Carney: Obama Doesn't Want McConnell Deal, He Wants Big Cuts. 'Bigger Is Better'

My little op-ed

The problem is that we all know that there will have to be changes in Medicare and Social Security, because it is sloppy and wasteful. Everybody has a fit with the idea of raising the retirement age, but for those who already have their SS and Medicare, Republicans say it will not affect those, I do not know if i believe them, yet I am not so sure about what the Dems are preaching either.  I myself do not get gobs of money, I have to live on $665.00 a month. Not alot can't even get a little place of my own.  I can't afford a cut, and there are those worse off then I am, some of them have children, lost their homes, not enough to eat, no health care, no doctors.  And the Republicans think if they cut off the aid that, that will force people to go to work.  The problem with that is THERE ARE NO JOBS, no one is hiring, and they are not hiring those out of work, that is discrimination, the worst kind.  There are those that have been out of work for two years, and all I hear is the Republicans will not give up the subsidies to the rich, oil companies, and corporations.  Those are their pet projects that is where they get their spending monies.  I am so mad, no one wants to be square and step up to plate and do what is right and what we the PEOPLE know and understand, what needs to be done.  They would rather cause a disaster, so profound that our country would slide off the scale of humanity. 

How can we the PEOPLE, make a difference, make those Washington idiots that we call congress(Dem and Repub) notice us and listen.  Maybe we should take them hostage, make them live the way we do. Take away all those fancy things they love, the medical, their homes, their car, and lastly their wages.  Make them file for food stamps, medicaid, and stand in long lines for unemployment checks, or make some of them live the way the 99ers do, in homeless shelters, in tents, scrounging for food. At this point, I am one person, I need PEOPLE who will help stand for our rights, freedom, guaranteed by the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. And Lord, not the Tea Party, they would take us back to slavery if they could, they believe black people have no rights, they believe all immigrants should be returned to their former country.  And they believe that women should be bare foot and pregnant, at all times.  No abortion, no public schools, no college educations for the middle class,no regulations on business, no unions, no child labor laws, no voting freedom,  We need to take a stand, before the middle class disappears, before what we had as children no longer exists for our children's children.  LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SPREAD THE WORD, LETS GET SOME MOVEMENT ON THIS.  We are better than what the Republicans and the Tea Party think of us.

 

 

July 14, 2011 10:00 AM

By Susie Madrak

So is multimillionaire President Obama is something different than a Third Way-loving neoliberal? I can't wait to hear multimillionaire talking head Lawrence O'Donnell explain this one:

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Wednesday closed the door a little more on the debt proposal being floated by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) [Ed. note: apprx. $17 million; wife Elaine Chao, board member of Wells Fargo and other boards, compensation unknown], a measure already under siege by conservatives.
"This is not a preferred option," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney [Ed. note: annual salary $172K, married to ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman, believed to be $700K per annum] said of McConnell's proposal in his daily briefing.
McConnell's proposal for avoiding debt default -- to transfer full power to raise the debt ceiling to the White House for the remainder of Obama's current term, cutting Congress out of the process -- does nothing to address deficit reduction, Carney said. And Obama is set on making sizable cuts.
"The president is firmly committed to significant cuts in spending and to dealing with our deficit and debt problems in a balanced way," he said. "Bigger is better. ... It's an opportunity for a game-changer, to put the United States on much firmer ground as we really get into the 21st century and the economic competition that confronts us."

You got that, people? This is from the White House press secretary: "Bigger is better." You say "rope-a-dope," I say "watch your wallets."
Yes, I get the alleged end game. I know that 60 of the GOP freshmen have signed the "no tax" pledge of unelected Koch legbreaker and unindicted Jack Abramoff bagman Grover Norquist [born wealthy, trust fund baby who earns $200K annually from part-time job directing Americans for Tax Reform and other miscellaneous income; married to PR flak Samah Alrayyes Norquist, income unknown], which means that at least 38 Democrats have to sign onto any debt ceiling deal. So surely House Dems would use that leverage to protect Social Security and Medicare, right?
The problem here is, President Obama really likes that old-time DLC religion. He keeps telling us he actually wants a Republican grand bargain on Social Security and Medicare (let's not forget the Catfood Commission), and has a track record of pushing House Democrats to bend over for things they'd rather not.
Hey, maybe I'm wrong. I hope so. But since we've known all along that the Republicans would never actually allow a default, wouldn't the real stroke of 11-dimensional progressive genius have been to refuse to negotiate at all? To say, "People are hurting enough and this deficit talk is a manufactured crisis"? Nope. He wants these deep austerity cuts. He'll do whatever he can to get them.
P.S. I thought I would add a little perspective to the debate over cutting "only" $1200 a year from women in their 90s who make less than $15,000 a year.

Disaster in the Desert (This Week with Christiane Amanpour)

Drought strikes Somalia and one of the largest refugee camps in the world.

07/17/2011

 

Murdoch's Media Mess (This Week with Christiane Amanpour)

New Yorker media columnist Ken Auletta analyzes the hacking scandal.

07/17/2011

 

Roundtable: The Politics of the Debt Debate (This Week with Christiane Amanpour)

George Will, Cokie Roberts, Matthew Dowd, Jon Karl, and Rep. Raul Labrador.

07/17/2011

 

Interview with Jacob Lew (This Week with Christiane Amanpour)

White House budget director gives the latest status on the budget negotiations.

07/17/2011

 

Interview with Senator Jon Kyl (This Week with Christiane Amanpour)

Top Republican in budget negotiations outlines the GOP stance on debt ceiling.

07/17/2011

 

 

'Big Deal': $4T Budget Cut Package on Table, Sources Say

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By DAVID KERLEY (@David_Kerley) and JORDYN PHELPS

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2011

With the country's credit card about to be cancelled, the White House said today there is still time to cobble together a "big deal" to lower the deficit.
President Obama's budget director, Jack Lew, says even though only a few days remain to start the legislative process to raise the debt ceiling, he is confident something will be approved.
"I believe the debt will be extended," he said on ABC's "This Week." "I think notwithstanding the voices of a few who are willing to play with Armageddon, responsible leaders in Washington are not."
And it does appear the "big deal" is back on the table. Capitol Hill sources tell ABC News that Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner are again talking about reducing the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next decade or so. Boehner reportedly wants the president to lay out specific cuts to entitlement programs. But many Republicans doubt such a plan can get through Congress.
Over the weekend the two leaders in the Senate continued to devise a "plan B" to avert the country from potentially defaulting.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Barack Obama answers questions on...

 

"That's what the Senate is proceeding with," Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona said this morning on ABC's "This Week with Christiane Amanpour." "Now, the House of Representatives has to make its decision about what it will do. But I'm simply answering your question, at the end of the day, I don't think there will be a default."
The plan would give the president the authority to raise the country's debt ceiling, while allowing Congress to avoid having to directly vote for the measure.
"It takes the pressure off all the politicians, but it allows us to pass a debt limit without making the hard choices that this country has to make," Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said this morning on CBS' "Face the Nation."
The standoff between Republicans and Democrats is led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and a group of other Republicans on Capitol Hill who refuse to consider tax increases as part of the deal.
While many Republicans refuse to consider tax hikes, some Democrats are unwilling to compromise on entitlement programs. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says she won't accept a deal that includes cuts to entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Though many throughout the country are calling for Washington to strike a deal, both Cantor and Pelosi are getting some support from the constituents in their home districts.
While some within Cantor's Virginia district are calling for him to compromise, others say the majority leader should stand his ground.
"They need to hold the country to task, we need to pay our way out of debt," says Virginia resident Hugh Burkhart.
Similarly, Pelosi is receiving support from residents in her California district.
"She should only be willing to compromise if others are willing to come to the table with some compromise too," says California resident Gia Brazil.

The Last Honest Republican

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Alicia

 

Warren Buffet: GOP Threatening To 'Blow Your Brains Out' Over Debt Ceiling

 Posted on July 13, 2011 by Alicia

Why are Republicans selfishly playing Russian roulette at a time like this?

Ohio, Hit Hard by Foreclosure, Now at Epicenter of Fraud Crisis

By Annie Lowrey | 10.11.10 | 6:00 am

   

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray (ohioattorneygeneral.gov)

James Jones has spent the past five years trying to prevent foreclosures in Cleveland. Recently, his work as director of foreclosure prevention at the East Side Organizing Project, a community organizing group dedicated to improving neighborhood life in the city, has focused on targeting predatory lenders and trying to prevent banks from foreclosing on cash-strapped low-income borrowers.

[Economy1] “I’ve seen the foreclosure issue go from predatory loans, to subprime loans, to predatory loans, to an economic situation where folks have been laid off,” Jones explains. “And now we’re back to problems with paperwork.”

Ohio — and especially Cleveland — was hit earlier and worse by the foreclosure crisis than other states, due to widespread problems with predatory lending, an early economic downturn stemming from the loss of manufacturing jobs, and weak consumer-protection laws. Now, it is at the forefront of the foreclosure fraud crisis, with housing advocates and politicians calling for banks to halt evictions immediately and stop seizing homes.

The fraud scandal is complex. In September, a court case brought to light the existence of one Jeffrey Stephan, who worked for GMAC Mortgage, part of Ally Financial. Stephan attested that he signed as many as 10,000 foreclosure documents a month — one every minute or so. Soon, other revelations about banks using such “robosigners” to OK foreclosure documentation came to light.

The problem is, in 23 states, those robosigned documents went to a judge, who approved a final foreclosure, wherein the bank evicts a family and reclaims a house. Stephan and other signatories were meant to be carefully checking the information within and were giving the documents to the court as an affidavit, the equivalent of sworn testimony. The documents were not checked — meaning that the signers, and the banks they worked for, were defrauding the court. A judge ruled any such foreclosures to be illegitimate, sending a shudder through the housing markets. Banks started halting foreclosures in the 23 states that require judicial review. And the scandal has spiralled from there.

Officials in Ohio were among the first and the most aggressive in going after the banks making fraudulent foreclosures. On Sept. 30, Ohio’s secretary of state, Jennifer Brunner, told the state’s boards of elections not to use foreclosures to disqualify voters, under the premise that hundreds or even thousands of foreclosures in the state might be illegitimate. Then, last week, Richard Cordray, Ohio’s attorney general, filed a lawsuit against GMAC, seeking $25,000 for every violation of the state’s consumer-protection laws. It was the biggest and boldest legal action taken against mortgage companies since the crisis started unfolding.

“Some ugly revelations have recently come to light about how foreclosures are bring processed in this country,” Cordray said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It appears that, on a mass scale, many homeowners are being deprived of their property based on phony affidavits and without the due and proper processes of law. It is now becoming clear that fraud, deception and an utter disregard for accuracy are in part to blame for our national foreclosure disaster.”

In an interview with TWI, Cordray stressed that the problems were systemic and the violations serious. “What we’re talking about here is not just sloppy paperwork,” he said. “We’re talking about fraud in a court of law. The [foreclosure document signers] were lying under oath, to a judge. And there is evidence that this company has illegally ousted people from their private property, violating their property rights.”

Cordray did not just sue GMAC, but also wrote letters to other major banks, calling on them to investigate their foreclosure processes and to stop evicting families immediately. In intervening days, banks have stopped selling their previously repossessed properties, and have mostly halted the foreclosure and eviction process in Ohio.

The scandal came as no surprise to housing advocates in the state. “We had 90,000 foreclosure filings last year, and another 100,000 this year,” explains David Rothstein of the non-partisan think tank Policy Matters Ohio. “When we look at those statistics, and put our thinking caps on, you have to say, how were they processing all of these claims without bigger legal staffs and bank staffs? This wasn’t a surprise.”

He continues: “And there’s a tragic irony here. For five or ten years, the banks have said that the foreclosure crisis in this state is the borrowers’ fault. They bit off more than they could chew. It’s all their fault for buying expensive houses and then losing their jobs.

“But look at this! They’re taking people into foreclosure, without the right to do it! It is tragic. They were committing fraud, and were completely giving up their fiduciary responsibilities.”

Jones agrees. He explains that ESOP, which negotiates on behalf of borrowers undergoing eviction, demands to work with a qualified individual at a bank, and often manages to work out a solution other than foreclosure. But most Ohioans do not have an organization like ESOP on their side. “Foreclosure is not a quick process,” he says. “Most of the servicers — your Chases, your Wells Fargos — have these black holes. You send paperwork in, and it is months before you even find out where it went.

“They’re not set up to modify loans, or find other solutions. They’re not set up to do what needs to be done to help homeowners. A lot of things fall through the cracks. And that’s what the big problem is. They don’t have enough eyes, enough checks and double-checks. Not when they’re getting the volume they’re getting. So when you don’t have an advocate, look what happens.”

The question is now what the foreclosure fraud scandal might mean for homeowning Ohioans — and residents of every state across the country. Already, the foreclosure situation has rocked the housing market and hurt families in the state. In the first half of the year alone, there were 45,930 properties undergoing foreclosure, enough to impact one in every 100 households. Bank-repossessed homes are flooding the market in many areas. And, according to RealtyTrac, they sell for 43 percent less than the average house — the biggest discount of any state.

Housing advocates say that the stall in foreclosures will likely only prolong the pain for Ohio families, even if they are given temporary reprieve from foreclosure and now have assurance they will not be evicted without due process.

The best outcome, Rothstein says, would be for the government to finally step in to help homeowners with more effective programs than the Home Affordable Modification Program, the Treasury’s signature effort to keep families in their homes. (It has helped about one-tenth of the homeowners it said it would and is widely considered a failure.)

“The federal government made good attempts, but were really bank-focused,” Rothstein says. “They never had borrower-centered programs. But if banks are forced to reduce principals on mortgages and to make better loan terms, we might be in a better place.”

Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson: resignation statement

The full statement given by Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson upon his resignation on Sunday night

• guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 July 2011 20.10 BST
• 
  

Sir Paul Stephenson leaves New Scotland Yard after resigning as Metropolitan police commissioner. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
"I have this afternoon informed the palace, the home secretary and the mayor of my intention to resign as commissioner of the Metropolitanpolice service.
"I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met's links with News International at a senior level and in particular in relation to Mr Neil Wallis who as you know was arrested in connection with Operation Weeting last week.
"Firstly, I want to say what an enormous privilege it has been for me to lead this great organisation that is the Met. The recent example of the heroism and bravery of Met officers in chasing armed suspects, involving the shooting of one of my officers, is typical; but is in danger of being eclipsed by the ongoing debate about relationships between senior officers and the media. This can never be right.
"Crime levels in the Met are at a 10-year low. You have seen the Met at its glorious and unobtrusive best on the occasion of the royal wedding; the professional and restrained approach to unexpected levels of violence in recent student demonstrations; the vital ongoing work to secure the safety of the capital from terrorism; the reductions in homicide; and continuing increased levels of confidence as the jewel in our crown of Safer Neighbourhoods Teams serve the needs of Londoners.
"I am deeply proud of the achievements of the Met since I became commissioner.
"Let me turn to phone hacking and my relationship with Neil Wallis. I want to put the record straight.
"I met Mr Wallis in 2006. The purpose of that meeting was, as with other journalists, to represent the context of policing and to better inform the public debate carried out through the media on policing issues.
"I had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the original investigation into phone hacking in 2006 that successfully led to the conviction and imprisonment of two men. I had no reason to believe this was anything other than a successful investigation. I was unaware that there were any other documents in our possession of the nature that have now emerged.
"I have acknowledged the statement by John Yates that if he had known then what he knows now he would have made different decisions.
"My relationship with Mr Wallis continued over the following years and the frequency of our meetings is a matter of public record. The record clearly accords with my description of the relationship as one maintained for professional purposes and an acquaintance.
"In 2009 the Met entered into a contractual arrangement with Neil Wallis, terminating in 2010. I played no role in the letting or management of that contract.
"I have heard suggestions that we must have suspected the alleged involvement of Mr Wallis in phone hacking. Let me say unequivocally that I did not and had no reason to have done so. I do not occupy a position in the world of journalism; I had no knowledge of the extent of this disgraceful practice and the repugnant nature of the selection of victims that is now emerging; nor of its apparent reach into senior levels.
"I saw senior figures from News International providing evidence that the misbehaviour was confined to a rogue few and not known about at the top.
"One can only wonder about the motives of those within the newspaper industry or beyond, who now claim that they did know but kept quiet.
"Though mine and the Met's current severe discomfort is a consequence of those few that did speak out, I am grateful to them for doing so, giving us the opportunity to right the wrong done to victims — and here I think most of those especially vulnerable people who deserved so much better from us all.
"Now let me turn to the suspicion that the contractual relationship with Mr Wallis was somehow kept secret. The contracting of Mr Wallis only became of relevance when his name became linked with the new investigation into phone hacking. I recognise that the interests of transparency might have made earlier disclosure of this information desirable. However my priority, despite the embarrassment it might cause, has been to maintain the integrity of Operation Weeting. To make it public would have immediately tainted him and potentially compromised any future Operation Weeting action.
"Now let me turn to the reported displeasure of the prime minister and the home secretary of the relationship with Mr Wallis.
"The reasons for not having told them are two fold. Firstly, I repeat my earlier comments of having at the time no reason for considering the contractual relationship to be a matter of concern. Unlike Mr Coulson, Mr Wallis had not resigned from News of the World or, to the best of my knowledge been in any way associated with the original phone hacking investigation.
"Secondly, once Mr Wallis's name did become associated with Operation Weeting, I did not want to compromise the Prime Minister in any way by revealing or discussing a potential suspect who clearly had a close relationship with Mr Coulson. I am aware of the many political exchanges in relation to Mr Coulson's previous employment — I believe it would have been extraordinarily clumsy of me to have exposed the Prime Minister, or by association the Home Secretary, to any accusation, however unfair, as a consequence of them being in possession of operational information in this regard. Similarly, the Mayor. Because of the individuals involved, their positions and relationships, these were I believe unique circumstances.
"Consequently, we informed the chair of the MPA, Mr Malthouse, of the Met's contractual arrangements with Mr Wallis on the morning of the latter's arrest. It is our practice not to release the names of suspects under arrest, making it difficult to make public details of the arrangements prior to Mr Wallis's release the same day. The timing of the MPA Committee that I appeared before at 2pm that day was most unfortunate.
"Now let me briefly deal with the recent story in relation to my use of Champneys facilities. There has been no impropriety and I am extremely happy with what I did and the reasons for it — to do everything possible to return to running the Met full time, significantly ahead of medical, family and friends' advice. The attempt to represent this in a negative way is both cynical and disappointing.
"I thought it necessary to provide this lengthy and detailed account of my position on aspects of the current media questions and speculation concerning my conduct. I do this to provide the backcloth to the main purpose of this statement.
"There are a great number of things I value as part of my professional life — very high in this list are my reputation for judgement and integrity.
"On judgement: running a large and overwhelmingly successful organisation like the Met must be dependent to a great extent on others providing the right information and assurances. I could reiterate that I had no reason to doubt the original investigation into phone hacking or be aware of the documents and information in our possession and only recently provided by News International. I could point to the many other successes of the Met. I could point to the long history of how and why the relationship between the Met and media has developed a way of doing business that has brought real benefits but perhaps runs the risk of misinterpretation or worse. In this particular regard it is clear to me that the current furore marks a point in time, a need to learn and change.
"However, as Commissioner I carry ultimate responsibility for the position we find ourselves in. With hindsight, I wish we had judged some matters involved in this affair differently. I didn't and that's it.
"I do not believe this on its own would be a matter for me to consider my position as Commissioner.
"However, the issue of my integrity is different. Let me state clearly, I and the people who know me know that my integrity is completely intact.
"I may wish we had done some things differently, but I will not lose sleep over my personal integrity.
"Nevertheless, I must accept that the intense media coverage, questions, commentary and indeed allegations, as demonstrated by this weekend's attempt to misrepresent my arrangements for my recovery from illness, not only provide excessive distraction both for myself and colleagues, but are likely to continue for some time. In particular the Public Inquiry must take time, with even the first part scheduled not to report within a year. A year in which the Met must face not only the enormous challenges that are the staple diet of this incredible organisation, but also the Olympics.
"This is not a 12 months that can afford any doubts about the commissioner of the Met, I have seen at first hand the distractions for this organisation when the story becomes about the leaders as opposed to what we do as a service. I was always clear that I would never allow that. We the Met cannot afford this — not this year.
"If I stayed I know that the Inquiry outcomes would reaffirm my personal integrity. But time is short before we face the enormous challenge of policing the Olympics — this is not the time for ongoing speculation about the security of the position of the Commissioner. Even a small chance that that there could be a change of leadership must be avoided.
"Therefore, although I have received continued personal support from both the Home Secretary and the Mayor, I have with great sadness informed both of my intention to resign. This will allow time for the appointment of my successor and for that person to take a firm hold of the helm of this great organisation and steer it through the great challenges and necessary change ahead, unencumbered by the current controversy.
"I will miss many things, but most of all it will be the overwhelming majority of honest, hard working professionals who it has been such a great pleasure to lead."

Soccer the First Family Way

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters Sasha and Malia watch the World Cup soccer game between the U.S. and Japan, from the Treaty Room office in the residence of the White House, Sunday, July 17, 2011.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)