Forbes: 19 Of The 25 Richest Counties In The Country Are On The East Coast

Forbes has a great article ~ The country's fattest paychecks are brought home to these high-end suburbs.

The country's riches tend to trickle away from big cities. It's not major metro areas raking in the biggest salaries; rather, it's the tony suburbs just outside big-industry centers that soak up big-city money.

But the slide show is where the story really sinks in ~ In Depth: America's 25 Richest Counties




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Step Right Up And Drink Your Health Care Reform Poison: Chose Reproductive Freedom For Women Or Chose The Wellbeing Of Families And The Poor?

(DKos) Stranded Wind whips up some serious liberal rage at the pious intolerance toward women and gays from the Congressional clique at ~ 666 C Street

"Today the thing we'd thought we'd set aside during the wars of the Reformation has again taken root, this time growing within sight of our capitol. Another time of darkness is upon us, unless the forces of reason strike with every tool the rule of the law provides."

Meanwhile, Matt Yglesias gets slammed by (FDL) davidmizner ~ Matt Yglesias: “Feminists” Need To Get Over Their “Obsession with Abortion.”

Yglesias: "What Theda Skopcol said."

“FEMINISTS” who are pushing on abortion-funding limits rather than supporting American women need to examine their consciences. NOW’s obsession over abortion is, in effect, betraying a long tradition of American women’s advocacy on behalf of the wellbeing of families and the poor.

Presumably he also likes the way Skopcol put "feminists" in quotes. Oh, those crazy bitches are at is again, wanting their rights and shit.

But then Yglesias knows where his bread is buttered. This Iraq-war supporting free-trader didn’t become the Village’s favorite blogger by not telling them what they want to hear.

The comments are precious and Matt deserves every dagger for promoting the odious pretense that support for health care reform is an either-or fight where wanting access to abortion and protecting reproductive rights is antithetical to the wellbeing of families or the poor just because C Street people and the Pope's lobby has set the argument that way ~

From the mouth of the blogger that is supported by the lobbyist John Podesta…I can now see the need for abortion rights to be extended, in particular, to his mother- so she can have one preformed retroactively. - shekissesfrogs

And

After the last year of the supposedly “post-feminist” Democratic Party with its vaunted numbers of women officeholders, I think its clear to me that reproductive freedom is still, somehow, under attack, and with it, basic economic and social justice for women, under attack, and I think that women across the country –women who don’t enjoy the rich comforts of the officeholders and plutocrats’ wives – should be horribly angry. These women should be angry at the political system, angry at the plutocrats who drive it, angry at the religious conservatives, angry at the officeholders in particular the Democrats who always claim to be friends of women. It’s time to bring back the bra-burnings, the Andrea Dworkins, the protests, all of it.

OH, yeah, and Matt Yglesias? He needs get over the idea that he is anything other than yet another brand-name celebrity political gasbag. The country is full of them and full of shit for it. The health care “reform” now likely to be enacted is an atrocity in ten thousand ways and the assault on reproductive freedom for women is one of the worst of those ten thousand ways.

...If it takes attacking womens’ freedoms to get health care “reform” legislation that favors corporate profits enacted, then the elite members of the generation that defined feminism 1969 onward, now in power, will happily flush Roe v. Wade down the toilet. - Seymour Friendly

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Must-Read Post On What Really Needs To Be Done To Bring Our Low-Performing Schools And Their Students Up To Par: It Takes A Community

Kilroy's Delaware nails it all in a solid, reasoned post today ~
Thanks Kilroy !!!




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The Excellent Visual Case To Be Made For Taxing Soda To Help Control Obesity And Diabetes

From the La Vida Locavore blog ~

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Soda Consumption vs. Diabetes by: Jill Richardson

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HCAN Rally Set For Tuesday In Washington - Buses Will Be Leaving From Wilmington And Newark

Update: AHIP CEO pushes back against Obama on Executive Compensation ~
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Healthcare for America Now (HCAN)
RALLY IN DC JOIN US!!!
TUESDAY MARCH 9, 2010

LEAVING FROM: PEOPLES SETTLEMENT 408 EAST 8Th STREET

TIME: 7AM SHARP!!!

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THE SECOND PICK –UP LEAVING FROM: UAW LOCAL 1183
698 OLD BALTIMORE PIKE, NEWARK
TIME: 7:30AM SHARP!!!

COST: $17.00 PER PERSON
INCLUDES: REFRESHMENTS AND LUNCH
RETURN TIME: IS AROUND 6PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT DARLENE (302)656-3699.

Meanwhile, Health Care For America Now wants you to customize a health insurance company CEO wanted poster ~

When Big Insurance CEOs return to Washington next week on March 9th, we're going to be ready for them.

We've gathered a massive posse to arrest these scallywags for crimes against the people - crimes like denying our care and letting people die because they don't have insurance.1 And we're going after the insurance lobbyists to make sure Congress listens to us, not the insurance companies.

Our partner, TrueMajority, has a way for you to join in by making your own wanted poster: You can customize it by adding the CEO of your insurance company and adding to our list of indictments by sharing your story, or the story of someone you know.

Click here to make your own customized wanted poster.

We'll deliver all the posters and indictments next week when we arrest the insurance companies, and you can print out your poster and hang it on a local bulletin board so others know it's time to take action.

President Obama has just called for Congress to finish reform right and send him a health care bill by Easter2 -- and Congress is already gearing up to meet that deadline.3

But the insurance companies and their allies in Congress are gearing up too -- word has just leaked to the press about a secret last-ditch attempt to defeat health care once and for all.4

We've come too far to let Big Insurance kill health care in the home stretch. So we're taking the fight right to their doorstep by crashing their conference in D.C. next week and calling on Congress to finish reform right.

Help spread the word by making your own wanted poster, and tell your friends and family that it's time to saddle up for reform. Click here to make a poster.

1. Direct Action Time: Stop the insurance companies! - NOW! blog

2. Obama intensifies health-care efforts - Washington Post

3. Obama Calls for 'Up or Down Vote' on Health Care Bill - New York Times

4. Exclusive: GOP To Unleash Huge Wave Of Robocalls Warning Of Dem Plot To "Ram" Health Reform Through - Greg Sargent

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Phillip Bannowsky Writes: Poetry, Posterity, And Makin A Party Out Of Lovin'

Broken Turtle Blogger Douglas Morea launches a word joust among some of Delaware’s best writers in his “Make a Party Out of Lovin” post, dealing with poetry contests and what writers want of posterity. Does competition undermine solidarity, or does it stimulate interest in a marginalized genre?

Says poet Morea (responding to a previous post, “Competition and Canonization” by Steven Leech):

“Let us grant for argument's sake that competitional poetry is a steaming crock, Well, what of it? There is no story till a shadow crosses the sunny valley. Even in an ivory tower the writer is a barn shoveler first and finally. No manure, no job. No job, no shoveler. Even Hercules was not above stable duty. I am talking high literature here, by the way.”

Douglas Morea can scarcely scribble two words together without an illuminating metaphor or paradox. Judge for yourself at Broken Turtle Blog, where the Delaware Valley’s progressive cultural community gathers to discuss the trends and tribulations of artistic creation "downwind from chateau country."
Peace and solidarity,
Phillip Bannowsky
http://brokenturtleblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.dreamstreetsarchive.com/, the beautiful website that documents a courageous cultural struggle waged largely outside the protections of academia and corporate sponsorship.

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Kaufman Touts Innovation Policy That Generates Greater Interest In Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics And Engineering Fields

(presser)

Kaufman: “We Need To Create A New Generation of Jobs”

At Grand Challenge Raleigh Summit, Delaware senator speaks on importance of STEM education for future of American innovation, competitiveness

RALEIGH, N.C. – Speaking on the final day of the 2010 Grand Challenge Raleigh Summit, Senator Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) delivered a “special legislative address” Friday on the future of American innovation and competitiveness. The summit, which took place March 3-5 in Raleigh, North Carolina, was hosted by North Carolina State University and Kaufman’s own alma mater, Duke University.

“We don't know where the next generation of innovation will come from. That is the nature of innovation,” Kaufman, the only serving U.S. Senator to have worked as an engineer, said in his remarks. “But we must have an innovation policy, one that helps generate greater interest in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] and actually leads to the training and graduation of more engineers.”

“It isn’t enough to try to win back the jobs we have lost,” Kaufman continued. “To keep pace with our population and to keep the sacred promise to our children and grandchildren, we need to create a new generation of jobs.”

The three-day Grand Challenge Raleigh Summit is one of a series of conferences being held across the country to sustain dialogue and engagement about the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges – a grouping of problems that must be solved in order to maintain our quality of life, national security, and sustainable future. The series aims to enhance student interest in engineering and science, while establishing the links between these areas and those of public policy, business and law.

Emphasizing the fact that “tomorrow’s jobs” will require training in STEM fields, Kaufman noted, “whether it is energy independence, climate change, life-saving cures for diseases, security challenges, or new solutions for transportation, STEM-educated graduates will be at the forefront.”

Kaufman has championed the expansion of education in STEM fields since taking office last year. Kaufman, with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), recently introduced the Engineering Education for Innovation Act – bipartisan legislation to authorize competitive planning and implementation grants to states to integrate engineering education into K-12 instruction and curriculum. In June 2009, Kaufman introduced the STEM Education Coordination Act – a bill to establish a committee under the National Science and Technology Council to better coordinate federal STEM education program and activities. He was also instrumental in securing $400,000 to fund research and extension grants for woman and minorities in STEM fields as part of a spending bill signed into law last year.

Full remarks, as prepared for delivery:

There is no doubt that we are at a critical moment in history. I am honored to be a United States Senator at this time in our history, but even more so to be an engineer Senator. I believe the key to the future of our country, and the world, rests on our ability to use science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM, to solve the major problems we face.

You can work on an issue in the shadows for decades, and then suddenly the sun breaks through and it's shining on you − and shining very brightly. This is one of those moments for engineers, in particular for the promotion of STEM education.

Today, America’s engineers have a central role to play in developing the innovative technologies that will help our economy recover and promote real job growth. In particular, as the global economy turns increasingly competitive, many nations are investing heavily in training their future scientists and engineers.

We don't know where the next generation of innovation will come from. That is the nature of innovation. But we must have an innovation policy, one that helps generate greater interest in STEM and actually leads to the training and graduation of more engineers.

What we do know are the problems we face. We do know our central economic challenge. When we get through this crisis, when this recession is passed, we need to create new jobs.

It isn’t enough to try to win back the jobs we have lost. To keep pace with our population and to keep the sacred promise to our children and grandchildren, we need to create a new generation of jobs.

As former President Bill Clinton says, in recent years, we were creating jobs in three areas: housing, finance, and the consumer economy – retail. All three of those have suffered in this economy – all three of those benefited from loose credit and easy money to build up a bubble.

And I’m sorry to say, ladies and gentlemen, that many of those jobs are not going to come back. We cannot look forward to the day where carpenters were scarce because we built more houses than people could afford to buy. We do not need a revitalized legion of clever bankers any more than we need another Starbucks one block closer.

So, where will tomorrow’s jobs come from?

I believe the answer lies in transforming our economy, in revolutionizing how we produce and consume energy.

You all understand that science is science. It is not ours to argue with and, on climate change, the science is real and it is urgent. We need to act.

You know that we cannot afford to continue our dependence on foreign oil, sending our treasure overseas to nations who thwart our goals for a fair, free, and peaceful world.

You see the world changing around us, the way the wind is blowing, and you realize that to remain a world leader we must act now.

So, where will tomorrow’s jobs come from?

They will be green jobs.

Many of our smartest investors see this and are betting on clean energy. John Doerr, who helped fund small startups with names like Amazon and Google, believes it. Vinod Khosla, who founded Sun Microsystems, believes it. Companies that have been on the forefront of innovation for more than a century, like General Electric and my home state of Delaware’s homegrown champion, DuPont, believe it.

And ladies and gentlemen, our competitors get it. Norway is at the cutting edge of carbon capture and storage, and a Japanese automaker has sold more hybrids than anyone else. Germany has become the world’s leader in installed solar power.

But what really brings home the fierce urgency of developing our green economy is the way I have seen the world’s largest country, China, turn on a dime.

For years, as I traveled to China and witnessed her explosive growth, it was clear that the leadership was reluctant to combat climate change. Suddenly, that is no longer the case. Last year China became the world’s biggest manufacturer of wind turbines. China had already become the leading source of solar panels, and is now working around the clock to expand green technologies — from nuclear power and carbon capture and storage to more efficient lighting and heating.

In President Hu Jintao’s speech at the United Nations last fall, he spoke about reducing China’s “carbon intensity,” explicitly setting out to win the clean energy race.

And as Professor Vivek Wadhwa tells us, China graduates three engineers for every one of ours.

The Chinese get it.

Today, the Chinese can see that other countries are on the brink of creating a brand new market, a global market for clean energy technologies, and they want to dominate that market.

Well, I want to dominate that market too. That is why we need to act, and to act now, to redraw our energy sector and learn to live within our planet’s bounds.

And I think most of you know why I am telling you this. Who will research, invent, develop, produce, design these new green energy products and services?’

Engineers.

Engineers have always been the world’s problem solvers, and especially now when so many of the world’s problems need STEM solutions. Whether it is energy independence, climate change, life-saving cures for diseases, security challenges, or new solutions for transportation, STEM-educated graduates will be at the forefront.

Because of this need, I feel it is my duty to encourage my colleagues to invest in STEM education as part of our economic recovery efforts.

A few weeks after I took office, I began meeting with groups of engineering school deans and other leaders in the engineering community to discuss STEM issues and how best to promote these fields. It was clear to me from these conversations that the good news was that young people want to “make a difference” with their lives, but the bad news was that they do not see engineering as the way to do that.

As part of my early effort to determine how to convince more students to move into engineering, my staff conducted an informal survey to solicit ideas on how to increase the number of graduates from our engineering schools. We received some very thoughtful feedback from nearly twenty-five engineering school deans across the country.

Overwhelmingly, they answered that, among other things, students need better preparation in STEM fields at the K-12 level.

They said that promoting STEM education for elementary and secondary students is critical to preparing those who may wish to pursue engineering study in college and at the graduate level.

A central part of our conversation was the importance of taking calculus in high school. Right now, not enough students are matriculating into college who have the mathematics background they need should to pursue engineering courses.

Since graduation I have been amused when I read that education can be made fun and relevant. While I agree with the basic premise, we all know that it is a challenge to make calculus fun. It is hard work, for most of us, and one of our major challenges is to educate young people to the significant advantages of taking and mastering calculus.

One answer is for high schools to develop career counseling programs in the 9th grade. I can tell you that at schools where they do this − it works. Students make the connection between calculus, engineering, and making a difference, and see the path.

Beyond K-12 STEM education, a very different challenge occurs on many of our nation’s college campuses. In talking to engineering deans it is clear that the present economic downturn has exacerbated a problem that has been with us for quite a while − that is the additional cost of educating an engineering student, which requires an investment in labs and other costly facilities. Thirty percent of the nation’s public research universities charge more to undergraduates majoring in engineering than in other fields, which in turn prevents some students from pursuing engineering. We must start educating college and university administrators about the long-term benefits to the university and to the United States of spending the additional money required to graduate more engineering students.

Many administrators do get it. One is Pat Harker, President of the University of Delaware and an engineering graduate from Penn. Working with his engineering dean Mike Chajes they have increased last year’s entering engineering class by 25 percent, but they do not have the lab space to accommodate these students. They now have to hold lab classes over the weekend.

While this is just the sort of investment in engineering we need, it is only a first step. And, I am here today to talk about what the federal government can do, and is doing, to support STEM.

First, we can build a new generation of engineers through policies that promote STEM education. I am happy to say that while we have our partisan problems these days in Washington, there is a bipartisan consensus that we must move ahead on promoting STEM education. This is important because, if we truly are to be successful in increasing our nation’s engineering output, we must support STEM education at the national level.

Last week I joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce the Engineering Education for Innovation Act or the “E-squared” for Innovation Act. This legislation authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive planning and implementation grants to states to integrate engineering education into K-12 instruction and curriculum. It also funds the research and evaluation of these efforts.

Second, we can promote policies that encourage women and underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in engineering. While women earn 58 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, they constitute only 18.5 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded in engineering. African Americans hold only 4.6 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded in engineering, and Hispanic Americans hold only 7.2 percent. We can, and must, do better.

Last year, another bipartisan group of thirteen senators joined me in going to the Appropriations Committee seeking more funding to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in STEM fields. The Agriculture Appropriations bill, which was signed into law last October, includes $400,000 to fund research and extension grants at land-grant universities for women and minorities in STEM fields. This is a small but important first step that we can continue to build on from year to year.

Third, we can help inspire more young people to pursue engineering in the growing green economy. As part of the “Educate to Innovate” effort, President Obama announced an annual science fair at the White House, so that “scientists and engineers stand side by side with athletes and entertainers as role models.” I think that is a very powerful message to America’s youth.

Finally, we must continue to support research and development, a challenge that will require significant federal as well as private investment. In our current economy, it is often hard to imagine investing more in anything. But more research and development funding is fundamental to high-tech job creation. A forthcoming report from the Science Coalition features 100 companies that can be directly traced to influential research conducted at a university and sponsored by a federal agency. Examples include Google, Cisco Systems, and SAS.

One of my favorite images is involved with sailing. Whether you sail or not, we all know that you can construct the perfect sailboat, outfit it with the best sails, man it with the greatest crew, and, if the wind is not blowing, you will not move.

Right now STEM education in the United States is that sailboat.

The wind is at our back.

Let’s all work together on STEM education, for our country, and the world.

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Frieda Berryhill Writes: On Nuclear Waste

“The idea that a civilization could sustain itself on such a transgression is an ethical, spiritual, and metaphysical monstrosity.”

Dry cask storage allows spent fuel that has already been cooled in the spent fuel pool for at least one year to be surrounded by inert gas inside a container called a cask. Spent fuel is currently stored in dry cask systems at a growing number of power plants.

Salem already started!

Watch this video
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/03/04/todd.where.is.the.nuclear.waste.cnn

"No degree of prosperity could justify the accumulation of large amounts of highly toxic substances which nobody knows how to make safe and which remain an incalculable danger to the whole of creation for historical or even geological ages. To do such a thing is a transgression against life itself, a transgression infinitely more serious than any crime perpetrated by man. The idea that a civilization could sustain itself on such a transgression is an ethical, spiritual, and metaphysical monstrosity. It means conducting the economical affairs of man as if people did not matter at all." -- E. F. Schumacher

And yet!! "We are working hard to restart the American nuclear power industry," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said yesterday, calling it a key part of the nation's response to the climate threat. Feb 2 2010

Meanwhile, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service writes ~

DON'T WAIT, DON'T FORGET! SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP OBAMA'S $54 BILLION NUCLEAR BAILOUT! please do so here.

Yesterday, the Brattleboro (VT) Reformer reported that Vermont's entire Congressional Delegation say they will oppose this loan"guarantee" program. We have reason to believe several other members of Congress will be jumping on this bandwagon soon. On March 23, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), chair of the House Oversight Domestic Policy Subcommittee, will be holding a hearing to critically examine the program.

Finally, we wanted to bring your attention to a terrific op-ed by former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford. Although it's aimed at Minnesota, where legislators are considering a bill to repeal that state's ban on new reactor construction, it's an excellent summary of the issues that could affect everyone--especially those of you in states targeted by the nuclear industry for changes in state laws.

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State Kicks Off Partnership To Encourage Healthy Eating, Healthy Lifestyles, Health Education And Consumption Of Local Food Products

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Healthier Kids, More Successful State Farmers – A Healthy Economic Partnership
Markell Unveils Farm-to-Schools and Farm–to-Facilities Agreement

In one of his major policy initiatives to simultaneously promote healthy eating and help Delaware agriculture, Governor Jack Markell formalized a partnership among three agencies to connect Delaware farmers and its agricultural industry to Delaware schools and facilities.

Three agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement: the Delaware Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and Department of Health and Social Services, confirmed a partnership to encourage healthy eating, healthy lifestyles, health education, consumption of local food products, and nutrition education. The agreement will also lead to the establishment of school gardens and improve the nutritional value of food products consumed in public schools and facilities.

By incorporating locally grown food into purchasing, Delaware can connect the agriculture industry to 123,000 children that attend Delaware’s public schools. That’s 22 million meals served over the 180-day school year. Thirty-six percent of children and youth in Delaware are either overweight or at risk of being overweight.

By connecting the agricultural community to the state’s largest agency, DHSS, agriculture connects to residents of four long-term care facilities, the Delaware Psychiatric Center and other food programs and services.

“This is one of those win-wins we are always striving for: creating business opportunities for our farm community while making it easier for kids in our schools and persons in our public facilities and food programs to access locally grown and healthy foods,” said Markell. “My administration is focused on finding ways to help our industries thrive, keep people employed and employ even more Delawareans.”

Delaware has 2500 farmers and 200-300 of them are in the vegetable and fruit business. Partnership opportunities exist in fresh, frozen, canned, and pickled products.

“I am more than pleased with today’s signing. Our children will benefit and our farmers will benefit,” said Delaware Agriculture Secretary Ed Kee. “I look at this as the first step. We want to extend the program to all of our state facilities. I also plan to work with our vegetable processors such as Vlasic, Pictsweet, Hanover, and the poultry processors to have them become part of the program in the future.”

"I'm happy to sign on to this agreement," said Rita M. Landgraf, Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services. "Not only will it serve to help keep Delaware's school children healthy and have economic benefits to some of our social services programs, but it provides yet another opportunity to work with other state agencies as well as the private sector to better serve Delawareans."

"Nutritious foods in our public school lunch program can contribute to healthy eating patterns among children. Healthier children make better learners,” said Lillian Lowery, Delaware Secretary of Education. “A wholesome diet can improve student performance, attendance and behavior and many healthy foods are right here in Delaware's backyard."

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ChevronToxico Writes: Petition Chevron's CEO John Watson To Fund A Full-Scale Environmental Clean Up Of The Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest It Ruined

From the inbox ~

Over three decades of oil drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Texaco (now Chevron) dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the rainforest, creating an environmental tragedy experts call "the Amazon Chernobyl." This systematic contamination has left tens of thousands of local indigenous people and campesinos suffering an epidemic of cancer, miscarriages, birth defects and other ailments. The residents of the rainforest region, known as the Oriente, have filed a monumental lawsuit to hold Chevron accountable, and an international solidarity campaign is supporting their demand for justice.

Help us pressure Chevron to do the right thing in Ecuador. For a good, informative background on the issue, watch this 60 Minutes investigation called 'Amazon Crude.' Then, join me by signing the petition to incoming CEO John Watson, urging him to do the right thing in the Ecuadorian Amazon by funding a full-scale environmental clean up.

You can also check out this recent article in influential Washington news outlet Politico, detailing the ways in which Chevron's aggressive attempts to evade responsibility for its mess in the Amazon are increasingly backfiring.

The Clean Up Ecuador Campaign at Amazon Watch is working hard to secure justice for the rainforest communities of Ecuador. Check out ChevronToxico.com to learn more about how you can help.

(ecuadorian amazon images)

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Health Care Reform Activists Are Going To DC On Tuesday To Head Off The Health Insurance Lobbying Group AHIP And Their Plans To Kill Reform

(presser)

Delawareans Supporters of Healthcare Reform Headed to DC Health Care Crime Scene
Local Health Care Reform Supporters to Join Thousands in Washington To “Arrest” Health Insurance Executives

Learn more online at www.citizensposse.com

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Delaware – On Tuesday March 9th, Delaware will pile into bus to join thousands of other activists in Washington, DC to protest the health insurance industry and its ongoing campaign to protect its profits and block comprehensive health insurance reform. Health reform supports from across the country will come together on Tuesday March 9th to make a mass citizens’ arrest of the health insurance executives who are denying care, hiking up premiums, and contributing to the deaths of 45,000 people each year.

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) - the health insurance lobbying group - will be in at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington, D.C. for its annual policy conference on March 9th and 10th, and people from across the county will descend on the hotel to let the insurance companies know they are not welcome in the nation’s capitol. AHIP has been spending tens of millions of dollars to spread lies and misinformation about much-needed health care reform, and it’s time Congress listened to us – not the insurance companies.

Darlene from Newark will be one of thousands out in front of the Ritz armed with arrest warrants, badges, crime tape, “wanted” posters, and more. The crowd will be deputized as officers to carry out the arrests of the Big Insurance CEOS and AHIP leaders for their crimes against America’s health. Together, these sheriffs will disrupt the insurance companies’ plotting session and fan out into the streets for other actions that send a clear and dramatic message to Congress: Listen to everyday Americans. Not the insurance lobbyists. We’ve had enough. The time for real reform is now.

“It’s time to put the enemies on notice. We will not allow the big corporations and their lobbyists to bully Congress to a standstill. This means confronting the health insurance industry that has secretly spent tens of millions to protect its profits by trying to kill reform,” said Darlene Battle an HCAN supporter. “I’ve decided that if Congress can’t hear me from Delaware, then I’m going to D.C. and making my voice heard.”

“The insurance companies and their cronies in Congress have done everything they can to muddy the issue and drag down reform,” Darlene continued. “There are two sides in this fight, and it is time for members of Congress to pick one. They can stand with us and support real change, or they side with the insurance industry. We’ve had enough, and we’re heading to D.C. to say so.”

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Hey Rahm, What Are DEMs Getting For Capitulation To The GOP Again, Exactly?

DEM-GOPer trade off twitter today ~
ggreenwald: Forgot this one: RT @mattyglesias "If we drop the public option, they'll back our health care bill."

Greenwald: If we use military commissions for KSM, they'll help us close GITMO

Greenwald: If we support the Iraq War, they won't attack us for being Soft on Terror; if we don't investigate Bush crimes, they'll help pass HCR.

Greenwald: Wait, I want to understand this: capitulating to Republicans doesn't cause them to diminish their opposition? Who knew? http://bit.ly/bLA8f7

Best Tweets yesterday: Lefty Bloggers Blast Obama's KSM Flip-Flop

Greenwald: "It will be difficult even for the most hardened Obama loyalist to defend this if it happens: http://is.gd/9KBBM"

Yglesias: "Obama caving to Cheney family on KSM trial? http://bit.ly/aLmKUc"

Greenwald: "He caved into them on detainee photos and FISA, so why not again?"

Greenwald: "Obama doesn't want to look 'weak.' Therefore, he'll keep reversing himself under GOP pressure. That's what 'strong' leaders do."

Yglesias: "KSM surrender is brilliant politics, b/c now right will stop criticizing Obama terror policies!"

Greenwald: "Just as they always do: RT @mattyglesias 'KSM surrender is brilliant politics, b/c now Right will stop criticizing Obama
terror policies!'"

Yglesias: "If WH hangs Hill allies on KSM out to dry, who's going to back them in the next controversy?"

And emptywheel: Amazing what Rahm's leaks can do RT @charlie_savage: WH quashes speculation but report prompts new cycle of debate - (NYT) Debate Flares Anew on Civil vs. Military Terror Trial ~

... it has been widely reported that the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, opposed Mr. Holder’s decision because he has been negotiating with Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, over a potential deal involving the trial. Mr. Graham is offering to provide some Republican support for closing the Guantánamo prison, but wants the Sept. 11 trial put back in a militarycommission. He is also seeking White House support for legislation that would set comprehensive rules for the handling of detainees — including authorizing the holding without trial of terrorism suspects who may be captured in the future.

Meanwhile, (FDL) Cynthia Kouril posits ~ Is It Time for Mass Resignations in Protest?

The WaPo continues is laundering operation for Rahm Emanuel today with regard to the KSM trial.

...What if government lawyers repeated the heroic mass resignation plan that Comey, Goldsmith and company did when the White House tried to overrule DOJ on warrantless wiretapping? Only this time, it’s not just DOJ. It’s obviously DOD lawyers–who by the way, need to tell Lindsey to STFU– because this odious plan tarnishes their service. It’s also CIA lawyers–who are being held hostage and being used as scapegoats by Yoo, Cheney et al. Hell, it could be lawyers for the Fish and Wildlife service–

Why? Because you are all working for an administration that either believes in the Rule of Law or it does not. And every one of you has a stake in the ethics and integrity of the legal decisions made by this administration. We have seen, to our horror, what happens when a White House politicizes purely legal decisions or allows politics into decisions making processes that are solely the purview of law. Just because you are Hatch Act employees does not mean you have lost the right to petition your government.

Here’s a sample petition, but feel free to improve upon it:

We, the undersigned, are lawyers employed by the various agencies of the federal government of the United States of America. We joined this Administration in part to restore the Rule of Law to our nation’s governance. Critical to this restoration is to keep politics out of charging decisions in criminal cases, otherwise all criminal prosecutions are subject to attacks on their legitimacy and the social contract is torn.

If need be, we the undersigned will resign from government service en mass should the legitimate charging and venue decisions made by the Department of Justice in the case of Khalid Sheik Mohammed be tampered with for political purposes. No lawyer, in good conscience, can be a party to such a blatant politicization of the prosecutorial function or to such an attack upon prosecutorial integrity.

Plus, (DKos) mcjoan writes ~ Spencer Ackerman reports on conference call [held] by Human Rights Watch with retired Army Maj. Gen. William Nash, retired Army Lt. Gen. Harry Soyster, and retired Navy Real Adm. John Hutson urging Obama to reject the political advise of his staff, and stick with Attorney General Holder's decision to try KSM in federal courts.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. William Nash, who served in Vietnam, the Gulf War and Bosnia, said he got “worked up” reading the Post’s story this morning:

“Any time you do something hard, there’s a time where maybe you have second thoughts. That’s the time any good leader has got to remind himself about the story about ‘steady boy steady.’... The machinations of those who are afraid of these terrorists, who are afraid of American laws, who are afraid of this process that lived by under the rule of law for many many years — centuries — this is not the time to allow them to have their fear drive us away from doing the right thing... This is not the time to be scared. This is not the time to accomodate those who have led the country through an aura of fear for eight years. it’s time to do the right thing and persevere through.”

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Harry Soyster, a former director of the Defense Intelligence
Agency, had harsher words:

“My concern is what it looks like to our enemy. And they certainly should be delighted in what appears to be great confusion, great ambiguity and inability to address the issue, so they should feel they are making progress if in fact our initial stand is reversed. from my perspective, the president [initially] chose chose the harder right over the easier wrong when he made the stand, supported his attorney general...and he should hold firm to that.”

Soyster rejected any trade, pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, that would involve closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for a military tribunal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. “Both should be done,” Soyster said. “Guantanamo should be closed and the [KSM] trial should be done in an Article 3 federal court... We need to do the right thing.”

...Why Graham has struck the fear of God into Emanuel is a mystery, but there's nothing to be gained by capitulating to him. This is not an issue that should be addressed through political expediency, particularly when you're not going to extract a goddamned thing from Lindsey Graham if you do it. Will the Republicans stop attacking Obama on national security? Hell, no. Will Lindsey Graham suddenly have a change of heart and buck his caucus to support any other Obama initiative? Hell, no. The only outcome for the administration would be to make Obama look weak and to undercut Eric Holder, to show that the DOJ is just as subject to the political whim of the President's advisors as the Bush DOJ was.

There is not a single good policy or political reason to change course. The federal courts have proven time and time again far more effective at securing prosecutions. If you want to see justice done for 9/11, make it real, true justice in an Article 3 court.

Rahm's real agenda? My personal assumption is that Rahm Emanuel is in this sloppy, disloyal, disgraceful and possibly dangerous capitulation with Lindsey Graham because they both want to line up GOP support for a Senate climate change bill and its accomodations for new nuke power.




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Moyer Academy Kids Are Holding A Rally Mid-Day Today In Wilmington In Front Of The State Building On French Street

(WNJ image)
A large group of concerned Delawareans are asking the State Education Board, the Secretary of Education and the Governor to reconsider their refusal to renew Moyer Academy's charter.

I intend to take an independent look at the stats. Wilmington Councilman Mike Brown has promised that I can get a written report of Moyer's data. But the state has yet to issue a written report on their decision (per Kilroy) for public review. [Note: a commenter says there are transcripts of the Charter Accountability meetings available that I will be able to take a look at too].

In the meeting I attended at the school on Monday night and on various cable teevee shows, Moyer presented compelling evidence that they do in fact deserve to continue their charter.

Can't there be a compromise -- a probationary year perhaps? Lowery herself has declared in several media appearances that Moyer Academy's charter would have been approved this year "under Minner administration" guidelines. She's claimed that Moyer just happened to fall into the "paradigm change" between the regime's.....hmmmmmm. I guess she had to somehow justify why Moyer received a Commended AYP status just last year.

I suspect that politics had something to do with the closing of this school. Was the decision in part scapegoating and looking tough for Arne Duncan's dangling pot of gold? I hope the decision is reversed, especially if it was influenced by Mass Insight's hold on Delaware, their intention to take control over Wilmington's low-performing schools and what may amount to their chasing of the public dollars that are following the near-500 students presently enrolled at Moyer.

But the kids of Moyer aren’t leaving it up to chance. They have permits for a march and rally in front of the State Building at mid-day today.




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Salon.Com: Howard Dean Is High On 2010; An August NYT Profile Put Rahm Emanuel In The Drivers Seat --Nothing Remotely Akin To Recent WaPo WH Leaks

(Salon) Alex Koppelman reports ~ Howard Dean: 2010 won't be as bad for Dems as people think Former DNC chair tells Salon it'll be anti-incumbent, not anti-Dem, year; praises president's moves on healthcare

Salon asked Dean how he'd handle the poltiics of using reconciliation to pass a bill, and the inevitable backlash from Republicans, if he were still heading up the DNC. He responded:

I think it should have been done last July, that would have made life a lot easier, but I'm glad it's being done and I think the president is right to call it a simple majority. Reconciliation is an arcane Washington term, and I think we want to talk about a simple majority. One of the things that's upsetting to the American electorate right now is nothing's getting done in Washington, and the primary reason nothing's getting done in Washington is because Republicans won't pass anything in the Senate ... I think the American people are really ready for somebody who's going to step up and say, "We're going to have majority rule here, we're not going to let these senators hold up things that are good for the country."

(JPEG image)

Meanwhile, not everyone is buying the Rahm-As-Ignored-Ineffectual Sob Story

(Salon) Joe Conanson writes ~ If Rahmbo is going rogue, what will Obama do?

When Rahm Emanuel was riding high last summer, expanding his power while swatting down retarded liberals, the New York Times published a long profile presenting him as the undisputed master of Obama’s universe. According to that story, reported by Peter Baker and Jeff Zeleny and published on Aug. 16, he was "more chief than staff," with a writ that extended from legislation and communications to foreign policy and national security. He was taking names, kicking ass, setting policy and micromanaging down to party invitation lists.

Nowhere did he or anyone around him complain back then that Emanuel could not make his will done in the White House, or worry that the president was not listening to him

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On Proving The Public Option Votes Exist And Calling Out The Villains Of Real Health Care Reform With Democracy For America

(NYT image)

Democracy for America writes ~

We continue to build momentum proving the votes exist in the Senate to pass a public option using reconciliation, which requires only 50 votes plus Vice President Biden.

In only two weeks, we've gone from zero to 34 senators on the record. Eight Senators -- including Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Senate Democrat -- just this week. These Senators heard your phone calls and now they're helping lead the charge for the public option.Thanks to your hard work, no other way forward on healthcare reform has more united support. The majority of Senate Democrats, the majority of House Democrats, and the majority of Americans all agree: It's time to pass a public option using reconciliation.

CO-SIGN THE LETTER CALLING FOR A PUBLIC OPTION USING RECONCILIATION
Here's all 34 Healthcare Heroes who've committed to voting YES:
Michael Bennet (CO)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Patrick Leahy (VT)
John Kerry (MA)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Al Franken (MN)
Roland Burris (IL)
Bernie Sanders (VT)
Barbara Boxer (CA)
Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Frank Lautenberg (NJ)
Chuck Schumer (NY)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Ted Kaufman (DE)
Debbie Stabenow (MI)
Dianne Feinstein (CA)
Jack Reed (RI)
Tom Udall (NM)
Arlen Specter (PA)
Harry Reid (NV)
Robert Menendez (NJ)
Tim Johnson (SD)
Daniel Inouye (HI)
Carl Levin (MI)
Mark Udall (CO)
Dick Durbin (IL)
Ben Cardin (MD)
Amy Klobuchar (MN)
Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Bob Casey (PA)
Patty Murray (WA)
Ron Wyden (OR)

Day after day, we're naming names and proving the votes exist for the public option in reconciliation. Some Democrats in Washington, including White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, keep saying the votes aren’t there, but they won't name the Senate Democrats who are villains of real reform.

It's time for Robert Gibbs and the White House to name names and be transparent about which Democrats are actually opposed to the public option. They have a responsibility to tell the country who is undermining the will of the American public -- who overwhelmingly support the public option over the Senate bill that lacks one. ADD YOUR NAME TODAY

Democrats will pass healthcare reform this year. It's up to us to make sure it includes the most popular piece of reform.
Thank you for everything you do.-
Charles Chamberlain, Political Director, Democracy for America

Meanwhile, we know that Tom Carper isn't working for the DEMs agenda. [WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME TOM CARPER WORKED FOR THE PEOPLE IN HIS PARTY?]...sorry for yelling..

(WDEL) Frank Gerace reported ~ Carper: Don't use reconciliation to pass health bill

Delaware's senior US Senator isn't a fan of passing a healthcare overhaul bill using the parliamentary tactic called reconciliation. Senator Carper says reconciliation, which allows bills to be passed with a 51-vote majority, is meant for budget measures, and trying to apply it to the healthcare proposals under consideration in Congress would turn them into "legislative swiss cheese".
Audio Here
Carper visited WDEL Friday and was a guest on "Delaware's News at Noon".

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Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Report Concludes: Global Panic Over Unsecured Credit Swaps Is What Created The Crisis --Not High Risk Home Loans

(AP image)
Kudos to Rhonda Graham for shining the WNJ editorial spotlight on Brooksley Born today ~ Fortunately, for this woman truth trumped political expediency

As chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Born stubbornly challenged the Clinton administration to regulate the out-of-control use of credit swaps that were dependent on the real-estate market.

...In 1998 at congressional hearings she faced off against her own administration's economic trifecta: Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, Treasury Secretary Richard Rubin and his soon-to-be successor Larry Summers, the current director of the White House's National Economic Council.

...When Born warned Congress of the possible dangers of an estimated $17 trillion in over-the-counter derivatives, Sen. Phil Gramm, the Republican who created the deregulation legislation, told her she didn't know what she was talking about.

...A new report, "Questions and Answers about the Financial Crisis," by Yale economist Gary Gorton shows she did.

Turns out that all those bad, high-interest loans to credit-unworthy homeownersdidn't tank the global economy. Gorton documents how in a panic over $20 trillion in unsecured credit swaps, banks went into a panic.

"All bond prices plummeted [spreads rose] during the financial crisis, not just the prices of subprime related bonds ... institutional investors and firms refused to renew sale and repurchase agreements [REPO] -- short term, collateralized, agreements that the Fed rightly used to count as money."

So a bank panic over its uninsured debt -- a mostly untold number of unsecured credit swaps -- is the culprit for teetering global economies.

Graham points out that Wall Street contorted the mandate in the Community Reinvestment Act as a loophole to profit from foreclosures by extending credit to known credit risks.

And she provides a link to one of the most informative programs available on this subject: Watch the captivating documentary on Born's efforts at: www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/ frontline/warning.

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DEMs Have To Start To Force Their Public Policies Into Law; Elections Have Consequences And America Put These DEMs Of Ours Into Power For A Reason

(Getty image)
It's been hard to maneuver through the intertubes lately without running into Rahm Emanuel's strident defenders. Rahm's been running from a widespread call for his resignation.

After a year of an Obama Presidency stubbornly perched over the great bipartisan divide, Rahm is taking the heat for the lingering perception that the White House has fallen down on every issue they've taken up. And that they've taken up with a few too many special interests. (Instead of falling on his sword, Rahm has resorted to pointing fingers through his Washington Post surrogates.)

President Obama finally stepped away from the bipartisan divide and turned to his base in a combative call for an immediate vote on health care reform legislation. Obama forcibly took up the DEM's agenda today because he believes that this reform is best for all Americans. This may signal a way back for the DEMs for 2010.

I started thinking about the Overton Window after reading this 2006 DKos diary some months back ~

the GOP knows that the middle DOES matter. They know that by playing to their base in very well-crafted ways, they can shift the very definition of what the middle is. By introducing radicalism into the public discourse (and taking initial heat for it), whatever used to be radical within this context becomes moderate by comparison.

Use health insurance reform as an example. An Overton shift strategy for the DEMs would have been to initially put the 'radical' idea of single payer (and eliding private health insurance) on the table. With the goal being a shift in a general public understanding and acceptance of alternatives to the private insurance industry, single payer is eventually dropped in favor of the public health care insurance option. Because Rahm Emanuel feared the wrath of big health insurance et al (or perhaps because he coveted their ready pocketbook) single payer was never even introduced as an option.

The DKos diarist showed how the GOP took up the extremist notion of homeschooling to make their agenda items, vouchers and tuition tax credits, seem innocuous by comparison. The GOP was successful in strategically shifting public perception and acceptance toward their right wing pubic policy agenda ~

Systematically, piece by piece, the GOP takes what had been considered impossibly radical positions and makes them worthy of consideration just by talking about them--and then makes what had been considered outside possibilities truly possible. Now, I happen to believe that legalization of homeschooling is a good thing (though there should be oversight)--others may disagree. But the important thing to remember is that the Republicans are carrying out this same exercise with every public policy debate today--from invading Iran to making birth control illegal to eliminating Social Security. The once unthinkable becomes possible--and they don't care if they take some heat for it initially.
To finish:

Step by step, ideas that were once radical or unthinkable --homeschooling, tuition tax credits, and vouchers -- have moved into normal public discourse. Homeschooling is popular, tuition tax credits are sensible, and vouchers are acceptable. (On the latter, they've been soundly defeated in Michigan of late, but the point is that they are a part of normal public and political discourse.) The de facto illegality of homeschooling, by contrast, has gone the way of the dodo. The conscious decision to shift the Overton window is yielding its results.

Why can't it be a strategy for success for the DEMs agenda too? ~

To win, we must sway the middle by playing to the base--and we must understand that this is a difficult and heavily calculated process that requires time, money and manpower.

To win, we must realize the power of the Overton Window, and stop kowtowing to the antiquated thinking that pits the Middle versus the Base.

To win, we must understand that there is no conflict between playing to the middle and the base--so long as our messaging is clear and well-crafted, and our positions are principled, memorable, and consistent.

Today, Dan Froomkin painted an unhappy image of Emanuel killing his own party while cowering under his fear of the GOP ~

The Rahm Emanuel that Obama hired is the poster child for the timid, pseudo-pragmatism that is inimical to the idealistic Obama agenda so many excited voters responded to last November. And it's a pragmatism that is absolutely killing the Democratic Party in the long run, because American voters have an intrinsic distrust of politicians they see as tacking with the polls or shying away from a fight. This if nothing else is the lesson of two George W. Bush presidencies: American voters have a profoundly soft spot for people with clear, strongly-held principles, almost regardless of what those principles are.

Emanuel is a Bush Democrat - but not in that he has learned the lesson about the value of holding firmly to core values. He is a Bush Democrat in that he has allowed Republicans to traumatize him into submission. Emanuel operates on a battlefield as defined by Republicans, where the terrain is littered with the specter of imaginary but profoundly terrifying GOP attack ads. His reflexive approach is the strategic retreat. Most obviously in the current debate about health care, he has empowered the Democratic and centrist Republican obstructionists by validating their fear that come campaign time, they will be portrayed as radical -- even when they are supporting measures such as the public insurance option that have public support among a super-majority of voters.

Meanwhile, Dave Broder thinks Rahm is hurting Barack Obama ~

..."Rahm likes to win," and when the losses began to pile up, he probably vented his frustrations to some of his old pals in Congress.......some of Emanuel's friends are so eager to exonerate him that they are threatening to undermine the president.

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Who's Buying What The RNC Is Selling?

Super dumbed-down WTF???...
(Politico) Ben Smith reports ~ Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on 'fear'

[2010 RNC fundraising] strategy was detailed in a confidential party fundraising presentation, obtained by POLITICO, which also outlines how “ego-driven” wealthy donors can be tapped with offers of access and “tchochkes.”

..."What can you sell when you do not have the White House, the House, or the Senate...?" it asks. The answer: "Save the country from trending toward Socialism!”

Manipulating donors with crude caricatures and playing on their fears is hardly unique to Republicans or to the RNC – Democrats raised millions off George W. Bush in similar terms – but rarely is it practiced in such cartoonish terms.

One page, headed “The Evil Empire,” pictures Obama as the Joker from Batman, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leaders Harry Reid are depicted as Cruella DeVille and Scooby Doo, respectively.

The document, which two Republican sources said was prepared by the party’s finance staff

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Ted Kaufman Is Determined To Make His Mark On High Frequency Trading Reforms

(presser)

Kaufman Cites Rising Concern over High Frequency Trading Among Regulatory Agencies, Market Participants
Delaware senator calls "burgeoning" cancellation orders "clearly excessive"

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) called attention Tuesday to growing concern among financial regulators and market participants over changes in the global equity markets, including the recent upsurge in high frequency trading.

High frequency trading permits traders to buy and sell stocks in microseconds, using mathematically complex algorithms. A large number of those trades are never executed, however, but involve cancelled orders employed by high frequency traders to capture virtually “risk-free” trading opportunities or, worse, as feints and indications of misdirection in order to manipulate prices or other trading algorithms.

Long-concerned that the rise in high frequency trading has left U.S. regulators blind to strategies that now dominate market volume, Kaufman laid out five priorities for the Securities and Exchange Commission to improve investor confidence in the credibility of our financial markets.

In particular, he said the SEC should address the "burgeoning" number of order cancellations involved in high frequency trading, which, he added, are "clearly excessive" and virtually a "prima facia" case that battles between competing algorithms have become "all too commonplace, overloading the system and regulators alike."

Kaufman has spoken out frequently on the need for greater market transparency, particularly given the rise of high frequency trading, which now constitutes upwards of 70 percent of U.S. market volume.

“I am concerned recent changes in our markets have outpaced regulatory understanding and, accordingly, pose a threat to the stability and credibility of our equities markets,” Kaufman said in a speech on the Senate floor. "Chief among these is high frequency trading." Last year, he added, "I felt a little lonely raising these concerns. But this year, I'm starting to have plenty of company."

Beginning with a Jan. 13 ‘concept release’ by the SEC on a wide range of market structure issues, Kaufman also cited comments by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Great Britain’s Financial Services Secretary, Paul Myners, as well as private research and trading firms which have raised red flags about the potential for systemic risk and market manipulation inherent in high frequency trading.

Kaufman's five priorities for the SEC are as follows:

• Provide timely guidance on new market practices, like co-location and naked access — before they become too widespread.
  
• Use its ‘large trader’ authority to require the tagging and disclosure of high frequency trading, then mask it and release it to the marketplace so there can be independent analysis by academics and others on the effects of high frequency trading on long-term investors.
  
• Better define ‘manipulative’ market activity and provide clear guidance for traders to follow, just as the UK has declared “spoofing” to be a deceitful trading
  strategy.
  
• Continue to make the reduction of systemic and operational risk a top priority.
  
• Address the growing number of order cancellations.

Kaufman also called on the high frequency trading industry to “come to the table” and play a meaningful role addressing current market issues.

Said Kaufman: “We all must work together, in the interests of liquidity, efficiency, transparency and fairness, to ensure our markets are the strongest and best-regulated in the world. But we cannot have one without the other – for markets to be strong, they must be well-regulated.”

Full remarks as entered into the Congressional Record:

REGULATORS NEED BETTER DATA TO PREVENT MARKET MANIPULATION - March 2, 2010

Mr. President, I have spoken on the Senate floor many times about the importance of transparency in our markets. Without transparency, there is little hope for effective regulation. And without effective regulation, the very credibility of our markets is threatened.

But I am concerned recent changes in our markets have outpaced regulatory understanding and, accordingly, pose a threat to the stability and credibility of our equities markets. Chief among these is high frequency trading.

Over the past few years, the daily volume of stocks trading in microseconds — the hallmark of high frequency trading — has exploded from 30 to 70 percent of the U.S. market. Money and talent are surging into a high frequency trading industry that is red hot, expanding daily into other financial markets not just in the United States but in global capital markets as well.

High frequency trading strategies are pervasive on today's Wall Street, which is fixated on short-term trading profits. Thus far, our regulators have been unable to shed much light on these opaque and dark markets, in part because of their limited understanding of the various types of high frequency trading strategies. Needless to say, I’m very worried about that.

Last year, I felt a little lonely raising these concerns.

But this year, I’m starting to have plenty of company.

On January 13th, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a 74-page Concept Release to solicit comments on a wide-range of market structure issues. The document raised a number of important questions about the current state of our equities markets, including “Does implementation of a specific [high frequency trading] strategy benefit or harm market structure performance and the interests of long-term investors?” and, “Do commenters believe that the overall use of harmful strategies by proprietary firms is sufficiently widespread that the Commission should consider a regulatory initiative to address the problem?”

Among other potential sources of unfairness, the Commission noted that “short-term price volatility may harm individual investors if they are persistently unable to react to changing prices as fast as high frequency traders.”

Finally, the SEC called attention to trading strategies that are potentially manipulative, including momentum ignition strategies in which “the proprietary firm may initiate a series of orders and trades (along with perhaps spreading false rumors in the marketplace) in an attempt to ignite a rapid price move either up or down. For example, the trader may intend that the rapid submission and cancellation of many orders, along with the execution of some trades, will ‘spoof’ the algorithms of other traders into action and cause them to buy ([or] sell) more aggressively.”

The SEC went on to ask, “Does…the speed of trading and ability to generate a large amount of orders across multiple trading centers render this type of strategy more of a problem today?”

Mr. President, the SEC raised many critical questions in its concept release, and I appreciate that the SEC is trying to undertake a baseline review.

As its comment period moves forward, I am pleased to report that other regulators and market participants, both at home and abroad, have taken notice of the global equity markets' recent changes, including the rise in high frequency trading.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, in the March 2010 issue of its Chicago Fed Letter, argued that the rise of high frequency trading constitutes a systemic risk, asserting “The high frequency trading environment has the potential to generate errors and losses at a speed and magnitude far greater than that in a floor or screen-based trading environment.” In other words, high frequency trading firms are currently locked into a technological arms race that may result in some big disasters.

Citing a number of instances in which trading errors have occurred, the Chicago Fed stated that “a major issue for regulators and policymakers is the extent to which high frequency trading, unfiltered sponsored access and co-location amplify risks, including systemic risk, by increasing the speed at which trading errors or fraudulent trades can occur.”

Moreover, the letter cautions us about the potential for future high frequency trading errors, arguing, “Although algorithmic trading errors have occurred, we likely have not yet seen the full breadth, magnitude, and speed with which they can be generated. Furthermore, many such errors may be hidden from public view because a large number of high frequency trading firms are privately held, rely on proprietary technology, and have no customers.”

There is action internationally as well. On February 4th, Great Britain's Financial Services Secretary, Paul Myners, announced that British regulators were also conducting an ongoing examination of high frequency trading practices, stating, “People are coming to me, both market users and intermediaries, saying that they have concerns about high frequency trading…High frequency trading is a very new development. Does that have consequences that regulators need to be focusing on?”

This development comes on the heels of another British effort targeting so-called “spoofing” or “layering” strategies in which traders feign interest in buying or selling a stock in order to manipulate its price. In order to deter such trading practices, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced that it would fine or suspend participants who engage in market manipulation. The revamped enforcement effort is partly intended to more clearly define manipulative activity. Noting that some market participants may not be sure that spoofing or layering is wrong, an FSA spokeswoman said, "This is to clarify that it is.”

In Australia, market participants are also requesting clearer definitions of market manipulation, particularly with regard to momentum strategies like spoofing. In a review of algorithmic trading published February 8th, the Australian Securities Exchange called on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to, “Ensure that…market manipulation provisions…are adequately drafted to capture contemporary forms of trading and provide a more granular definition of market manipulation.”

Mr. President, high frequency trading poses two risks: systemic risk to the market and the risk of manipulation. As the Chicago Fed stated, it is high time that we weigh the risk of major high frequency trading errors against the supposed “efficiency” benefits of cutting down trading speeds by several milliseconds.

The risk of an algorithmic trading error wreaking havoc on our equities markets is only magnified by so-called “naked,” or unfiltered sponsored access arrangements, which allow traders to interact on markets directly — without being subject to standard pre-trade filters or risk controls.

Robert Colby, the former deputy director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, warned last September that naked access leaves the marketplace vulnerable to faulty algorithms. In a speech given at a forum on the future of high frequency trading, which was cited by the Chicago Federal Reserve’s recent letter, Mr. Colby stated that hundreds of thousands of trades representing billions of dollars could occur in the two minutes it could take for a broker-dealer to cancel an erroneous order executed through naked access.

According to a report released December 14th by the research firm Aite Group, naked access now accounts for a staggering 38% of the market’s average daily volume compared to 9% only four years ago.

Let me reiterate that: almost FORTY percent of the market’s volume is executed by high frequency traders interacting directly on exchanges without being subject to any pre-trade risk monitoring.

In January, the SEC acted to address this ominous trend by proposing mandatory pre-trade risk checks for those participating in sponsored access arrangements. This move would essentially eliminate naked access, and I applaud the SEC for its proposal.

While I am pleased that the SEC has taken on naked access and has issued a concept release on market structure issues, there is much work that still needs to be done in order to gain a better understanding of high frequency trading strategies and the risks of frontrunning and manipulation they may create. In the last few months, several industry studies aimed at defining the benefits and drawbacks of high frequency trading have emerged. While these studies may not be the equivalent of peer-reviewed academic studies, they do have the credibility of real-world market experts. And they begin to shed light on the opaque and largely unregulated high frequency trading strategies that dominate today’s marketplace.

In addition to the Aite Group study, reports by the research firm, Quantitative Services Group (QSG), the investment banking firm, Jefferies Company, the dark pool operator, Investment Technology Group (ITG), and the institutional brokerage firm, Themis Trading, all raise troubling concerns about the costs of high frequency trading to investors and reinforce the need for enhanced regulatory oversight of these trading practices.

Last November, QSG analyzed the degree to which orders placed by institutional investors are vulnerable to high frequency trading strategies. Large investors typically seek to break up their orders into a series of smaller ones in order to hide their trading interest and avoid price swings.

Despite this tactic, QSG found that institutional order flow is very susceptible to high frequency predators who sniff out such order flow and trade ahead of it.

Specifically, the study concluded that splitting large orders into several smaller ones not only enhances the risk of unfavorable changes in price, but also increases, “the chances of leaving a statistical footprint that can be exploited by the ‘tape reading’ HFT algorithms.” While traders have long tried to trade ahead of large institutional orders, they now have the technology and models to make an exact science out of it.

A second QSG study released on February 11th analyzed changes in price that occur minutes after a large order is filled. According to the study, institutional investors routinely experience unfavorable price movements while attempting to make a transaction only to see prices move 25 percent in a more favorable direction once the sale is completed. This outcome is evidence of high frequency strategies that act "as a motivated competitor for liquidity, not a supplier," the study’s press release says.

In a study put forth on November 3rd, the Jefferies Company examined the advantages high frequency traders gain by co-locating their computer servers next to exchanges and subscribing directly to market data feeds.

Jefferies estimates that these advantages afford high frequency traders a 100 to 200 millisecond advantage over those relying on standard data providers.

Under such conditions, Jefferies concludes, high frequency traders enjoy “(almost) risk-free arbitrage opportunities.”

A Themis Trading white paper released in December elaborated on Jefferies’ conclusion, noting that the combination of speed and informational advantages allow high frequency traders to “know with near certainty what the market will be milliseconds ahead of everybody else.”

Themis estimates this ability to essentially predict the future and trade ahead of unsuspecting investors translates into $6 to $12 million a day for high frequency traders employing these predatory strategies, or roughly $1.5 to $3 billion a year in “profit generated from traditional institutional and retail investor assets under management.”

ITG, which runs the block trading dark pool POSIT, also conducted a study last November on predatory high frequency trading in dark pools.

ITG’s study warns that, “due to the overwhelming participation level of high frequency trading firms in dark pools, adverse selection is occurring much more frequently to the detriment of buyside participants,” who represent institutional investors, including pension and mutual funds.

Regulators need to determine whether institutional investors’ pockets are being picked in the dark pool, pennies at a time. The evidence shows that high frequency traders have models that effectively allow them to trade at the most optimal time, exploiting institutional investors with less sophisticated trade execution strategies. In the past, these dark pools were never accessible to high frequency traders, but now they appear to have virtually risk-free money-making opportunities there for the taking.

Equally troubling, ITG notes that the current market structure, conflicts of interest among some broker-dealers, and the lack of adequate quantitative methods and relevant data mean that poor executions are “often invisible” to buyside traders.

These findings demonstrate that some institutional investors, including those managing the pension and mutual funds of average Americans, may be failing not only to obtain best executions for their clients when trading in dark pools with high frequency traders, but are also unaware of this reality.

While concerns expressed by regulators and members of the industry have mounted, high frequency trading firms continue to enter and expand their presence in the marketplace. Recently, GETCO, a high frequency trading firm that already serves as a registered market-maker for NASDAQ and BATS Exchange, and represents as much as 10 to 20% of average daily trading volume according to various estimates, announced that it would become one of the New York Stock Exchange’s “designated market makers.”

As high frequency traders carve out an increasingly dominant role in the market, the lack of transparency into their trading practices looms as a reminder of the troubling gaps in our regulatory framework.

Mr. President, the studies and papers I have mentioned underscore the need for the SEC to implement stricter reporting and disclosure requirements for high frequency traders under its “large trader” authority, as Chairman Mary Schapiro promised she would in a letter to me on December 3rd. We need tagging of high frequency trading orders and next day disclosure to the regulators, and we need it now.

Mr. President, for investors to have confidence in the credibility of our markets, regulators must vigorously pursue a robust framework that maintains strong, fair and transparent markets. The regulators owe it to investors and the American public to actively address these problems. I would make five points.

First, the regulators must get back in the business of providing guidance to market participants on acceptable trading practices and strategies. While the formal rule-making process is a critical component of any robust regulatory framework, so too are timely guidelines that bring clarity and stability to the marketplace. Co-location, flash orders and naked access are just a few practices that seem to have entered the market and become fairly widespread before being subject to proper regulatory scrutiny. For our markets to be credible, it is vital that regulators be pro-active, rather than reactive, when future evelopments arise.

Second, the SEC must gain a better understanding of current trading strategies by using its “large trader” authority to gather data on high frequency trading activity. Just as importantly, this data – once masked – should be made available to the public for others to analyze.

I am concerned that academics and other independent market analysts do not have access to the data they need to conduct empirical studies on the questions raised by the SEC in its concept release. Absent such data, the ongoing market structure review predictably will receive mainly self-serving comments from high frequency traders themselves and from other market participants who compete for high frequency volume and market share.

Evidence-based rule-making should not be a one-way ratchet because all the "evidence" is provided by those whom the SEC is charged with regulating. We need the SEC to require tagging and disclosure of high frequency trades so that objective and independent analysts — at FINRA, in academia or elsewhere — are given the opportunity to study and discern what effects high frequency trading strategies have on long-term investors; they can also help determine which strategies should be considered manipulative.

hird, regulators must better define manipulative activity and provide clear guidance for traders to follow, just as Britain’s regulators have done in the area of spoofing. By providing “rules of the road,” regulators can create a system better able to prevent and prosecute manipulative activity.

Fourth, the SEC must continue to make reducing systemic and operational risk a top regulatory priority. The SEC’s proposal on naked access is a good first step, but exchanges must also be directed to impose universal pre-trade risk checks. If left solely in the hands of individual broker-dealers, a race to the bottom might ensue. We simply must have a level playing field when it comes to risk management that protects our equities markets from fat fingers or faulty algorithms. Regulators must therefore ensure that firms have appropriate operational risk controls to minimize the incidence and magnitude of such errors while also preventing a tidal wave of copycat strategies from potentially wreaking havoc in our equities markets.

Fifth, the SEC should act to address the burgeoning number of order cancellations in the equities markets. While cancellations are not inherently bad – potentially enhancing liquidity by affording automated traders greater flexibility when posting quotes – their use in today’s marketplace is clearly excessive and virtually a prima facie case that battles between competing algorithms, which use cancelled orders as feints and indications of misdirection, have become all-too-commonplace, overloading the system and regulators alike.

According to the high frequency trading firm T3Live, on a recent trading day only 1.247 billion of the 89.704 billion orders on Nasdaq’s book were executed – meaning a whopping 98.6% of the total bids and offers were not filled. Cancellations by high frequency traders, according to T3Live, were responsible for the bulk of these unfilled orders.

The high frequency traders that create such massive cancellation rates might cause market data costs for nvestors to rise, make the price discovery process less efficient and complicate the regulators’ understanding of continuously evolving trading strategies. What’s more, some manipulative strategies, including layering, rely on the ability to rapidly cancel orders in order to profit from changes in price.

Perhaps excessive cancellation rates should carry a charge. If traders exceed a specified ratio of cancellations to orders, it’s only fair that they pay a fee. The ratio could be set high enough so that it would not affect long-term investors (even day traders), and should apply to all trading platforms, including dark pools and ATSs as well as exchanges.

The high-frequency traders who rely on massive cancellations are using up more bandwidth and putting more stress on the data centers. Attempts to reign in cancellations or impose charges are not without precedent. In fact they have already been implemented in derivatives markets where overall volume is a small fraction of the volume in cash market for stocks. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s volume ratio test and the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange’s bandwidth usage
policy both represent attempts to reign in excessive cancellations and might provide a helpful model for regulators wishing to do the same.

Finally, the high frequency trading industry must come to the table and play a constructive role in resolving current issues in the marketplace, including preventing manipulation and managing risk. In order to maintain fair and transparent markets and avoid unintended consequences, market participants from across the industry must contribute to the regulatory process. I am pleased that a number of responsible firms are stepping forward in a constructive way, both in educating the SEC and me and my staff. I look forward to continue to working with these industry players.

Mr. President, we all must work together, in the interests of liquidity, efficiency, transparency and fairness to ensure our markets are the strongest and best-regulated in the world. But we cannot have onewithout the other – for markets to be strong, they must be well-regulated. So with this reality in mind, I look forward to working with my colleagues, regulatory agencies, and people from across the financial industry to ensure our markets are free, credible and the envy of the world.

Mr. President, I ask that links to some of the studies and reports I have mentioned be included in the record.

www.qsg.com

“Liquidity Charge® & Price Reversals: Is High Frequency Trading Adding Insult to Injury?” February 11, 2010
“Beware of the VWAP Trap,” November 11, 2009

http://www.themistrading.com/article_files/0000/0519/THEMIS_TRADING_White_Paper_--_Latency_Arbitrage_--_December_4__2009.pdf

http://www.itg.com/news_events/papers/AdverseSelectionDarkPools_113009F.pdf

http://www.aitegroup.com/reports/200912141.php

http://www.asx.com.au/about/pdf/20100211_review_algorithmic_trading_and_market_access.pdf

http://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/publications/chicago_fed_letter/2010/cflmarch2010_272.pdf




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