Breeder's Cup Races Run This Weekend; It's Zenyatta Against The Boys In The Classic!

(Denver Post; DRF images)

The pros say Zenyatta's no sure bet tomorrow but she's the favorite anyway.
NYDaily reports ~

Zenyatta was made the 5-2 morning line favorite in the Classic, which drew a field of 13, including both birds -Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and Belmont and Travers winner Summer Bird. Also running is the best from Europe in Rip Van Winkle, who was made the 7-2 second-choice. "I guess I've always believed in dreaming big," Zenyatta's owner Jerry Moss said. "Sometimes those dreams don't come true, but at least you have the chance to try them out. We're hoping this time our big dream will win."

Meanwhile, next year's Breeder's Cup may be on the dirt!! And if it is, Santa Anita Park might get Rachel Alexandra. (My friend just reminded me that Santa Anita's back-to-back Breeder's Cups was an anomaly and the race won't be in California next year - oops)

Cali has relented and removed the mandate for 'plastic' tracks ~

"They rushed these surfaces in," [John] Sadler said. "If there was one big mistake it was that they rushed to put this in." All California tracks were mandated to install synthetic tracks in 2006 because they were supposed to be safer and maintenance-free, but neither justification has proven to be true. Horses still get injured on Pro-Ride and the tracks require constant maintenance.

The California Horse Racing Board will now allow the tracks to install dirt surfaces if they so choose.

~*~

Senator Bernie Sanders Writes: Too Big to Fail - Too Big to Exist

More than a year has gone by since Congress passed the $700
billion bailout of Wall Street. The Federal Reserve has committed trillions of
additional dollars in virtually zero-interest loans and other assistance to
large financial institutions resulting in the largest taxpayer bailout in the
history of the world. Today, most of the huge financial institutions still
standing have become even bigger -- so big that the four largest banks in
America (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) now issue one out of every two mortgages; two out of three credit cards; and hold $4 out of every $10 in bank deposits in the entire country.

If any of these financial institutions were to get into major trouble again, taxpayers would be on the hook for another massive bailout. We cannot let that happen. That is why I introduced legislation that would give the secretary of the Treasury 90 days to identify every single financial institution and insurance company in this country that is too big to fail and to break them up within one year.

If it’s too big to fail, it’s too big to exist!

Sign The Petition To Secretary Geithner

Take The Poll Here

~*~

Schumer Says NO STIMULUS FOR CHINESE JOBS For Texas Windfarm Turbine Manufacture

Update: Leo Gerard fleshes out the story

It’s bad enough that we’ve off-shored our factories and technology and jobs over the past 20 years. We’re not off-shoring our Stimulus cash too. In fact, we’re tired of serving as the schoolyard wimp of the world. We need our own industrial policy so we can stand up and compete in the world market manufacturing the likes of wind turbines. And we need it now.

China has an industrial policy. And it uses that policy to dominate. Here is how Keith Bradsher of the New York Times described China’s policy to become a world leader in renewable energy, which of course, would include construction of wind turbine factories...

....China was among the many countries that complained bitterly when the U.S. included “Buy American” provisions in the Stimulus Bill. In fact, Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei told a press conference in Beijing in February that China would not do such a thing, “We won’t practice a ‘Buy China’ policy,” he said. Four months later, that’s exactly what China did, instituting its own, stricter “Buy China” policy as part of its economic stimulus program.

China did what China felt was necessary for its economy. And it ignored foreign criticism.

That’s hardly the U.S. tactic. Wilting under criticism, Congress diminished the Buy American provisions before passing the Stimulus.

~~~~~
I am with Senator Schumer on this one ~ Bar Funds for China-Backed Wind Farm, Senator Says

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration should bar a $1.5 billion wind farm project in Texas from receiving U.S. government stimulus funds because most of the power turbines would be made in China, Senator Charles Schumer said.

“The idea that stimulus funds would be used to create jobs overseas is quite troubling,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, wrote in a draft of a letter he said yesterday he would send to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “I urge you to reject any request for stimulus money unless the high-value components, including the wind turbines, are manufactured in the United States.”

~*~

Health Care For America Now Writes: House Votes Tomorrow!

The House will likely vote on their historic health care bill tomorrow. Now is the time to call your Representative in Washington and make sure they know you stand for quality, affordable health care for all.

Actors Martin Sheen and Stockard Channing, who've had some on-screen "experience" with politics, have recorded a special message for Health Care for America Now supporters for this moment.

Click here to watch the video and make a call:

Congress really needs to hear your voice right now to make sure the House passes this bill. This is the first of the big votes - the first time an entire House of Congress is set to pass comprehensive health care legislation in this country's history. If you've never made a call for us before, please pick up the phone today.

The House health care bill will provide tax credits to working families to make sure everyone can afford health care. It prohibits insurance companies from denying care if you have a pre-existing condition, or charging you more if you're a woman. It strengthens Medicare and the coverage you get at work to make sure you have the care you need. And it includes a strong public health insurance option to keep the insurance companies honest and give us a choice.

The bill meets all of Health Care for America Now's principles for real reform, and it would provide quality, affordable health care for everyone in America.

~*~

Paul Krugman Says "I Told You So In Advance" To 2010 DEMs

Krugman defines the DEMs' 2010 achillies' heel: poor public perception of the economy. Unemployment and lending won't have improved in a year's time because of the timidity of Obama's economic policy. Since Obama did not knock the economic woes back with a wallop when he had the chance, he will pay the price.

~*~

Frieda Berryhill Writes: Statement To The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Re: License Renewal For Salem And Hope Creeks

I attended many for the hearings back in the 1970’s objecting that Salem be granted an operating license.

These plants should never have been built on Artificial Island in the first place. Upon examining the documents, I found to my horror , clearly described and laid bare on large maps, the soil condition upon which these plants were built.

Salem and Hope Creek are built on swamp land. ARTIFICIAL ISLAND , is so named because is was built from dredge spoils from the Delaware River . The documents describe the ground , up to 75 ft. in 35 ft increments roughly as follows:
First 35 ft essentially mud
Next 35 ft mud and gravel
The last 35 ft they call “Vincentown formation” (sandy quarts and gravel )
Borings up to 100 ft reveal no rock bottom.

These plants, spent fuel pools and auxiliary buildings are now perched on cement pilings dug 70 ft into the sandy soil.

Yes , liquefaction was under discussion during the hearings butrecklessly dismissed. We have many examples where liquefaction turned this type of soil into “jello” during an earthquake, toppling buildings with the pilings still attached to them. ( have made statements on this matter to many State and Federal Officials . I now have written confirmation from the NRC)

Yes, there is an earthquake fault under the Delaware River and yes, Morris County New Jersey had a 3.0
earthquake on 1/3/09. It does not take a major quake to damage a sandy mud pile like Artificial Island . What are the consquences ? Over the years several studies have been commissioned as to the consequences of a major accident at a nuclear power plant . The Rasmussen Report in 1970 was not “satisfactory”. The final report was issued in 1982.

Here are the results for Salem :Consequences of Reactor Accident (CRAC-2) Report -- NRC & SANDIA STUDIED MELTDOWNS/RISKS AT US NUCLEAR PLANTS in 1982!The numbers given are in case of a class-9, or worse case scenario meltdown, and are based on 1982 population data and on 1982 dollars. Economic costs, not included are: the cost of providing health care to the affected population; all onsite costs; litigation costs; direct costs of health effects; and indirect costs.

Salem, Units 1 & 2 Salem , NJPeak
Early Fatalities = Unit 1 - 100,000 Unit 2 - 100,000
Peak Early Injuries = Unit 1 - 70,000 Unit 2 - 75,000
Peak Cancer Deaths = Unit 1 - 40,000 Unit 2 - 40,000
Property Damage (in Billions-1982 $) = Unit 1 - $135 Billion Unit 2 - $150 Billion

Clearly these plants should have never received a building permit , rather then a license renewal to operate for another 20 years these plants should be shut down and the site cleaned up.

Also:These plants are operating against the Law. More then 3 Billion Delaware River fish are killed each year. The plants intake structure which takes anything under 3 inches makes the fish kills many times higher. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) was to prevent this kind of destruction the Salem plant commits against the aquatic life in the Delaware River . On Dec. 18 2001 Congress allowed these once through cooling systems so long as they agreed to “restore” the fish they killed. PSEG embarked on such a “habitat restoration program”. In the process to reduce the coverage of phragmites in these wetlands PSEG applied 22.000 pounds of herbicide to 2.500 acres of sensitive marshland. There is no “habitat restoration”.

Incredible as it seems PSEG announced that it planned to spend $50 million between 2007 and 2011 to explore the potential to construct a new reactor on the same Island

Frieda Berryhill, Frieda303@comcast.net

My private conversations with NRC officials after the formal hearing were very informative. To my surprise one NRC Official (Environmental Project Manager )asked me to send him all the
documents I have, including the pictures of toppled buildings (due to liquefaction ) and letter from NRC confirming my concern with the Islands soil condition.My inquiry as to when PSEG is planning to go to Dry Cask Storage Mr Flicker Vice President of PSEG informed me that they have already started. This will come as a surprise to some of you.

~*~

Who Is Documenting Delaware's Homeless?

Delmar DustPan reports ~ Terrorism in Rural Delmar

I understand outside of Delmar in the woods is a couple different homeless people camps, so perhaps it goes beyond Pepperbox Road.

Evidently some homeless people are lurking in the hinterlands of Western Sussex county. From what I have gathered, there are several homeless camps near Newark in the woodlands that border the interstate highway off of Rte. 72 (my housemate came upon a substance-challenged aquaintance sleeping in his jeep behind the WAWA in that area and he told her there were probably twenty people living in tents in the woods).

~*~

A Question For Delaware - Will The Club For Growth Gun For Delaware's GOP Moderate Too?

Delaware Liberal raises the question in terms of Mike Castle's primary opponent, Christine O'Donnell's, speaking Saturday at the Dover Tea Party. While Castle didn't vote for it, he has taken numerous photo-ops as Delaware spends down the stimulus - which puts a big fat tea party target on his back.
From Steve Singiser's political wrap up at DKos ~

Hehehe...the NRSC may be backing out of interfering in contested Republican Senate primaries, but the Club for Growth is not backing down. They are gunning for their next RINO: Charlie Crist. Might explain why Crist made an idiot out of himself today on CNN by denying he ever backed the Obama stimulus plan.

NYT ~

Asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesay if he regretted supporting the stimulus plan, Mr. Crist replied: “Well, I didn’t endorse it. I — you know, I didn’t even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians.”

I wonder if Christine can find a shot of Mike hugging Barack for one of her billboards.

~*~

Too Big Too Fail Bankers Too Big For Their Britches?

I am sure everyone's heard by now about how Wall Street butted to the front of the receiving line for the H1N1 virus vaccine (thanks to Secretary Sebelius).

I read Watertiger's post on the subject this morning LOL!!! She's one of the best around ~ “When Someone Asks You if You Are a God . . . You Say ‘YES’!”

~*~

How Ironic - The Financiers Feel Free To Employ Public Bailout Funds Against The Public Interest Via Lobbyists On The Hill

Sam Stein says "As the Service Employees International Union reported, all Wall Street institutions -- banks and insurance companies, TARP recipients and non-TARP recipients -- have spent $321 million on lobbying in the first nine months since the bailout.
From HuffPo ~

In all, during the last quarter of 2008 and the first three quarters of 2009, those 25 institutions spent $71,199,000 on lobbying. The list includes General Motors ($11.95 million), Citigroup ($8.915 million), Bank of American ($6.427 million), J.P. Morgan Chase ($7.735 million), Goldman Sachs ($4.38 million) and AIG ($3.47 million). Some of these companies have paid federal money back. Not all of the top bailout recipients, meanwhile, spent money on lobbying.

The amount that was spent, however, is nearly identical to the lobbying expenditures these same companies made during the year preceding the federal bailout. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, bailout recipients paid approximately $76.7 million for the services of lobbyists in 2008. All of which has sparked angry pushback from good government groups and lawmakers on the Hill, who ask whether the expenditures are appropriate after these institutions took the nation's economy to the brink of collapse.

"It creates a bizarre feedback loop where taxpayer money is being used by beneficiaries of the bailout to, in some cases, thwart taxpayer protections and even to score more taxpayer money, things that taxpayers themselves will likely find quite distasteful," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "The question is where does it end?"

Much of the lobbying money spent by bailout recipients has been devoted to influencing legislation that has direct impact on taxpayers. Among the eight recipients who spent more than $3 million lobbying since the bailout, the most common specific items of interests included the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights Act, the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2009, Credit CARD Act of 2009, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, and the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.

Specifically, bailed-out institution have fought efforts to give bankruptcy judges the power to renegotiate mortgages. They have worked against legislation that would lower the fees merchants are charged when their customers use credit cards. They have also worked against legislation that would put more restrictions on how they spend taxpayer funds.

~*~

Insurance Commissioner Mandates Virtual Colonoscopy As An Option To Be Offered To All Delawarean In New Or Renewed Policies

(presser)

Virtual Colonoscopy as Health Insurance Mandate
Procedure Provides Additional Option for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Dover – November 4, 2009. Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart, CIR-ML, has announced that all health insurance policies issued, delivered, or renewed after December 1 , 2009 must include Virtual Colonoscopy as an approved procedure for colorectal cancer screening.

While consumers and their doctors may continue to choose the traditional sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy for such screenings, some may find the virtual colonoscopy a less invasive and less costly procedure. Commissioner Stewart stated that, “It is very important that at-risk people and those over the age of 50 get colorectal screenings. Many may find that the virtual colonoscopy is a procedure that overcomes the negative perceptions of what is involved in the traditional screening modalities.”

Stewart announced this approval via a Bulletin sent to all Delaware health insurers on October 29th. This action was taken after the procedure was endorsed by the Delaware Cancer Consortium and signed off on by Delaware ’s Secretary of Health and Social Services Rita M. Landgraf.

~*~

Markell's Tax Amnesty Nets Over 22 Million With Help Of Sallie Mae

(presser)

Delaware Tax Amnesty Exceeds Goal; Generates $22 Million

NEWARK – Delaware’s one-time tax amnesty program is anticipated to net more than $22 million for the state, Gov. Jack Markell announced Thursday.

The two-month long partnership between the Delaware Division of Revenue and the General Revenue Corporation, a subsidiary of Sallie Mae Corporation, is expected to clear more than 14,000 delinquent accounts. When the program was authorized this summer, estimates called for $10 million to be collected.

“During these challenging times, it is certainly good news that Delaware will have additional funds to help government meet its core commitments, like teachers in the classroom, police on the street and care for our most vulnerable citizens,” Markell said.

Salle Mae Executive Vice President Jack Hewes, who introduced the Governor at a press conference outside Sallie Mae’s Newark, Del.-based offices earlier today, said he was pleased that Delaware chose to outsource their collections efforts to a business in their own community.

“Delaware’s amnesty has not only collected a great deal of money for the state, it’s also provided jobs for Delaware residents,” said Hewes. “Sallie Mae is pleased to bring the high-quality workforce, the innovation and the technology of the private sector to work in partnership with the State to create synergies that far exceed the original expectations.”

The Delaware amnesty program, officially termed the 2009 Voluntary Tax Compliance Initiative (VCTI), ran from September 1 through October 30, 2009. During this time, any individual or business taxpayer who registered to pay their current outstanding State of Delaware tax liability before June 30, 2010, was freed of their penalty and interest fees. Delaware netted more than $15 million in cash payments through October 30, 2009, with an estimated $7 million registered in payment plans to be paid before June 30, 2010.

“Thanks to the partnership between the Department of Finance and Sallie Mae, Delaware's amnesty program brought in much more than we anticipated," said Acting Secretary of Finance Tom Cook. "Now that the amnesty is finished, however, the State is going to vigorously work to collect unpaid taxes from those who did not come forward.”

~*~

Think Progress Writes: Biden Hosts Panel On Middle Class Families At The Center For American Progress

Vice President Biden is at the Center for American Progress today to host a panel of leading scholars on the unique challenges facing America's middle class in the 21st century economy. View the live webcast here from 10:30 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m.

White House Task Force on Middle Class Families.

~*~

Norm Cohen Writes: On The Salem/Hope Creek Relicensing - NRC Hearings Today

My weekly column in the Current and Gazette, Cape May and Atlantic Counties:

Guinea pigs. Cute little creatures, even starred in a movie recently. Folks in South Jersey might be interested to know that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will be turning all of us in South Jersey into nuclear guinea pigs. The NRC will be doing that by including all of South Jersey in what I consider to be an experiment: finding out if old and clunky nuclear plants, whose operating licenses originally were set at 40 years, can run another 20 years without incident. Oyster Creek, the oldest nuclear plant in the country, was the first of South Jersey 's four nukes to be given a 20 year extension. And Oyster Creek was just cited for having four unplanned outages, and given a "white" (not good) finding.

Now the NRC is holding hearings for the 20 year extensions for Salem Unit 1, Salem Unit 2, and Hope Creek , all located along the Delaware River at lovely and marshy Artificial Island , Lower Alloways Creek. The current operating licenses for the plants are set to expire as follows: Salem 1, Aug. 13, 2016; Salem 2, April 18, 2020; and Hope Creek , April 11, 2026.

Why do I say that we are all guinea pigs in the NRC's experiment? Basically its because no one really knows for sure what another 20 years of wear and tear will do to a nuclear reactor. There are many areas of concern when it comes to aging nuclear plants. There's embrittlement, the effect of 40 years of radiation on the internal structure and parts of the reactor. There's an issue with the electrical connections, buses and transformers, between the nuke plant and the grid. There's the problem of storing large amounts of high level nuclear waste onsite. With the Yucca Mountain waste depository being cancelled by the Obama administration, a good move in that we now no longer have to worry about transporting tons of radioactive waste across the country, most reactor sites spent fuel pools are now filled, and the nuke companies have to build "dry cask" storage for their waste. The reality is that Lower Alloways Township and Lacey Township will now be nuclear waste dumps for the foreseeable future.

David Lochbaum, former senior Reactor Safety advisor for the Union of Concerned Scientists, researched and developed a "bathtub curve" that showed that the most problems at nuclear plants occurred at the beginning and the end of their life-span. So NRC is letting aging nukes have 20 more years of end of life. Where are those so-called "death panels" when they are really needed?

The NRC is also making it hard for watchdog groups to intervene in the renewal process by renewing all three nukes at once. How in the world can one discuss the aging process at Hope Creek when the 40 years are not up for another 17 years?

We in South Jersey are guinea pigs because if there is an accident involving the release of radiation to the environment that occurs in the post-40 year period at one of our nukes, we are the ones who will be affected. And do I need to mention what even one accident at a South Jersey nuke plant would do to tourism in our area?

If you have concerns about the renewal process, or if you are pro-nuclear and want to send a love note to the NRC, information is available at www.nrc.gov/ reactors/ operating/ licensing/ renewal.html. There is an "environmental scoping" meeting Thursday, November 5th, in Salem . You can also get information by contacting NRC Project Manager Charles Eccleston by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, ext. 8537, or by e-mail at Charles.Eccleston@ nrc.gov.

By the way, if you are a recreational or commercial fisherman who fishes the Delaware Bay , this relicensing process should be out great interest to you. Salem Units 1 and 2 use a once-through process to cool the plants, and slaughter billions of fish and other marine life every year, in violation of the Clean Water Act.

Coalition for Peace and Justice,609- 335-8176 phone; www.coalitionforpea ceandjustice. org

~*~

Call Now To Demand That Rep. Castle Vote Yes On Rep. Weiner's Single-Payer Amendment

Dear Healthcare-NOW! Supporter:

We just got word from Congressman Weiner's office that because of your phone calls, faxes, and demonstrations, Speaker Pelosi is keeping her promise to allow the Weiner single-payer amendment a full debate and vote on the floor of the House.

After nearly being shut out of the discussion completely, single-payer Medicare for All is being heard in the corridors of power as soon as this Friday. Call now to ask your Rep. to vote yes on Rep. Weiner's single-payer amendment.

This is the one opportunity for your elected officials to go on record as supporting the only universal, comprehensive, cost-effective solution to the health care crisis. There are currently 87 cosponsors of HR 676, but this vote will make it clear to the movement which elected officials are truly with single-payer, Medicare for All.

We need you to call today! Ask your Representative to vote his or her conscience. Vote for the plan that most American people, nurses, and physicians want and so desperately need: Medicare for All. Call now to demand your Rep. vote yes on Rep. Weiner's single-payer amendment.

If you know who your Rep. is, the Congressional Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. If not, go here--it's easy and toll free.

~*~

Winterthur Benefit - 46th Annual Delaware Antiques Show This Weekend At The Chase Center On Wilmington's Riverfront

(WNJ photo - 1935 Elutherian Mills' ruins of colonnade garden from Maggie Lidz' "The du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine.")

WNJ reports ~

WHAT: 46th annual Delaware Antiques Show, benefitting Winterthur Museum and Country Estate

WHEN: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday.

WHERE: Center on the Riverfront, 815 Justison St., Wilmington

TICKETS: $15, good for all three days; purchase on site, at winterthur.org/das or by (800) 448-3883

LECTURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS: Keynote lecture at 10 a.m. Friday by antiques experts Leigh and Leslie Keno; keynote lecture at 6 p.m. Friday by Carrie Rebora Barratt, associate director for collections and administration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; lecture and book-signing at 2 Saturday by Maggie Lidz, author of "The du Ponts: Houses and Gardens in the Brandywine;" special exhibit of portraits of early Delaware citizens, including works by Rembrandt Peale and Bass Otis on loan from the Delaware Historical Society; special items intended for new collectors marked as "Finds!"

~*~

Win-Win In DNREC-NVF Land Deal

WOW, Collin O'Mara is starting to really be our 'boy genius" (no offense Collin)! The reported NVF Yorklyn plant deal is one of many bits of good news coming out of Jack Markell's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources these days.

This WNJ depiction shows the plant's transition between greenways .

Election Results? Progressives Demanding Howard Dean Back As DNC Chair And Establishment GOP Promises No Primary Funding For 2010

(HuffPo image)
From the right, unable (or unwilling?) to prevent a 2010 mass-following of Palin's tea baggers, David Dayen reports ~
Cornyn Forced By Teabagger Base To Keep NRSC Out Of Senate Primaries

~*~

From the left, Jane Hamsher pounded out this post yesterday: “Lessons Learned in VA, CA and NJ: Is Rahm Emanuel Orchestrating 2010 Democratic Massacre?” where commentors called for Obama to pull Tim Kaine from the DNC and give us back our beloved Howard Dean.

Meanwhile, DKos warns the Washington establishment DEMs ~

1. If you abandon Democratic principles in a bid for unnecessary “bipartisanship”, you will lose votes.

2. If you water down reform in favor of Blue Dogs and their corporate benefactors, you will lose votes.

3. If you forget why you were elected — health care, financial services, energy policy and immigration reform — you will lose votes.

~*~

I Don't Think ACORN Knew How Powerful They Were Until The Wingnuts Started In

How confusing! What's the GOP to do? Wingnut crime-by-association defines an astroturf purity standard that no moderate Republican could hope to maintain. (h/t Whiskeyfire)
DeFOX America gets some pushback ~ How NY23 Revealed the Republicans' ACORN Problem quotes from the National Legal and Policy Center ~

“The powerful New York City-based health care workers union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199, also has endorsed Owens. But common sense says that if Mrs. Scozzafava is elected, she effectively will have established a Republican congressional beachhead for ACORN, who would claim its 'bipartisanship.' It's not as if her own party will be against her. Top GOP members sending her checks include House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Virginia), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (California), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas), and Rep. Peter King (N.Y.).

The circle-jerk concludes ~

Until and unless we conservatives form our own groups and become more involved in the communities of color, we will find ourselves aligned with every group that sprouts from the ACORN seed

~*~

Secret Internet Copyright Treaty Will Put An End To Delaware Way Blog?

Nice. Obama made a deal to destroy the intertubes that helped him get elected. The terms of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement will effectively shut down "services like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger" and Much Much Worse.
BoingBoing reports ~ (click over to their site for the full monty - via Avedon)

* That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material.
* That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability.
* That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright.
* Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)

~*~

Are We All Clear Now? Wall Street Fueled The Housing Bubble Deliberately, Bet The Market Would Fail, Sold The AAA Risky Bits Off And Got PAID To Boot

Beat the Press comment rescue ~ (via Atrios)

So. Is Wall Street populated by incompetents who missed the $8 trillion housing bubble, or by crooks who knew full well what was going on and fueled the bubble deliberately?
I suspect the answer is yes.
Posted by: Aatos

It's worse than that Aatos. From one of the stories above:
WASHINGTON — In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/P2.html
Posted by: william

Sophisticated counterparties like AIG are supposed to protect themselves, and have little chance for recovering damages. But now the American taxpayer has stepped in to make payments for AIG. U.S. taxpayers have a right to recover money paid out for derivatives on deals that include phony collateral.

Maiden Lane III now owns the underlying CDOs for AIG’s cancelled credit default swaps. One can now investigate them—and all of the underlying collateral.

The government’s 100% payout to AIG’s counterparties was a gift, and the negotiations were done in secret. The monoline insurers were in a similar situation with a variety of deals from a variety of counterparties. (Structured Finance Pp. 405-427) For example, in 2008, Citigroup Inc. accepted about 60 cents on the dollar from New York-based bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. to retire protection on a $1.4 billion CDO. Ambac said the underlying “super senior” was worth about zero, and the protection payment would otherwise have been near the full $1.4 billion. Citigroup got a relatively huge payout, since other “high grade” deals have been settled for as low as ten cents on the dollar.

The irony is that Goldman Sachs may not have been involved in the worst of the deals, but its officers had unusually high profile in AIG’s damage control. Goldman’s deals with AIG may have all been completely proper, but deals like GSAMP Trust 2006-3 indicate that Goldman should not be exempt from the general fraud audit of mortgage securitizations that all of the former investment banks [Lehman, Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and some foreign banks doing business in the U.S. (DMB Pp. 97-107.)] should undergo.

By Janet Tavakoli

~*~

Please Send Word To The New Castle County Historic Review Board That Delawareans Want All Of The Battle Of Cooch's Bridge Artifacts Recovered

(Beth Hun's image)
From the inbox ~

Members of the Historic Review Board,

It has come to my attention that there are significant artifacts remaining from the Battle of Cooch's Bridge fought in 1777. This historic battle occurred during the Revolutionary War on property currently owned by W.L.Gore. This property is located between Routes 896 and 72. These artifacts are important to preserve the historical heritage of the Glasgow area and will allow the complete story of The Battle of Cooch's Bridge to be told to future generations.

This is a time sensitive matter. Once the artifacts are lost, they are lost forever. I completely understand the rights of the property owner and the need for them to move forward as part of their economic recovery. Therefore, I recommend setting a realistic time limit on the recovery process. Thank you for your consideration regarding this manner.

Earl G. Jaques Jr.
State Representative, 27th District, Glasgow

If anyone wants to weigh in on this matter and hasn't yet done so, the record is open through the meeting time tonight at 5PM. Thanks so much to Reps. Tom Kovach, Earl Jaques and Mike Ramone, Councilman Tackett, the Friends of Historic Glasgow, the W3R, Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution and others who have expressed their support.

Historic Review Board: OLD BUSINESS Old Cooch’s Bridge Road: Review of Metal Detector Survey Report– W.L. Gore & Associates. Application for Glasgow Commons project # 20051249.

Public comments regarding applications should be submitted in writing either 1) by e-mail to the Land Use department, LandUse@nccde.org, (Subject – Historic Review Board); 2) via fax to (302) 395-5443; or 3) by U.S. Mail to Historic Review Board, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720.

~*~

McClatchy: Credit Ratings Firms' Role In How Investors Were Duped Into Buying Toxic Assets Was That Of A "High-Class Escort Service"

When Michael Greenberger came to Delaware in September, he explained the rating agencies' tier system of splintering AAA's off of layers of ever-worsening risks. [What Really Happened to our Economy: The Consequences of Not Knowing] Too bad no one ever told the investors about it.

McClatchy gives us more red meat in today's report ~ Goldman left foreign investors holding the subprime bag

...For foreign banks, the lure was spelled AAA. Under both public and private deals, experts said, 80 percent or more of the bonds carried top grades from financial rating companies, assuring investors that the securities were among the safest plays in the financial world.

...Goldman and other Wall Street dealers were paying the biggest U.S. financial ratings firms for grading the risky bonds...likened...to hiring "a high-class escort service."

Yup, the rating agencies were in on the scam ~

[Typically] an investment banker would meet with analysts for a ratings agency, describe a mortgage pool "and propose his dream result.

After bestowing untold numbers of triple-A ratings on subprime-backed bonds, Moody's and the second- and third-largest rating agencies, Standard & Poor's and Fitch, began to downgrade hundreds of pools of the securities in the summer of 2007, including the offshore deals known as collateralized debt obligations.

That set off a chain reaction that culminated in last year's Wall Street meltdown. Since then, both Moody's and S&P have downgraded slices of the Altius III deal several times.

U.S. pension funds that have lost money on subprime mortgage-backed bonds have filed suits accusing Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch of failing to inform them of the bonds' true risks. (Merrill is now part of Bank of America.)

Conflict of interest? What conflict of interest?

Few investors, however, knew that Goldman and other Wall Street dealers were paying the biggest U.S. financial ratings firms for grading the risky bonds.

The American financiers' scamming did cause the global collapse but evidently the foreign banks can't touch them ~

Many European institutions that lost money on the securities, however, have fewer legal options.

Few of them are pointing fingers at Goldman or other U.S. investment banks. McClatchy contacted several European banks about their subprime losses and got similar responses when the banks were asked where they'd bought them.

..."Are we angry against the U.S. banks?" a German bank official said, requesting anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. "We looked at the triple A's like the other banks, and we bought this, yeah. It doesn't help much to be angry."

No Worries. After all, the US banks are 'back on top' and making money for everyone again, right?

~*~

Media Matters' Election Day Stories Include How FOX Is Stumping For The GOP; "ACORN To Steal Election For Corzine" -- "NJ Hispanics Were Misled" Lies

From the inbox ~

Huckabee used Fox News show to collect email addresses for his PAC, recruit volunteers for GOP-backed candidates On two Fox News shows in October, Fox News host Mike Huckabee directed viewers [to a petition site from where they were sent] a "newsletter" urging political action on behalf of Republican-backed candidates Bob McDonnell, David Harmer, and Doug Hoffman.

BigGovernment baselessly -- and predictably -- accuses progressives of trying to "steal" NJ gubernatorial race Continuing the conservative media's pattern of baselessly accusing progressives of using illegal means to win elections, Andrew Breitbart's website BigGovernment.com suggested that New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign and its allies are planning to "rig" or "steal" the upcoming election. BigGovernment.com offered no evidence to support that claim, instead offering allegations including that "state democrats are paying for robo calls supporting Independent Chris Daggett" and citing "the sudden appearance of ACORN on the scene."

John Fund fabricates evidence of voter fraud in NJ Appearing on Fox News' Glenn Beck, John Fund claimed that Hispanic voters in Camden, New Jersey, are being told that there is "a new way for you to vote, la nueva forma de votar" -- an anecdote Fund suggested was evidence of voter fraud in the state's 2009 gubernatorial election. In fact -- as Fund himself wrote in a Wall Street Journal column published hours earlier -- that incident actually occurred in Philadelphia in 1993.

Conservative candidates stump on Fox during lead-up to elections In the two weeks leading up to their November 3 elections, Conservative Party congressional candidate Doug Hoffman, New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, and Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell appeared on Fox News and its personalities' radio shows at least 16 times for live interviews lasting a total of 114 minutes 36 seconds.

~*~

Lingering Stench In Tim Geithner's Financial Industry Reform; DEM Senator Calls For His Job

Washington Senator Maria Cantwell calls for Geithner's job ~

Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)said that Geithner's plans

left banks the same loopholes and
encouraged the same risks

that led to last year's economic meltdown.

Ratigan asked Cantwell, "Knowing two massive exemptions in the piece of legislation the Secretary endorsed yesterday on 'Meet the Press' ... why does Tim Geithner still have a job?"

"I'm not sure," Cantwell responded, "because David Gregory had him almost -- trying to get a straight answer out of him. What the Treasury Secretary basically said was, yes, banks should take more risks and we should continue the loopholes and that is really appalling because, right now, we know that lack of transparency has caused this problem with the U.S. economy and Wall Street is continuing, one year later, continuing the same kind of loopholes.

~*~

ThinkProgress Offers-Up The Downhill Joementum

(HuffPo image)
"I've told Sen. [Harry] Reid [D-NV] that if the [health care reform] bill stays as it is now I will vote against cloture."--Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), 10/27/09

VERSUS

"The whole process of individual senators being able to hold up legislation, which in a sense is an extension of the filibuster because the hold has been understood in one way to be a threat to filibuster -- it's just unfair."-- Lieberman, 11/24/94

~*~

Join The Environmental Defense Fund In Asking Congress To Pass Landmark Global Warming Legislation

From the Environmental Defense Fund ~

Last week, Action Network members like you voted on the scariest climate action opponent. And the winner is:
Scary Lobbyists for Big Polluters

Scary Lobbyists for Big Polluters won with 28.5% of the vote. In 2nd place was Sarah Palin with 17.3% of the vote. Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck came in 3rd and 4th place respectively and combined to earn 24.7% of the vote.

There is a simple way to fight back against our opponents: Call your Senators today and demand action that will curb global warming pollution and transform the American economy at the same time. Your one call is worth more than 100 emails.
Still not ready to pick up the phone?

Here are some statistics that show why every American who is concerned about the climate crisis must speak out and fight the polluters and ideologues who are trying to prevent meaningful action.

$34.7 million: Record-setting amount U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a staunch climate action opponent – shelled out to influence the federal government in the third quarter of 2009.
$30.9 million: Sum of the next 18 highest spenders.
30%: Amount increase 50 of the nation's largest electric utilities spent on lobbyists to influence the climate change debate happening in Congress now.
14.25 million+: Number of Americans who listen to Rush Limbaugh's radio show every week.
3 million: Number of viewers of Glenn Beck's TV show.
15%: Amount Glenn Beck falsely claims that the climate bill would increase personal income taxes.
13: Number of known forged letters to congressman opposing climate action sent by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity in the name of minority, senior, and veterans' groups. ()
20: Number of rallies that the American Petroleum Institute has organized under the front of a grassroots organization called Energy Citizens.
0: Number of retractions and/or corrections published by the Washington Post after running an op-ed by Sarah Palin containing demonstrably false claims about global warming.

Right now, please join the fight by calling your Senators and saying you support strong legislation to cap America's global warming pollution.
If you've already called, help spread the word through our social media toolkit.
In the coming weeks and months we will need your support and advocacy like never before. We must pass landmark global warming legislation this year – for our economy, for our planet, and for our future.

~*~

"In Bankruptcy Court, [Goldman Subsidiary] Tried To Portray Us As Incompetent Or Deadbeats" While Improperly Trying To Seize Their House

[Images for -giant vampire squid]





What Angry Bear said ~ This is What a Giant Vampire Squid Looks Like

~*~

Take A Minute And Click On The Delaware Statewide Trails Plan Survey

Delaware State Park Trails ~

We need your help!
Delaware is embarking on an update to the Statewide Trail Plan to help with the planning and development of trails that meet the needs of the public. Please take a moment to complete the 2009 Delaware Trail Survey.

The information gathered will help us gauge your trail needs and preferences, as well as identify issues and provide direction for the 2009 Statewide Trail Plan.

Without your help, we will not be able to produce a plan that reflects the interests of the trail community and the general public.

Take the survey.

~*~

From The Inbox: Senator Bernie Sanders To Chair Subcommittee On Green Jobs And The New Economy

World War Green
“Senator Bernie Sanders is known as an antiwar politician. But if lawmakers on Capitol Hill are waging World War Green, he’s looking to become a general helping to lead an energy revolution.

His chairmanship of the Senate’s newly created Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy puts him at the forefront of the fight to create positions building wind turbines, weatherizing homes and installing solar panels,” The Burlington Free Press wrote in an article published on Sunday. To read the article click here.

The link between the environment and the economy also was the subject of this week’s Web video, Senator Sanders Unfiltered.

Watch the video here - http://sanders.senate.gov/unfiltered

~*~

More Than 1,000 State Positions Cut Since January

(presser)

Markell lays out “five foundations” for making state government smaller and more cost-effective during budget process in advance of OMB hearings

WILMINGTON – State government will have at least 1,000 fewer positions than it did in the beginning of his term this January, Governor Jack Markell announced today. As the Office of Management and Budget begins a month of budget hearings, the Governor laid out five foundations he and his Cabinet are using to make government work more efficiently and cost-effectively to reduce the size and cost of state government. “The single greatest cost in the state budget is personnel. The state needs to be serious in how it manages attrition from employees who retire and cautious when it fills any positions that open up in other ways,” Markell said. “Reducing by 1,000 the number of positions in state government not only cut costs in the short-term, it puts us in a far better position to meet any challenges in the future.”

Earlier in the year, the administration worked with state legislators to eliminate 485 open positions across state government. Agencies have now identified an additional 525 positions to be eliminated from the FY 2010 budget and will continue to look for ways to reduce the number of state positions.“There are some real bright spots in Delaware’s economy and a tremendous amount of potential for future growth,” Markell said. “We wake up each day committed to doing everything we can to get more Delawareans back to work and to strengthen economic opportunity for those already working. But unemployment has no quick or easy solutions. We continue to face shrinking state revenue and need to respond by reducing state spending.”

In addition to rebuilding the state’s economy to help Delawareans get ahead and strengthening Delaware’s schools to offer the state’s children every opportunity to succeed, the administration remains focused on finding ways to cut the cost of state government. As the state starts hearings on next year’s budget, the administration is using five foundations to guide its efforts to help government meet its responsibilities while delivering the best return for taxpayer dollars:

1) Consolidate programs and units if savings or efficiencies can be achieved. In some cases, services are provided in silos, causing redundancies that can be frustrating on the one hand and potentially burdensome on the other for Delaware’s citizens and businesses.

2) Leverage new technology and management practices to deliver better results at lower cost.

3) Seek to eliminate or reduce state activities if the work done by the government simply duplicates efforts that are already completed by existing non-profits if savings or efficiencies can be achieved.

4) Budget for core priorities first and ask of each program and each process – “Does this meet or further our core missions as an agency or department?”

5) Identify services that state government provides that may be done as well or better by private business at a lower cost.

“These foundations will be an important part of the balanced budget that I will present to the General Assembly. Many of the decisions to be made will be hard, but we need to make them, recognizing that to ensure our ability to keep our core commitments such as protecting public safety,” Markell said. “In the meantime, we continue to improve our management practices to save taxpayer dollars and eliminate duplication of services. We’re streamlining units and programs for efficiency and by eliminating these 1,000 positions, working to reduce the single largest cost of state government.”

~*~

Frieda Berryhill Writes: Nuclear Renaissance?

The High Cost of Nuclear Power
Joe Romm Testifies in the Senate

This staggering price is far higher than the cost of a variety of carbon-free renewable power sources available today—and 10 times the cost of energy efficiency …

Is it finally sinking in?

San Antonia was the location to start the “nuclear renaissance “ .
Well, it just bit the dust. ( For the time being)

Breaking: Toshiba tells San Antonio its new twin $13 billion nukes will cost $4 billion more! The city balks. This looks like a job for clean energy.

One of the very first new nuclear power plants proposed to be built in the U.S. in over 30 years just hit a brick wall. It’s the same brick wall — absurdly high cost — being hit around the world….. The estimated cost of two new nuclear reactors proposed by CPS Energy has gone up as much as $4 billion, prompting the City Council to postpone Thursday’s vote on the project’s financing until January.

Ever more waste!

Photo/Jackie Johnston

A decommissioned nuclear reactor is prepared for burial under 45 feet of soil and rock at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state. Safe disposal is only one roadblock to widespread adoption facing nuclear power.
Safe disposal can wait……

The high cost eventually? Only God knows.

There are None so blind as those who will not see! But now there is hope.

~*~

Drumroll Please...Republican Outlier Tells Fort Drum New Yorkers To Vote Democratic

Update: Biden in Watertown for Owens today (N.Y. RACE PART OF RIGHT-WING PURGE OF GOP NATIONWIDE)
~~~~~
FDL reports ~ Scozzafava Endorses Democrat Bill Owens

It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same.
It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh’s lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did during his tenure in Congress.

In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New ork. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first.Please join me in voting for Bill Owens on Tuesday. To address the tough challenges ahead, we must rise above partisanship and politics and work together. There’s too much at stake in this election to do otherwise.

Digby offers a clue on why the GOP nominee was so thoroughly disgusted ~

The campaign of Dede Scozzafava, the moderate Republican candidate who is in a three-way race with a Democrat and a Conservative Party candidate in the NY-23 special election, called the police on a Weekly Standard reporter for asking her too many questions.

Maybe she's just very sensitive, but I would guess that having every event turn into a spitting, screaming townhall freakshow can probably make you a bit paranoid.

Seriously, it appears that the teabaggers are gaining steam. And lest we think they are just a funny joke, it would probably pay to recall instances in history when radical, paranoid right wingers got legitimate political power. The joke can easily turn into a nightmare.

~*~

The Delaware Art Museum's Maxfield Parrish Exhibit Starts This Weekend!!

(via delawareonline)

The Question Of Why Stephan Friedman (Ex-Chair NY FED/Goldman Sachs) Isn't In Jail Is Laid At The White House Door By Matt Taibbi

Matt Taibbi's TrueSlant blog reports ~ Forget Galleon: What about Goldman’s ex-boss?
Matt lays out the case (my apologies for chopping up his marvelous post):

...more than $14 billion that over 18 months was handed to Goldman Sachs, whose former chairman, Stephen Friedman, was chairman of the board of directors of the New York Fed when the decision was made.

Friedman, 71, resigned in May, days after it was disclosed by the Wall Street Journal that he had bought more than 50,000 shares of Goldman Sachs stock following the takeover of AIG.

...AIG Financial Products [AIGFP's] Cassano was recklessly writing hundreds of billions of dollars worth of credit default swaps for banks like Goldman and Deutsche, essentially insuring certain investments for these banks, including extremely risky mortgage-backed deals.

Goldman took out billions of these CDS positions with Cassano, who had written upwards of $440 billion of these CDS without having even a fraction of the money he would have needed to cover that bet in the event of a disaster of the type that actually ended up taking place

... Goldman was creating well over ten billion dollars worth of exposure to a guy that they must have known was an absolute idiot. Now, in a world where actual capitalism existed, Goldman should then have been highly invested in making sure that AIG did not go under.

...Goldman accelerated AIG’s demise by making margin calls against AIG

...the downgrade of its credit rating permitted companies like Goldman to demand large sums of money from AIG in the form of these margin calls, and AIG could not get its hands on enough cash to meet its demands, resulting in the death spiral situation we all witnessed last September.

Of all the firms making such demands against AIG, Goldman was the most aggressive

...Why would it act like that? Well, in a normal capitalistic situation, it wouldn’t. But Goldman, it turned out, had an ace in the hole. It seems that when the state stepped in and decided to bail AIG out, its former director, Stephen Friedman, was among those making the decision that AIG’s counterparties should be paid 100 cents on the dollar for its CDS debts.

...Had AIG proceeded to an ordinary bankruptcy, had the company’s downfall happened via normal market procedures, Goldman might have gotten 40, 50, maybe 60 cents on the dollar. If that!

...the non-punishment of Friedman just stands out like a hairy, golf-ball-sized mole on the face of the American capital markets. No question about it, it’s interesting that Galleon and Raj Rajaratnam are getting perp-walked by the FBI (note that it’s the FBI, and not the castrated and seemingly completely captive SEC, that’s going to be pushing these enforcement actions).

~*~

Reading Tom Carpers missive today in the WNJ, I missed the one word that should have been there - prosecution. Tom represents a branch of government with oversight and his duties to the American people surely include going after these thieves on Wall Street.

The paragraph below shows that Mr. Carper is somewhat ignorant of exactly why the market collapse occurred. Tom still seems to think that subprime mortgages were the root cause...

The housing bubble, created by lax credit standards and low interest rates, fueled subprime lending in the mortgage market, inflating home values to unsustainable levels. The risky loans given to borrowers with poor credit scores were bundled into securities and sold around the world as safe investments. When the housing bubble burst, it triggered a financial crisis that put Main Street as much at risk as Wall Street and nearly crippled the entire global financial system.

Senator Carper, it is time to get with the program and stop gaming the American people with meaningless platitudes...

After all, it was the Federal Reserve's intervention in the AIG rescue that played a large role in preventing our economy from collapsing.

There's a lot more to the story. Congress needs to get to the bottom of it. At least we have people like Matt Taibbi and Dylan Ratigan who are willing to go to the mats to get the truth out.

~*~