspect that the Obama administration will set some green standards. The American people cannot fund an auto industry that continues to make Hummers and Expeditions and other gas-guzzling SUVs.

Finally tonight, it is compelling to see so many interest groups vying for the attention of the Obama administration. Human rights groups would like to refocus America’s attention on the tragedy of Darfur. I am continually amazed at the lack of attention that the Bush administration has paid to this enormous tragedy.

Tags: Bush Administration, Congress, Economy, Obama administration by ecthompson
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Friday afternoon News RoundUp

• Tomorrow on the Errington Thompson Show (9 am EST - streaming here), one of my special guests will be my friend, blogging guru at Campaign for America’s Future, Bill Scher. I’ll also speak with the editor from the popular news website, Buzz Flash, Mark Karlin.
• On Wednesday morning, newspapers from across the country had big banner headlines announcing that Barack Obama had won the election. Stunningly, the paper in Terrell, Texas led with their local election. Nowhere on their front page even today was there an acknowledgement of the presidential election. For this there is no excuse. Information on how to contact the editor can be found by clicking here.
• Dan Froomkin, from the Washington Post, wrote a very nice article before the election asking a simple question. Did we really expect President Bush and Vice President Cheney to go quietly? President Bush enacted a whole host of federal regulations which free up private industry, power plants, mines and farms. For polluters, this is a dream come true!
• Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman seems to be in a bit of hot water with Senator Harry Reid and the Democratic Party. Senator Lieberman campaigned hard for John McCain. He accused Barack Obama of being soft on terrorism and not understanding the problem. Remember that Lieberman was a Democrat before he changed his status to Independent when he lost the Democratic nomination in Connecticut back in 2006. He continued to caucus with the Democrats but now there is an intense discussion over stripping Senator Lieberman of his chairmanship of the Senate committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Lieberman has not held the Bush administration accountable for any wrongdoing. He has not investigated anything. His counterpart in the House, Henry Waxman has been investigating many aspects of the Bush administration. These last two years, Lieberman has been anything but an Independent. He has supported the Bush administration and John McCain on almost every major issue over the last several years. I’m not sure how allowing him to keep his chairmanship helps our country to move forward. In my opinion, what we need is someone to thoughtfully investigate some of the egregious violations of our Constitution which the Bush Administration inflicted on the American people. On the other hand, I don’t think we need to investigate every single aspect of George W. Bush’s White House. We do need to be thoughtful. I’m not sure that Senator Lieberman is the right person to head this job.
• A friend of mine sent me an e-mail the other day. It was one of those “everything is great in the land of the free” emails. Though it was attributed to David Letterman, it was clearly written by some right wing think tank. The underlying point of this email was to tell Americans stop whining and be happy!  My response to this suggestion is to point out that most of the major things in our country are not going right. An excellent example is today’s job numbers. In October, for example, our economy lost 240,000 jobs. Since January,our economy has lost a little over 1.2 million jobs. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has dissected the numbers and it is not a pretty picture. To whomever wrote that email: Bite Me.
• Kathleen Parker of the WaPo has a great personal story of what Barack Obama’s election meant to her.  Her story is one of the thousands/millions of American stories about race in our country.  Although race surrounds a lot of what we do and who we are, there have been signs for a number of years that things are changing.  Tuesday was a very emotional night for millions of Americans - Black, White or Brown.  It was more than Obama’s great words.  It is the simple fact of him and his beautiful family standing on that stage.  He was the president elect.  It is still an amazingly powerful image.

Tags: Domestic Issues, Economy, Senate by ecthompson
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Monday Evening News Round-up

• I am not clairvoyant, nor can I see into the future. All I can tell you is that Barack Obama has run a phenomenal campaign. It is my opinion that history will show that he is by far the best person for this job at this point in time.
• As I mentioned earlier, Barack Obama’s grandmother has died. My condolences to him and to his family.
• I believe that voting is extremely important in this election cycle. For those of you in states that don’t have early voting and the rest of you who decided to wait until voting day — please be patient. The lines will be long. Take a book. Bring a lawn chair. Bring your iPod. Do whatever is necessary to make sure that you are able to cast your ballot. (I voted last week.)
• Almost every poll shows Barack Obama with a significant lead. He is ahead in the popular vote, which (if you’ll remember) doesn’t count. He is ahead in almost every battleground state. Nate has a good summary.
• I have always questioned why William Kristol, archconservative, was given the opportunity to write a column in the New York Times. I have yet to get a satisfactory answer. This morning, Mr. Kristol served up a large dish of complete nonsense. He goes on and on about why liberals can be happy if somehow John McCain pulls out a victory in tomorrow’s election. It may be the stupidest column I’ve ever read. Can someone throw him back on a paper that is more suitable to his mental capacity…maybe something published by junior high schoolers and stapled together?
• John McCain was in the conservative stronghold of Tampa, Florida this morning, expecting a huge crowd. Only about a thousand people showed up. Oops. Maybe folks didn’t get the invitations? Wasn’t it John McCain who had to bus in 4000 students last week?
• The right is already warming up their excuses. When Barack Obama wins, they will begin to roll out the reasons why his presidency is not legitimate. They did the same thing to Bill Clinton.
• The electronics store Circuit City announced it will close 155 stores nationwide. Most of the closings will be in California, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona and Ohio. They will cut their workforce by over 17%. I just hope someone is cutting the CEO’s salary by over 17%. Remember that Circuit City was the company that fired some 3,000 employees because they were deemed “overpaid.” Those same employees were free to re-apply for their jobs at a reduced wage.  I really can’t comment honestly on this type of behavior since this is a family-friendly blog!
• The DailyKos is ready for tomorrow’s election. Those guys have come a long way. They’re expecting a surge of traffic and have installed new servers…at least I hope they have. They have a new election scoreboard which will be interactive. You can get more information — here.

Tags: Economy, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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Okay, let’s talk about money…again. A couple weeks ago, I had several posts discussing our financial crisis and how we could refocus our efforts to bring prosperity to every one. The one thing that I knew little or nothing about is something called Credit Default Swaps. This is a $45 trillion market (that is “trillion” with a capital “T.”)

Now everyone knows basically how insurance works. I take out an auto insurance policy. I pay an insurance company and they assess the risk of my driving a car and getting into an automobile crash. If the risk is low, I don’t pay all that much. If the risk is high, I pay a lot more or I become uninsurable. Suppose, on the other hand, you want to take an auto insurance policy out on me. You don’t know me. You have no financial ties to me other than to consider me a “safe bet” and, as such, you would really like to be responsible for insuring my driving. You would need to be able to find a third-party, like AIG ,to give you such an insurance policy…or a Credit Default Swap.

This is basically what happened on Wall Street. In 2000, a lame-duck Congress passed legislation which legalized these Credit Default Swaps. What’s that old saying? “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it” (Edmund Burke). In 1907, many states and Congress itself moved to outlaw the practice. (This is why I totally reject the idea that someone like Joe the Plumber or Sarah Palin should be in charge of anything. We need smart people who understand where we are in history. It’s nearly impossible to know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve been. Palin and Joe have no clue. Why did Congress outlaw this practice? A run on banks in 1907 nearly caused the collapse of Wall Street. People had what were known as betting parlors and they were betting on stocks without owning stocks (watch the 60 minutes video below):

We had multiple opportunities to intervene in this legalized gambling, yet we have or had this ridiculous notion that the markets will correct themselves. This is just one piece of the puzzle. It is a $45 trillion unregulated piece of the puzzle. Do we really need Credit Default Swaps?

Check out some great articles on this:

• NPR
• Time Magazine
• NY Times

Watch CBS Videos Online

Tags: Economy, Senate by ecthompson
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What a show!!! Thom Hartmann is in the house. We discuss how Barack Obama will restore the middle class. It’s a great discussion. Mark Karlin from BuzzFlash, too, is in the house!! Mark lives in Chicago and we talk about current news and Barack Obama. Aaron wishes me a Happy Birthday…one day early. Close…and I give him a thumbs-up. Alan Greenspan testifies on Capitol Hill that he was wrong but he doesn’t give us any solutions. FEMA is still handing out toxic formaldehyde trailers, this time in Cedar Rapids. There’s a lot more - Enjoy!

 

 The Errington Thompson Show [47:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Economy, Election 2008, Podcasts by ecthompson
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There is so much to say about President Bill Clinton’s campaigning with Barack Obama. After listening to Bill Clinton, I think about his presidency…how close to greatness he truly was, and yet he didn’t make it. I then look at Barack Obama and wonder if he has all of the necessary tools to be a truly great president. He has the crisis. Only time will tell. This is a great rally. Enjoy!

Tags: Economy, Education, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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One of my readers is a Republican who continually needles me on Obama and the Democrats. Now the Dems aren’t perfect and they make mistakes. I’m not perfect and I will post an erroneous something or other from time to time, too. I try not to jump on too many bandwagons.

Today, the question is where did John McCain state that he was anti-union?. The Employee Free Choice Act is something that the unions have been pushing for years. It would hamper Big Business’ ability to bust unions before they can form. McCain is against this bill.

From TP:

But this is — we’ve been talking about it for a long time — this is a threat to the fundamental of labor-management relations. It’s fundamental to democracy, the right to have a secret ballot.

The way that Senator Obama envisions — and the unions, and this is their big push, they’ve gotten commitments from Senator Obama and Senator Biden — union organizer goes to your house and says, Hey, Joe, can I sign you up for the union?

That is — we all know what that opens the door to. It’s dangerous for America, it’s dangerous to small business. And I think it’s a threat to one of the fundamentals of democracy.
McCain added that he would veto the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in a “New York minute.”

Tags: Civil Rights, Economy, Election 2008 by ecthompson
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