Author: Matthew G. Saroff

What a Whiny Bitch

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So it appears that Barack “Panders to Wingnuts” Obama, took it upon himself to call call Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers to ask him to stop “demeaning” him publicly disagreeing with him on issues like healthcare and Afghanistan:

President Barack Obama recently called Rep. John Conyers Jr. to express his frustrations with the Judiciary Committee chairman’s criticism.

In an interview with The Hill, Conyers said his opinions of Obama’s policies on healthcare reform and the war in Afghanistan have not sat well with the president.

According to the lawmaker, the president picked up the phone several weeks ago to find out why Conyers was “demeaning” him.

Obama’s decision to challenge Conyers highlights a sensitivity to criticism the president has taken on the left. Conyers’s critical remarks, many of which have been reported on the liberal-leaning Huffington Post, appear to have irritated the president, known for his calm demeanor.

Conyers, the second-longest-serving member of the House, said, “[Obama] called me and told me that he heard that I was demeaning him and I had to explain to him that it wasn’t anything personal, it was an honest difference on the issues. And he said, ‘Well, let’s talk about it.’”

Note that Conyers was the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Obama, and spent much of 2007 and 2008 campaigning for him, but he is now saying things like, “Calling in generals and admirals to discuss troop strength is like me taking my youngest to McDonald’s to ask if he likes french fries,” which is pretty funny, when you think of it.

Shadenfreude

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Remember when I talked about the folks at AIG who were threatening to leave because the Pay Czar wants to limit their pay to just $½ million?

Well, one of the most vociferous opponents of the pay limits, AIG General Counsel, Anastasia Kelly, has been informed that her services are no longer required.

Considering her history, that, “before joining the bankrupt firm, was a GC at such reputable organizations as MCI/WorldCon (sic) and Fannie Mae,” I’m not sure why anyone would require her services ever.

Heh.

As I’ve said before: The US government is a majority shareholder in the insurance firm, and as such, it should be making it clear to the board of AIG that they would enforce non-compete agreements to the fullest extent of the law.

Senate Dems Cave on Public Option

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It’s not like Harry Reid and Barack “Status Quo O” Obama were ever really interested in change, so the Senate killing the public option is hardly a surprise, though it is a bummer.

What did they get in response? Well it appears that they got the ability for people aged 55-65 to who are making not more than 150% of poverty buy into Medicare, at an cost per individual around $625/month.

That’s pretty weak tea.

Well, at least the Dems told Ben Nelson to pound sand on his abortion restrictions, and killed his amendment.

My expectation is that this will get a lot worse as time goes on, and it will get a lot worse in conference committee, and Barack Obama will be able to sign his piece of toilet paper.

Economics Update

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The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose for 7th straight month in November, as did the Japanese coincident indicator index for the month of October.

On the other side of the coin, the National Federation of Independent Businesses is reporting that small business optimism fell in November, and a recent poll is showing that Americans are becoming more pessimistic about the economy, and the Australian consumer is in a foul mood too.

In real estate, by dint of many government efforts to reinflate the bubble, Freddie Mac is reporting that home prices are up for the 2nd straight quarter.

So, we can expect more tax credits and suchlike in order to put off a final day of reckoning.

We had a major monkey wrench thrown into the the works of international finance today, when Fitch’s downgraded Greece’s credit rating from A- to BBB+, which has spooked the markets generally, most notably this news has pushed the Euro lower, with investors moving to the dollar and Yen, mostly the Yen, the dollar was up vs the € and down vs the ¥, looking for a safe haven.

Additionally, an update on Japan’s GDP numbers for the 3rd quarter slashed growth from the initial reading of 4.8% to 1.3%.

The rising dollar, along with reports of strong inventories, drove oil to below $73/bbl.

I Spoke Too Soon

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It looks like Barack Obama’s pay Czar will back down on pay restrictions:

Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. paymaster for rescued companies, will exempt some executives at American International Group Inc. from a $500,000 salary cap after at least five employees threatened to quit because of the limits, people familiar with the matter said.

Feinberg may issue a ruling as early as next week on pay limits for 75 of the bailed-out insurer’s executives, the people said. Last week, five executives said they were prepared to resign if their compensation was significantly cut, according to the people, who declined to be named because the talks are ongoing. Two have since retracted the threat, the people said.

I kind of expected it from “Status Quo O”, change you can’t believe in.

The Never Ending Battle of Obama and His Evil Minions&trade Against LGBT Civil Rights Continues….

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I Can’t, It Might Offend Bigots

Remember when I wrote that a political appointee at the Office of Personnel Management was instructing insurance companies not to write a policy for a woman’s wife in California, despite an instruction from the courts to do so?

Well, now Director of the Office of Personnel Management,and Obama political appointee John Berry is saying that he won’t follow the court order because he has no authority to do so.

Dude, when a court gives you an order, you cannot claim that you don’t have any authority.

You can appeal and ask for a stay, but that’s it. A court order is the authority to do so.

Don’t Let the Door Hit Your Ass on the Way Out

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Senior executives at AIG are threatening to quit if the pay Czar cuts their salaries.

The appropriate response here is, “Fine …… Go …… But we will scrupulously enforce your non-compete contracts, so if you go to a competitor who has had dealings with AIG, or with a firm that would benefit from your knowledge of AIG we will go after you.”

Note that this means pretty much everyone in high finance world wide.

So, In Addition to Screwing With Healthcare Reform and Covering Up Pedophile Priests

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The Catholic Church is laundering money:

The Vatican Bank is under investigation for alleged involvement in a money-laundering scheme using accounts at one of Italy’s largest banks, according to a weekly investigative magazine.

Panorama reports that officials from the Bank of Italy’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) have identified transactions worth up to €180 million (£160 million) that allegedly violated anti-money-laundering regulations in accounts held at a UniCredit branch in Via della Conciliazione, next to St Peter’s Basilica. Prosecutors in Rome, led by Nello Rossi and Stefano Rocco Fava, are reported to be working with a special unit of the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian tax police, to investigate the bank — which is formally known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR).

At this rate, I figure that we will discover that the Catholic Church will be fingered as the malevolent power behind the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rating system that determines bowl games in NCAA football.

Ass Covering: Secretary of the Treasury Edition

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So, now that there are an increasing number of people calling for his scalp, Timothy “Eddie Haskell” Geithner is talking tough about the banks:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner disputed claims by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executives that the bank could have survived the financial crisis without government help and said it and other Wall Street firms should show some restraint in handing out bonuses this year.

“It is very important that we change the way these executives are paid, the form of compensation, this year,” Geithner said in an interview yesterday for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” which is being aired throughout the weekend. “We have to end that era of irresponsibly high bonuses.”

So, the guy who, until now, said very little about bank pay, and:

Now he’s saying that none of the banks were solvent, and that they all survived only through government largess, and that they are overpaying their staff.

This is all about the calls to can him getting louder, not any “road to Damascus” moment.

Wishing That I Was a Brit

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Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will be levying a tax on excessive bonuses:

Alistair Darling will try to force a “permanent culture shift” in the City as he announces a one-off punitive super-tax of more than 50% on the bonuses of tens of thousands of bankers as the centrepiece of the pre-budget report.

The chancellor intends his targeted, one-off levy as a clear message that the City has to “start living in the real world” as the financial sector prepares to lavish hefty payouts on its staff.

The new super-tax rate will be aimed at any bonus above a fixed rate, rather than the basic salary of the employee. It is intended to hit many thousands of bankers, but low-paid staff in bank branches will be exempt.

The tax will be set higher than the 50% income tax rate coming in from April for those earning more than £150,000 a year, sources indicate.

Needless to say, the bankers don’t like this, calling the measure, “populist, political and penal.”

I think that they meant the statement as a condemnation, but I found it to be a complement, though I do like the alliteration.

The details are not clear, but I would suggest something on the order of 93% of anything in excess of £400,000.

You Know, This Might Bother Me Too…… If I Were an 8 Year Old

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8 Year old, see Emotional Maturity of

So, when Barack Obama gave his speech on Afghanistan, he preempted a showing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and the Mayor of Arlington, Tennessee decided to throw a hissy fit on his Facebook page:

“Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch ‘The Charlie Brown Christmas Special’ and our muslim president is there, what a load…..try to convince me that wasn’t done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it….when the answer should simply be ‘yes’….”

Yes, A Charlie Brown Christmas was on that Tuesday, and yes, it was preempted, and yes, it’s among the most sincere of the Christmas specials out there, but this sort of crap is beneath maturity level of a 9-year old, particularly when it’s showing tomorrow and next Tuesday too.

Economics Update

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Falling Consumer Credit, H/t Calculated Risk

So, consumer credit continues its decline, down $3.51 billion in October, a 1.7% annual rate, so the 70% of the economy that is consumer spending is still contracting in what exonomists call the “paradox of thrift.”

In energy, oil fell to less than $74/bbl, while in currency, the dollar hit a 5-week high, largely on the employment numbers from last week.

Good News for Me

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H/t Calculated Risk

It appears that there has been a surge in temporary hires, which, considering that I have been doing technical temping over the past 16 years, is a very good thing™:

A surge in temporary employment was one of the encouraging aspects of a Labor Department report issued [last] Friday. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 10 percent in November. Overall job losses fell to just 11,000 while temporary jobs grew by 52,000 in the fourth consecutive monthly increase in this bellwether category.

Temp help tends to lead changes in permanent employment, and I’ve noticed an uptick in submittals, despite it being the post-Thanksgiving doldrums.

Hopefully, this means that I will shortly have less time for my blog.

Sellout

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So, Obama gave a speech to Senators in the Democratic Caucus in order to whip up support for birth control.

I think that what is more interesting is not what he said, but what he did not say:

“Well, he didn’t mention either abortion or the public option,” said Harkin, a strong backer of the public option and a chairman of the health committee. “He just laid out in very stark terms for us what the future would be if we didn’t pass [health care reform]. I think he’s right. I think it would be devastating. Not just for us as a party, I think for the hope that people have that we’re going to actually make these changes. To fail at this would just again be another one of those things where people say, ‘See, Washington doesn’t work. Washington can’t get anything done. We gave the Democrats all that power and nothing happens.’ And it would be depressing to people. We want to be more hopeful, we want to give people hope. So I thought his message on that was right on target.“

I think that the idea of relying on Barack Obama for meaningful healthcare, or for that matter support of abortion strong abortion rights, is a losing proposition.

He is more interested in signing something (keep him away from toilet paper) with the mane “healthcare reform” on it.

On the matter of abortion, as I noted 2 years ago, he is not willing to lend anything more than lip service to defending abortion rights.

He will do the right thing only if the pressure from his own party leaves him no other alternative.