Shameful Corporate Greed from think progress

In 2008, "the brokerage units of New York financial companies lost more than $35 billion." According to a report by the New York state comptroller, these companies simultaneously doled out an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses, "the sixth-largest haul on record" and the same amount as distributed in 2004, "when the Dow Jones industrial average was flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high." Reacting to the news, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs characterized the story with one word during yesterday's press briefing: "Outrageous." "Whether it's government or the financial system, we're not going to be able to do what is needed to be done to stabilize our financial system if the American people read about this type of outrageous behavior," Gibbs said. When the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) was passed last September, Congress made a show of limiting executive pay. President Obama will have to strengthen TARP and other financial regulations to make a real impact on outrageous corporate malfeasance.

PRESIDENTIAL OUTRAGE: Obama made it clear yesterday that he was frustrated by such corporate greed. While meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Obama condemned the "shameful" Wall Street bonuses. "That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful, and part of what we're going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility," Obama said emphatically. In a way, the banks are holding the American people hostage, as they "find themselves in the difficult position that if they don't provide help, the entire system could come crashing down on our heads," Obama said. He added that Americans, "are serious about their responsibilities. I am too in this White House. And I hope folks on Wall Street are going to be thinking in the same way."

OUTLANDISH PURCHASES: The shameful bonus report was just the most recent proof of Wall Street's irresponsibility. Last week, as former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was agreeing to resign from Bank of America, news broke that he had spent more than $1 million redecorating his office, including paying $800,000 for a celebrity designer and spending $87,000 on an area rug. All this while Merrill was collapsing -- the bank reported a loss of $15.31 billion in 2008 -- and the newly merged Merrill Lynch-Bank of America was requesting more aid from the government. Thain had also doled out $4 billion in executive bonuses to favored Merrill employees just before the merger. Just last week, the Treasury Department agreed to give Bank of America $20 billion in additional aid. Separately, it was revealed earlier this week that Citigroup was in the final stages of purchasing a $50 million private jet -- after receiving $45 billion in public TARP funds this fall. After the Thain scandals, the Citi jet seemed to be the final straw for Obama. "Secretary Geithner already had to pull back on one institution that had gone forward with a multimillion-dollar plane it purchased at the same time as they are receiving TARP money," Obama said exasperatedly. "We shouldn't have to do that, because they should know better." The jet deal for Citigroup has since been canceled.
  
FIXING THE PROBLEM: Obama believes that the initial TARP legislation "failed to live up to the expectation that all of the American people had for it," in terms of reining in executive compensation, Gibbs said yesterday. "That's why this administration and this economic team are taking the time to evaluate how we move forward." Also yesterday, the congressional panel that oversees TARP recommended that financial regulators "consider revoking bonus pay for executives of failing institutions needing government help." The panel said the threat of losing bonuses might help executives "avoid excessively risky behavior." Susan Reed, a CBS business correspondent, had another idea: "A more productive way to distribute rewards is by only awarding company stock. This would keep employees mindful of the risks they are taking to their organization and would tie their company's performance to their own. ... And it would require employees and managers to shoulder their own risk." One indication of how seriously the Obama White House will address the problem of "outrageous" executive pay is former Fed chairman Paul Volcker's role as an economic adviser. Last November, he "blamed excessive pay packages for leaving the world with a 'broken financial system,'" condemning a system full of "tremendous rewards and payment of magnitude for presumed success and not much penalty for failure."

CONGRESS -- FLASHBACK: McCONNELL SAID STIMULUS WON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM 'GETTING OVER 60 VOTES': On Wednesday, the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on a 244-188 vote, with every Republican voting against the legislation. Now the bill moves to the Senate for debate and a potential vote next week. The Senate version of the legislation is not entirely in sync with the House's version. McClatchy reported last week that the Senate Finance Committee has already "added some provisions desperately sought by corporate America," such as allowing "some companies to reduce taxes if they buy down their debt between late 2008 and 2011." The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups lobbied heavily for the measure. Even with these extra business provisions — which conservatives have complained are absent from the House bill -- nine out of 10 Republicans on the Finance Committee voted against the draft. Just few weeks ago, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he doesn't think the economic recovery bill will have "any problem getting over 60 votes." He also reportedly promised that Senate Republicans "would not filibuster against the stimulus package." On NPR yesterday, however, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) issued a filibuster threat, saying that the recovery package would need 60 votes to pass. Will McConnell keep his word? Or will conservatives continue to block the economic recovery while advocating a return to Bushonomics?

LABOR -- OBAMA TO REVERSE ANTI-UNION BUSH ORDERS:  Today, President Obama will host labor leaders at the White House, where he is expected to undo four anti-union Bush-era directives.  The orders that Obama will reverse include one that "allowed unionized companies to post signs informing workers that they are allowed to decertify their union." Another Obama order will prohibit federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses "intended to influence workers' decisions to form unions or engage in collective bargaining." Labor leaders were also on hand yesterday when Obama signed his first major piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which bolsters workers' ability to bring pay discrimination lawsuits. In an interview with CNBC yesterday, Vice President Biden vowed to help labor get "a fair share of the pie." Obama's orders will come at the end of a week that has seen another massive wave of job losses.  

ECONOMY -- HOUSE GOP LAUNCHES MEDIA BLITZ PROMOTING DISCREDITED ALTERNATIVE RECOVERY PLAN: House Republicans have launched a district-by-district  media blitz to justify their unanimous rejection of the economic recovery package and have offered an alternative plan. The plan, a throwback to Bush-like tax cuts, claims to create 6.2 million new jobs, reduce "most" income tax rates by 5 percent, and cut taxes on small businesses by 20 percent. They claim their plan as being based on "methodology developed by the president's nominee to chair the White House Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. Christina Romer." But as, James Kvaal at the Center for American Progress notes, their numbers are based on distortions of Romer's 2007 calculations on the benefits of tax cuts. Republicans left out Romer's conclusion that tax cuts are an effective way to create jobs only when the economy is healthy. Her explicit statement that tax cuts are unsuccessful when used to offset anticipated changes in private economic activity -- such as an economic recovery package -- also did not appear in the Republican plan either. Since 2007 Romer has calculated that government investment has a stronger multiplier effect for creating jobs and is a more effective method for stimulus.

Economy: Sharpest Decline in 26 Years from Truthout

 Economic activity shrank by 3.8 percent in last three months of 2008, according to the government's gross domestic product report.

    New York - The U.S. economy suffered its biggest slowdown in 26 years in the last three months of 2008, according to the government's first reading about the fourth quarter released Friday.

    Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, fell at an annual rate of 3.8% in the fourth quarter, adjusted for inflation.

    That's the largest drop in GDP since the first quarter of 1982, when the economy suffered a 6.4% decline.

    The decline was less than the 5.5% drop forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The fourth quarter plunge followed a more modest decline of 0.5% in the third quarter.

    Still, some economists cautioned that the smaller than expected drop in economic activity wasn't good news, but a warning sign about further weakness ahead.

    "Today's GDP report is no cause for celebration," said Jay Bryson, global economist for Wachovia. "The economy is even weaker than the number would suggest."

    Hit by tight credit and soaring job losses, Americans slammed the brakes on spending in the quarter.

rest http://www.truthout.org/013009C

******************************************************

Senate Passes Health Insurance Bill for Children from Truthout - All Articles

Pediatrician Dr. Gwen Wurm does a checkup on Christina Brownlee, 5, at the University of Miami Pediatric clinic. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, a joint state-federal effort that subsidizes health coverage for 11 million low-income children, was approved by the Senate on Thursday.

 Immigrant clause opens rift.

    The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation yesterday to provide health insurance to 11 million low-income children, a bill that would for the first time spend federal money to cover children and pregnant women who are legal immigrants.

    The State Children's Health Insurance Program, which is aimed at families earning too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance, currently covers close to 7 million youngsters at a cost of $25 billion.

    Lawmakers voted 66 to 32, largely along party lines, to renew the joint state-federal program and spend an additional $32.8 billion to expand coverage to 4 million more children. The expansion would be paid for by raising the cigarette tax from 39 cents a pack to $1.

    The House approved similar legislation on Jan. 14, and President Obama is expected to sign a final version as early as next week.

    During the presidential campaign, Obama pledged to provide coverage to every American child. Experts estimate that once the program is fully implemented about 5 million youngsters will remain uninsured.

    Democratic lawmakers, noting that President George W. Bush twice vetoed similar legislation, praised the vote as evidence of the changing Washington landscape.

    "Low-income, uninsured kids all across America have been waiting for Congress to fulfill the promise of the Children's Health Insurance Program for them," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (Mont.). The program "works to get low-income, uninsured kids the doctor's visits and medicines they need to stay healthy, and approval of this bill opens the door of the doctor's office to millions of children who live without proper health care today."

rest http://www.truthout.org/013009B

***********************************************************

President Obama: "You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement." from Daily Kos

from http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/30/13384/7215/604/690974

Nathan Newman already diaried today's White House event where President Obama signed three critical Executive Orders reversing anti-worker Bush policies, but it's a story that can't get enough press. And while the substance of the Executive Orders signed this morning is important -- among other things, they prevent federal contractors from being reimbursed for anti-union actiivities -- the most remarkable aspect of today's signing was what the President of the United States had to say about the connection between unionization and the health of the middle class:

I also believe that we have to reverse many of the policies towards organized labor that we've seen these last eight years, policies with which I've sharply disagreed. I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem, to me it's part of the solution. We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests, because we know that you cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement. We know that strong, vibrant, growing unions can exist side by side with strong, vibrant and growing businesses. This isn't a either/or proposition between the interests of workers and the interests of shareholders. That's the old argument. The new argument is that the American economy is not and has never been a zero-sum game. When workers are prospering, they buy products that make businesses prosper. We can be competitive and lean and mean and still create a situation where workers are thriving in this country.

So I'm going to be signing three executive orders designed to ensure that federal contracts serve taxpayers efficiently and effectively.  One of these orders is going to prevent taxpayer dollars from going to reimburse federal contractors who spend money trying to influence the formation of unions.  We will also require that federal contractors inform their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act.  Federal labor laws encourage collective bargaining, and employees should know their rights to avoid disruption of federal contracts.

And I'm issuing an order so that qualified employees will be able to keep their jobs even when a contract changes hands.  We shouldn't deprive the government of these workers who have so much experience in making government work.

"You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement." The President of the United States just said that. It's a sea change from just 10 days ago.  And in the halls of the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers and the corporate offices of Walmart, lobbyists and lackeys are shivering -- because those are the words of a President who will stand with working Americans. Those are the words of a President who sounds committed to ensuring the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. And the Executive Orders, Lilly Ledbetter, Employee Free Choice -- these are the deeds that could launch a quiet revolution in the way we value work in America.

Report: Cuomo May Demand Return Of Merrill Bonuses from TPMmuckraker [and other headlines]

Bloomberg has a few more details about the developing investigation, conducted by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, into the bonuses awarded last month by Merrill Lynch.

It reports, sourced to "a person familiar with the matter," that Cuomo may demand the return of the bonuses -- estimated at as much as $4 billion, and apparently awarded on an accelerated schedule just before the firm came under the control of Bank of America at the start of 2009.

Bloomberg adds that Cuomo is also probing what Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis knew about the bonuses, and about Merrill's huge losses in the fourth quarter, which appear to have ben revealed B of A around the time the bonuses were awarded.

More broadly, Bloomberg reports, the investigation is focused on "whether the companies' shareholders had all necessary information about Merrill's finances and whether federal bail-out loans to Bank of America were used properly."

rest: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/report_cuomo_may_demand_return_of_merrill_bonuses.php

********************************************************************************************************************************************

Another Government Report Finds Treasury Is Screwing Up TARP from TPMmuckraker

Another day, another earnest report finding that the Treasury has messed up the bailout.

A new GAO report on issues of "transparency and accountability" in the TARP program finds that Treasury lacks "a clearly articulated vision" for TARP and "has made limited progress in ... communicating an overall strategy" for it.

From a summary of findings:

Treasury has continued to develop a system for detecting noncompliance with key requirements of the program but has not yet finalized its plans. Further, Treasury has made limited progress in formatting articulating and communicating an overall strategy for TARP, continuing to respond to institution- and industry-specific needs by, for example, making further capital purchases and offering loans to the automobile industry. In addition, it has not yet developed a strategic approach to explain how its various programs work together to fulfill TARP's purposes or how it will use the remaining TARP funds. While GAO does not question the need for swift responses in the current economic environment, the lack of a clearly articulated vision has complicated Treasury's ability to effectively communicate to Congress, the financial markets, and the public on the benefits of TARP and has limited its ability to identify personnel needs.

rest http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/another_government_report_finds_treasury_is_screwi.php

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

McCain To Obama: Leave Limbaugh Alone! from Think Progress

Over the past week, the fealty of GOP lawmakers to hate radio host Rush Limbaugh has become increasingly clear. They have been reluctant to criticize his comment that he hopes Obama fails, and those who have spoken out have been forced to retract their statements and beg forgiveness from the hate radio host.

Today on Fox and Friends, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) further circled the wagons, saying that Obama shouldn't have made critical remarks about Limbaugh (which were made in a private meeting with Republicans and then leaked to the press):

McCAIN: I don't know why he would do that. Mr. Limbaugh is a voice of a significant portion of our conservative movement in America. He has a very wide viewing audience. He is entitled to his views, and he has a lot of people who listen very carefully to him. I don't know why that the President would take him on. He's part of the political landscape, and he plays a role.

Watch it:

rest at http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/30/mccain-obama-limbaugh/

**********************************************************************************

Defense Department Announces Civilian Expeditionary Workforce from cryptogon.com

Via: Infowars:

The Defense Department has established a "civilian expeditionary workforce" that will see American civilians trained and equipped to deploy overseas in support of worldwide military missions.

The move is seen by some as an initial step towards fulfilling president Obama's promise to form a civilian national security force as powerful as the U.S. military.

The intent of the program "is to maximize the use of the civilian workforce to allow military personnel to be fully utilized for operational requirements," according to a Defense Department report.

The program was officially implemented one week ago, on the 23rd January, when Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed Defense Department Directive 1404.10 (PDF), which provides a summation of the duties the workforce will undertake.

The directive, which is effective immediately, states that civilian employees of the DoD will be asked to sign agreements stating that they will deploy in support of military missions for up to two years if needed.

Workforce members, who are divided into different designations under the directive, will serve overseas in support of humanitarian, reconstruction and, if necessary, combat-support missions.

rest http://cryptogon.com/?p=6555
***********************************************

Seagate Censoring Posts About Barrucada 7200.11 500GB Drive Failures from Consumerist

A number of consumers are complaining about their Seagate Barrucada 7200.11 500GB hard drive failures, and the company is censoring them. While Seagate has issued a firmware upgrade, it doesn't work if your drive has already been affected, like reader Danny, who just lost all his research material and papers for school. According to some posts on MSFN, moderators on the official Seagate forums are deleting user posts about the issue, and even going so far as to disabling links made on the Seagate forums to posts on other forums about the issue. Danny's letter, inside...

Danny writes:

Hard drive manufacturer Seagate has a series of hard drives still on the shelves which have a faulty firmware that will cause the hard drive after a few months to go bad and not show up in the bios. The series of hard drives is the Seagate Barrucada 7200.11 500GB (Still being sold at my local MicroCenter)

I recently purchased this drive in October to safe guard my research material and paper for school. This morning I turned on the computer and poof the drive wasn't showing up. Drive works and spins but is just not recognized by the bios.

rest http://consumerist.com/5142062/seagate-censoring-posts-about-barrucada-720011-500gb-drive-failures

Despite Economic Disaster, Wall Street Collected $18.4 Billion In Bonuses from Consumerist

Bonuses are for a job well done, right? Well, despite the economic disaster, it seems that the folks on Wall Street rewarded themselves with $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008, which is around the same amount as they received in 2004 — when the Dow was "flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high," says the New York Times.

Of course, that $18.4 billion is much less than 2007 — the record year for bonuses. The Times points out that while things may have been going well in the past — the "gains" of those boom years have vanished — leaving only the bonuses.

rest http://consumerist.com/5141857/despite-economic-disaster-wall-street-collected-184-billion-in-bonuses

The House Vote Was Not a Failure for Obama from Daily Kos

The first few days of the Obama presidency have captured the media to an extent that has to be making Bill Clinton grind down his molars (I'd say George Bush, but lets face it, W probably hasn't looked at anything beyond his DVD collection since the plane touched down in Dallas). The swiftness with which President Obama has addressed some of the failings of the Bush administration has left the media practically gasping, and left the pundits at Fox News with little to do but proclaim the apocalypse Real Soon Now.  

With this level of attention, it's not surprising that the media is desperate for one story above all others: Obama's first screw big up. No doubt it will happen. Everyone makes mistakes, no matter how smart, and over time there will be groaners out of this administration (though I'm willing to bet that none of them will rise to the level of the day to day idiocy produced by the administration thankfully now out of office). But here's the thing: yesterday's vote in the House was not a failure for Obama.

It wasn't a failure by Obama to end partisanship. It wasn't a failure by Obama to introduce a spirit of compromise. It wasn't (no matter what the friggin' idiot Lou Dobbs thinks) an example of Obama trying to "rule" as Bush did.

The problem is not that Obama was unwilling to compromise, it's that the Republicans no longer understand the meaning of compromise. For the last eight years, both in the majority and out, Republicans have understood the word compromise in only one way: capitulation. You're either with them -- on every point -- or you're again' 'em, no middle ground possible. They've taken the George W. Bush policy for international relations and made it the centerpiece of their domestic tactics.

rest http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/29/11910/7324/128/690409

Why GOP Policies Were So Good for the Food Supply from Crooks and Liars

from http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/why-gop-policies-were-so-good-food-su

You see what the Republican non-enforcement policy did to the FDA? Their reliance on inspiring ideals like voluntary self-reporting of problems with the food and drug industries? Things like this:

The Georgia food plant that federal investigators say knowingly shipped contaminated peanut butter also had mold growing on its ceiling and walls, and it has foot-long gaps in its roof, according to results of a federal inspection.

More than 500 people in 43 states have been sickened, and eight have died, after eating crackers and other products made with peanut butter from the plant, which is owned by the Peanut Corporation of America. More than 100 children under the age of 5 are among those who have been sickened.

The plant sells its peanut paste to some of the nation's largest food manufacturers, including Kellogg and McKee Foods. As a result of the contamination, more than 100 products have been recalled, mostly cookies and crackers.

Officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced the outbreak to the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga. On Jan. 9, investigators descended on the plant for a thorough inspection, which was completed Tuesday.

The report from the inspection, first posted on the Internet by Bill Marler, a lawyer, cites 12 instances in 2007 and 2008 in which the company's own tests of its product found contamination by salmonella.

In each case, the report states, "after the firm retested the product and received a negative status, the product was shipped in interstate commerce."

It is illegal for a company to continue testing a product until it gets a clean test, said Michael Taylor, a food safety expert at George Washington University.

The Washington Post reports that it's serious enough to expand the recall to all products the company produced in the past two years:

In one of the largest food recalls in history, the Food and Drug Administration asked retailers, manufacturers and consumers yesterday to throw out every product made in the past two years from peanuts processed by a Georgia plant at the heart of a deadly nationwide outbreak of salmonella illness.

Bailed out banks use federal $ to lobby against Employee Free Choice from Congress Matters

Lawrence Lessig notes the HuffPo story that reveals that:

[E]mployees with at least two bailout recipients participated in a call aimed at drumming up opposition to the union-backed Employee Free Choice Act.

The call, which took place on October 17, was hosted by Bank of America Corp, three days after the bank received $25 billion in federal bailout funds. Participants on the call were urged to persuade their clients to donate to groups and politicians who opposed the labor legislation, which makes it easier for employees to organize into unions.

I have to say, this reminds me an awful lot of the debate over the old "Istook amendment" from the 1990s. At the time, just after the "Gingrich Revolution" in the House, the Istook amendment was the hottest scheme going for "defunding the left." The idea was that since money was fungible, federal grantees (i.e., mostly non-profits and other "left-leaning" organizations) ought to be prohibited from lobbying, since they could be using federal funds (or substituting federal funds for their own advocacy dollars) to do that lobbying, which would only lead to exploding deficits, since they would no doubt be lobbying for... more grants.

rest http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2009/1/29/13643/3829

Air Force Takes Action After E-Mail Sent Described Jews as 'Whiners' from TPR: The Public Record

A couple of weeks ago, military command and staff officers at Creech Air Force base in Nevada circulated an e-mail at the request of the senior base chaplain to all personnel stationed at the facility, inviting them to attend a Bible study class in which the topic for discussion characterized Jews as "whiners."

The mass e-mail, sent to personnel of various religious persuasions, is the latest in a long list of constitutional offenses committed by fundamentalist Christian chaplains stationed at U.S. military facilities around the world, many of whom have publicly displayed insensitivity and outright hostility to non-Christians serving in the military.

In this most recent example, the flyer announcing the Bible study at Creech was widely distributed to Creech Air Force base's e-mail list, which is prohibited by long-standing military regulations. The title of the study, which was scheduled to be held Wednesday, "Moses the Leader: How would you like to lead 1,000,000 whiners?" angered numerous recipients of the e-mail, who complained about the negative stereotype of Jews and the fact that religious announcements were not supposed to be circulated using e-mail accounts maintained by the federal government.

Air Force Capt. Melissa Danley, the military personnel chief at Creech, sent the initial announcement from her official government e-mail account on Jan. 16. Danley did not respond to phone calls or e-mails for comment. The 432nd Wing Commander's Office sent out another announcement about an hour later.

This is not the first time that Air Force base e-mail lists have been hijacked by both chaplains and senior Air Force officials to proselytize base personnel. It's a frequent practice at numerous military installations.

Last year, it was revealed that a presentation titled "Purpose Driven Airmen", which incorporated the teachings of megachurch leader Rick Warren and creationism as a means of suicide prevention was sent to 5,000 servicemen and women at RAF Lakenheath, the largest U.S. Air Force base in England. And the practice continues at Lakenheath, the most recent example being the Jan. 13, 2009 MASS e-mail distribution of a flyer for the Christian movie "Fireproof", sent out by the base's senior command NCO's [non-commissioned officers] at the request of a chaplain.

rest http://www.pubrecord.org/religion/649-air-force-takes-action-after-e-mail-sent-described-jews-as-whiners.html

Quote of the Day from The Washington Independent

At a moment when the country needs our help, it would be a great mistake for the House GOP to turn inward and simply become the party of "no."

- Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House minority whip, whose party unanimously voted "no" on the stimulus package.

rest http://washingtonindependent.com/28059/quote-of-the-day-2

Shocker: Cable news stacks stimulus debate with GOPers from Crooks and Liars

In perhaps the most shocking news since the dawn of time, a new ThinkProgress report finds that when it comes to discussion of the Obama stimulus plan on cable news, FOX News has actually been the most "balanced", hosting only slightly more Republicans than Democrats. MSNBC and CNN, on the other hand, have given substantially more time to the GOP.

rest http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/shocker-cable-news-stacks-stimulus-d

Obama Signs Historic Fair Pay Law from Political Affairs Magazine

"This is a wonderful day," President Obama announced just prior to signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Jan. 29th. "[I]t is fitting that the very first bill that I sign ... that it is upholding one of this nation's founding principles: that we are all created equal, and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness."

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a law that amends various federal civil rights statutes to give workers who have experienced pay discrimination better tools to seek redress and win back pay and damages in court. The bill was named after Lilly Ledbetter, a 19-year employee/supervisor at Goodyear Tire. After learning from another employee that she had been the victim of pay discrimination that has cost as much as $200,000 in wages and retirement benefits, Ledbetter sued her former employer. Ledbetter had as much experience and as many positive employee reviews as those male workers, doing the same job, who received higher pay.

A jury agreed that the company had discriminated against her based on gender and awarded her back pay and damages. The company appealed the verdict, and in 2007 the US Supreme Court overturned the jury verdict. Though discrimination had clearly occurred, the conservative majority on the court ruled, the law disallowed a lawsuit filed after six months of the first discriminatory pay check, despite the fact that Ledbetter did not know that her pay was any different from her co-workers for many years afterward.

"Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trailblazer or a household name," President Obama continued. "She was just a good hard worker who did her job – and she did it well – for nearly two decades before discovering that for years, she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work."


rest http://politicalaffairs.net/article/view/8057/

John Thain and the Art of the Modern Non-Apology Apology from Gawker

It was a different time. Blame the old guy. I told you everything. Is there an excuse former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain hasn't trotted out to explain why his fall is not his fault?

Thain, who resigned last Thursday. He had come under fire for three main sins:

• Not disclosing more quickly Merrill's $15.3 billion in losses for the fourth quarter.
• Asking for a $10 million bonus for himself.
• Paying Merrill Lynch employees $4 billion in bonuses, normally given in January, in December, before Bank of America closed on the acquisition.
• Spending $1.2 million a year ago to renovate his office and three other rooms, including an $87,000 rug and a $35,000 commode.

For each of these, Thain has an excuse.

• The world has changed. Thain told CNBC about the renovation, "It is clear to me in today's world that it was a mistake."
• My predecessor was a jerk. In the same interview, Thain said that former Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal's office "was very different than the general decor of Merrill's offices. It really would have been very difficult for me to use it in the form that it was in. … It needed to be renovated no matter what." And Thain will pay Bank of America back for the $1.2 million
• I told them everything. In a memo to Merrill employees, Thain said that Bank of America "learned about these losses when we did." On the bonuses: "The timing of the payments for both the cash and stock were all determined together with Bank of America."
• And they were okay with it. Steele Alphin, Bank of America's chief administrative officer, wrote an email, leaked to Dealbreaker, which defended Thain in early December when the question of Thain's bonus first came up:

rest http://gawker.com/5140171/john-thain-and-the-art-of-the-modern-non+apology-apology

Dick Fuld Needs Another Punch from unattributable.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE32nMqh8uY&eurl=http://www.unattributable.com/2009/01/dick-fuld-needs-another-punch/

I defy anyone (Bush Republicans included!) to watch this clip and not want to punch Richard Fuld in the face. Again. Or in the peen, you can pick.

Now, it emerges that Dickhead Fuld is desperately divesting himself of assets in preparation for upcoming lawsuits, and to this end, Fuld has given his wife a $14M house. Ok, sold, since she "paid" $100 for it. A $14M estate on Jupiter Island for $100? That's a bargain!

From the Independent:

"In the weeks after Lehman collapsed around him, triggering the worst financial panic since the Great Depression and causing him a personal $1bn (£718m) loss on his stake in the firm, Mr Fuld transferred ownership of a $14m mansion in Florida to his wife, Kathleen [pictured below left]. She paid just $100, the minimum allowed by Florida law.

"The five-bedroom property, nestled on 3.3 acres of beachfront at beautiful Jupiter Island, north of the well-to-do playground of Palm Beach, is their "seasonal getaway" and one of five homes the couple own."

The Fulds are clearly looking to hang on to their misbegotten (hundreds of) millions, despite being at the center of the toxic mortgage racket, and, some say the architects of its implosion. And here's why I think he belongs in jail; it concerns a Lehman subsidiary called Aurora:

"Even in the late '90s, however, the company was underwriting loans issued by questionable lenders. The company did a lot of the underwriting early on for loans issued by two of the more notorious lenders, Delta Funding Corp. and FAMCO, according to Josh Zinner, a lawyer with the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project."

rest http://www.unattributable.com/2009/01/dick-fuld-needs-another-punch/

Halliburton Fined Record $569 Million for Bribing Foreign Officials — While Cheney Was CEO from Firedoglake b

America's Sleaziest Company strikes again.

Halliburton Co., the world's second-largest oilfield-services provider, has agreed to pay $559 million to settle federal charges that employees bribed officials in Nigeria.

It would be the biggest fine by far of a U.S. company in a bribery case, topping the $44 million that Baker Hughes Inc. paid last year related to charges that it paid bribes in Kazahkstan.

rest http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/27/halliburton-fined-record-569-million-for-bribing-foreign-officials-while-cheney-was-ceo/

Chipping away at the stimulus: GOP pulls one out of its @$$ from Congress Matters

Media Matters has a great example of the Republican m.o. when fighting a measure like the stimulus package. You read through the bill with the most jaundiced eye possible (not by itself an illegitimate analytical approach, of course), and then pick out bits and pieces that can be cast in the worst light possible. Then you cry to the media, and see what sticks.

You've already seen it work with the family planning funds. The bankruptcy reform provisions were just Democrats shooting themselves in the foot. Republicans never even really got around to making a public stink about those, but they're gone nonetheless.

So here's what's next:

Summary: A San Francisco Chronicle article reported the false claim that $4.19 billion of President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan "would go to the liberal housing activist group ACORN." In fact, the bill does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding.

rest http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2009/1/27/141652/323

So where did this come from?

The false claim is based on a misrepresentation of a provision that would appropriate $4,190,000,000 "for neighborhood stabilization activities related to emergency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes as authorized under division B, title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008."

New York’s A.G. Subpoenas Bank Execs Over Bonuses from Truthdig

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sent out subpoenas to Bank of America's Chief Administrative Officer J. Steele Alphin and recently ousted Merrill Lynch Chief Executive John Thain on Tuesday to look into hefty bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch higher-ups late last year—even as the company was bleeding billions in losses.

---

AP via Google News:

Those bonuses were paid as Merrill was about to report a $15 billion fourth-quarter loss, and while Bank of America was seeking more federal funds to help it absorb the mounting losses at the New York-based investment bank.

rest http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090127_new_yorks_ag_subpoenas_bank_execs_over_bonuses/

Scum of the scum: HuffPo: BoA hosted call to organize opposition to Employee Free Trade Act.

Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.

Participants on the October 17 call -- including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG -- were urged to persuade their clients to send "large contributions" to groups working against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.

Bernie Marcus, the charismatic co-founder of Home Depot, led the call along with Rick Berman, an aggressive EFCA opponent and founder of the Center for Union Facts. Over the course of an hour, the two framed the legislation as an existential threat to American capitalism, or worse.

"This is the demise of a civilization," said Marcus. "This is how a civilization disappears. I am sitting here as an elder statesman and I'm watching this happen and I don't believe it."

rest http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/bank-of-america-hosted-an_n_161248.html

Hoyer to GOP: Bipartisanship does not mean capitulation. from Think Progress

Today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) had a message for Republicans complaining about the stimulus bill: "Being bipartisan does not mean having to lay down and say we'll do whatever you want." His comments came after President Obama met earlier with congressional Republicans to discuss their concerns about the package, which is scheduled to be voted on in the House tomorrow. Hours before that meeting, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) urged Republicans to oppose the bill unless Democrats make significant concessions.

rest http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/27/hoyer-bipartisanship/

The Blagojevich Shakedown from Emptywheel

The IL Legislature has posted transcripts and tapes of the four conversations Fitz released to the Impeachment Committee. (Right now, the tape servers are overwhelmed, but the trasncripts give a glimpse of the sweet guys these are. Update: The Trib has working audio.)

Tape 1 Transcript 1

Tape 2 Transcript 2

Tape 3 Transcript 3

Tape 4 Transcript 4

They consist of four conversations: one on November 13, two from December 3 surrounding a visit Lon Monk paid to John Johnston at his track, and one from December 4. All conversations pertain to $100,000 that Monk, Blago, and his brother Rob seem to understand Johnston will pay, though they are concerned about the timing of the donation in relation to Blago's signing a bill funneling a chunk of profits from casinos to track owners.

rest http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/01/27/the-blagojevich-shakedown/

Obama Team pressures bailed-out Citigroup to nix private jet purchase from Crooks and Liars

The President of the United States actively demanding that corporate fat cats quit abusing taxpayer money? That's certainly Change I can believe in.

ABC:

The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France.
The bank used TARP funds to purchase a new corporate jet for executives.

rest http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/obama-team-pressures-bailed-out-citi

Bailed-out Banks Spending Money to . . . Defeat Employee Free Choice? from Daily Kos

So Bank of America, fresh with taxpayer bailout boodle courtesy of American workers, is spending its time and money trying to screw those same American workers. Not surprising, I guess, for a company whose CEO, Ken Lewis, which absorbed Merrill Lynch, whose CEO spent $1.2 million renovating his office -- while BofA pays its tellers around $24,000 per year.  

It's little wonder that the SEIU has called on BofA to fire CEO Ken Lewis. It's unconscionable for the receipients of government handouts to spend their time and money to try and defeat the Employee Free Choice Act -- the cornerstone of long-term economic revitalization. It's time for change in the boardrooms.

rest at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/1/27/132729/868/966/689579

Palin unveils SarahPAC. from Think Progress

In a move "potentially laying the groundwork for an eventual White House run," Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has created her own political action committee, SarahPAC, to help raise funds for other Republicans. "She has gotten so many requests," an official with SarahPAC said. "She looks forward to helping other candidates."

rest http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/27/palin-pac/

Uggh...More Goldman Sachs deuchebags....Geithner enlists lobbyist as top aide from Politico Top Stories- Mark Patterson, a former advocate for Goldman Sachs, will serve as chief of staff to Geithner.

Newly installed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner issued new rules Tuesday restricting contacts with lobbyists – and then hired one to be his top aide.

Mark Patterson, a former advocate for Goldman Sachs, will serve as chief of staff to Geithner as the Treasury Department revamps the Wall Street bailout program that sent an infusion of cash to his former employer.

Patterson's appointment marks the second time in President Barack Obama's first week in office that the administration has had to explain how it's complying with its own ethics rules as it hires a bevy of Washington insiders for administration jobs.

Last week, the White House announced the president had waived the ethics rules to clear the way for the nomination of William Lynn, a former Raytheon lobbyist, to be deputy defense secretary.

"This is exactly the kind of thing that makes the American public suspicious of politicians. You say one thing and do another," said Melanie Sloan, founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

"The problem is Obama set a standard he can't live with, which was predictable."


rest http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18047.html

NY state to probe Merrill bonuses from Raw Story Breaking News

New York state officials said Tuesday they had begun a probe into "billions of dollars" in bonuses paid by investment giant Merrill Lynch days before a takeover announced by Bank of America.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his investigators had issued a subpoena to former Merrill chief executive John Thain and others to look at the "troubling" allegations.

The move is part of a probe into firms receiving aid from the US government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, a 700-billion-dollar rescue fund.

"Today, as part of our ongoing inquiry into executive compensation issues at institutions who have received TARP funds, my office issued subpoenas seeking the testimony of former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, as well as the testimony of Bank of America chief administrative officer J. Steele Alphin," Cuomo said in a statement.

"These subpoenas are part of an ongoing inquiry into billions of dollars in bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch late last year just days before Merrill was taken over by Bank of America," Cuomo said.

"The fact that Merrill Lynch appears to have moved up the timetable to pay bonuses before its merger with Bank of America is troubling to say the least and warrants further investigation."

rest http://rawstory.com/news/afp/New_York_state_to_probe_billions_in_01272009.html

Newest GOP Complaint On Stimulus: There’s Not Enough Housing Aid (Which We Voted Against Last Week) from Think Progres

President Obama has made it clear that he wants to work with conservatives on putting together an economic recovery package. He has agreed to accept business tax cuts in the package and today met personally with House GOP leaders. But from the beginning, conservatives made up their minds to oppose the economic recovery package, no matter the concessions. Since that time, they have been grasping at straws to justify this position: too few corporate tax cuts, objections to revitalizing the National Mall, and opposition to a family planning provision.

Today, Roll Call reports that conservatives' newest line of attack will be on housing — specifically, that there isn't enough addressing this crisis in the economic recovery package:

Republicans now appear set to draw their line in the sand over the issue. One senior Senate GOP aide said Republicans were coalescing Monday evening around a plan to demand that Obama and Congressional Democrats reconfigure the stimulus to help mitigate foreclosures and spur buyers to invest in new homes.

"Republicans are increasingly concerned that the stimulus bill is leaving the housing crisis out of the equation," the aide said.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not supposed to focus on housing. Instead, its key areas are: energy, science and technology, health care, education, infrastructure, tax cuts, and helping workers hurt by the recession.

The Obama administration and Democratic leaders aren't planning to ignore housing, however; they are attempting to address the foreclosure crisis through separate legislation. Last Wednesday, the House passed Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) legislation. As the Gavel pointed out, a key part of this legislation — in addition to stabilizing the financial markets — was helping Americans stay in their homes. Some provisions that were included:

rest http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/27/housing-recovery/

From Think Progess

Breaking Free From Rush

Last week, President Obama met with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss his economic recovery program, despite the GOP's apparent reluctance to compromise on the package. Obama told GOP members at the meeting that they need to stop listening to hate radio host Rush Limbaugh if Congress is to accomplish anything. "You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Obama told Republican leaders. His scolding of the far right came days after Limbaugh notoriously declared, "I hope he fails," referring to Obama. Limbaugh fired back yesterday, stating, "I think Obama wants me to fail." The verbal tit-for-tat between Obama and Limbaugh carries a more significant meaning than what appears on the surface. In this time of crisis, the country needs a strong economic recovery package to be quickly shuttled through Congress and onto Obama's desk. Given that Limbaugh carries tremendous sway over congressional GOP, will they break away from him on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act? Or will they continue to partake in Limbaugh's brand of "reflexive obstructionism?"

HOPING FOR FAILURE: Limbaugh's recent comment saying that he hopes Obama fails as president is deeply hypocritical. Conservatives long claimed that any criticism of President Bush's policies was evidence that liberals "want[ed] Bush to fail." For example, during the debate over Iraq, perhaps the most frequent right-wing talking point was that liberals wanted to "surrender." This straw man argument, of course, had no basis in reality. Yet today, with a progressive at the country's helm, Limbaugh is perfectly content saying that he wants the President to fail at reviving the economy. The comment also underscores just how radical Limbaugh is. Even fellow conservative talk radio host Bill Bennett hinted at disagreement, stating, "The locution 'I want him to fail' is not what you say the first week the man's been inaugurated." Limbaugh also remarked last week, "We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles, bend over forward, backward, whichever, because his father was black, because this is the first black president."

FOLLOWING RUSH: Nevertheless, despite his radical and hateful views, Limbaugh has held considerable influence on the actions of the congressional GOP. His role in pulling the GOP away from immigration reform in 2007 was undeniable. His rants on the Fairness Doctrine culminated in legislation from Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN). Last year, when Limbaugh infamously referred to U.S. soldiers in Iraq who were critical of the war as "phony soldiers," the congressional GOP rushed to his defense. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), for example, introduced a resolution "commending Rush Hudson Limbaugh III for his ongoing public support of American troops serving both here and abroad." Furthermore, GOP members have long boasted about their close relationship with Rush. "I mean, there's nothing particularly inflammatory about anything Rush Limbaugh says," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in 2002. In 1994, former House speaker Newt Gingrich made Limbaugh an honorary member of the 104th Congress.

GOP OBSTRUCTIONISM: In recent weeks, Limbaugh has been mounting a fight against Obama's ambitious recovery package. "Obama's plan would buy votes for the Democrat Party, in the same way FDR's New Deal established majority power for 50 years of Democrat rule," he said last week. The question going forward is whether congressional conservatives will work with Obama to pass a strong recovery package or continue to buckle under Limbaugh's demands. Thus far, the signs are discouraging. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) -- who said this week that he will not vote for the recovery as it stands -- and Limbaugh have been marching in lockstep in harping on the inclusion of family planning funding in the legislation. Several other prominent conservatives are buckling to their right-wing base in publicly opposing the recovery. Limbaugh has also made Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner his punching bag in recent weeks, upping the pressure around the controversy over Geithner's taxes. Yesterday, Geithner was confirmed by a 60-34 Senate vote. "[C]onservative talk radio rallied a flood of calls to Capitol Hill on Monday opposing his nomination. A majority of Senate Republicans heeded those calls," observes Politico.

ECONOMY -- CONSERVATIVES PEDDLE MYTH THAT STIMULUS SPENDS $275,000 FOR EVERY JOB CREATED: Over the past few weeks, conservatives  have been staking out their opposition the economic recovery package by peddling a variety of myths. One favorite is that taxpayers will be forced to pay $275,000 for every job created by the plan. "All told, the plan would spend a whopping $275,000 in taxpayer dollars for every new job it aims to create, saddling each and every household with $6,700 in additional debt," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said. "It is more than likely the private sector could have created more than one job for $275,000," according to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). Nobel laureate Paul Krugman addressed this "bogus talking point" yesterday in his New York Times column, saying that it "involves taking the cost of a plan that will extend over several years, creating millions of jobs each year, and dividing it by the jobs created in just one of those years," Krugman wrote. Time's Joe Klein called the number "phony-baloney propaganda," while economist Dean Baker noted that "the media have been typically derelict in simply reporting this number without making any assessment to evaluate it." And as Center for American Progress Action Fund senior fellow and budget expert Scott Lilly pointed out, the actual cost per job is closer to $50,000, without taking into account the "substantial number of additional jobs [created] beyond 2012."

CONGRESS -- McCAIN VOTES AGAINST CONFIRMING GEITHNER AFTER SAYING HE WOULD SUPPORT HIM: Yesterday, the Senate confirmed former New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary with a vote of  60 to 34. Geithner was sworn in last night by President Obama, who said, "Tim's work and the work of the entire Treasury Department must begin at once." Thirty Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), voted against Geithner in their "first organized attempt to embarrass President Obama," noted Politico. McCain's vote, however, contradicts the position he took last week when CNN's Larry King asked him if he would vote for Geithner. "Yes. Most likely," he replied, adding that though he was "concerned about this tax issue and also the role that he played in the TARP," he believed that the president should "be able to appoint the president's team." Last week, McCain stepped in to help another one of Obama's nominees, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose confirmation had been delayed in a procedural move by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). "I think the message that the American people are sending us right now is that they want us to work together and get to work," said McCain.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS -- IS ADMINISTRATION CAVING TO THE RIGHT ON FAMILY PLANNING IN RECOVERY BILL?: At President Obama's behest, House Democrats are "nearly certain" to strike funding for family planning and programs battling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases from the economic stimulus package, according to press reports. "The principles of what he [Obama] thought should be in the package -- that wasn't part of that," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. Conservatives have been pushing the lie that progressives think birth control is the answer to the country's economic crisis, and Obama is "eager" to knock out this potential conservative attack line. Like less controversial measures to the bill, this funding allocation supports states and will promote a healthier, more productive workforce by providing women access to services to prevent unplanned pregnancies and promote maternal and infant health -- not abortion. No one would be forcing states to pay for family planning services. States can now cover low-income women if they get a state waiver, but approval can take a long time. Despite these bureaucratic hassles, 27 states have already "obtained federal approval to extend Medicaid eligibility for family planning services to individuals who would otherwise not be eligible." This bill would simply allow states to skip the administrative delays.

ECONOMY -- CONSERVATIVES PEDDLE MYTH THAT STIMULUS SPENDS $275,000 FOR EVERY JOB CREATED: Over the past few weeks, conservatives  have been staking out their opposition the economic recovery package by peddling a variety of myths. One favorite is that taxpayers will be forced to pay $275,000 for every job created by the plan. "All told, the plan would spend a whopping $275,000 in taxpayer dollars for every new job it aims to create, saddling each and every household with $6,700 in additional debt," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said. "It is more than likely the private sector could have created more than one job for $275,000," according to Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). Nobel laureate Paul Krugman addressed this "bogus talking point" yesterday in his New York Times column, saying that it "involves taking the cost of a plan that will extend over several years, creating millions of jobs each year, and dividing it by the jobs created in just one of those years," Krugman wrote. Time's Joe Klein called the number "phony-baloney propaganda," while economist Dean Baker noted that "the media have been typically derelict in simply reporting this number without making any assessment to evaluate it." And as Center for American Progress Action Fund senior fellow and budget expert Scott Lilly pointed out, the actual cost per job is closer to $50,000, without taking into account the "substantial number of additional jobs [created] beyond 2012."

CONGRESS -- McCAIN VOTES AGAINST CONFIRMING GEITHNER AFTER SAYING HE WOULD SUPPORT HIM: Yesterday, the Senate confirmed former New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary with a vote of  60 to 34. Geithner was sworn in last night by President Obama, who said, "Tim's work and the work of the entire Treasury Department must begin at once." Thirty Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), voted against Geithner in their "first organized attempt to embarrass President Obama," noted Politico. McCain's vote, however, contradicts the position he took last week when CNN's Larry King asked him if he would vote for Geithner. "Yes. Most likely," he replied, adding that though he was "concerned about this tax issue and also the role that he played in the TARP," he believed that the president should "be able to appoint the president's team." Last week, McCain stepped in to help another one of Obama's nominees, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose confirmation had been delayed in a procedural move by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). "I think the message that the American people are sending us right now is that they want us to work together and get to work," said McCain.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS -- IS ADMINISTRATION CAVING TO THE RIGHT ON FAMILY PLANNING IN RECOVERY BILL?: At President Obama's behest, House Democrats are "nearly certain" to strike funding for family planning and programs battling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases from the economic stimulus package, according to press reports. "The principles of what he [Obama] thought should be in the package -- that wasn't part of that," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. Conservatives have been pushing the lie that progressives think birth control is the answer to the country's economic crisis, and Obama is "eager" to knock out this potential conservative attack line. Like less controversial measures to the bill, this funding allocation supports states and will promote a healthier, more productive workforce by providing women access to services to prevent unplanned pregnancies and promote maternal and infant health -- not abortion. No one would be forcing states to pay for family planning services. States can now cover low-income women if they get a state waiver, but approval can take a long time. Despite these bureaucratic hassles, 27 states have already "obtained federal approval to extend Medicaid eligibility for family planning services to individuals who would otherwise not be eligible." This bill would simply allow states to skip the administrative delays.

Some of the nation's largest and most sturdy employers "announced plans yesterday to slash more than 55,000 jobs." The cuts "extended to companies that were once considered bright spots in the U.S. economy, such as construction equipment maker Caterpillar (20,000 jobs cut), pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (19,500), Sprint Nextel (8,000), Home Depot (7,000), Texas Instruments (3,400), and GM (2,000).

Roughly two-thirds of the spending and tax cuts in the House stimulus plan will "flow into the economy by the end of fiscal 2010, producing a 'noticeable impact on economic growth and employment,'" the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday in its "first cost estimate" of the plan. Citing the CBO, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the plan will help create jobs while making responsible investments for the future.

In "his first formal television interview as president," President Obama told the Arabic satellite TV network Al-Arabiya yesterday that his "job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy." "And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives," said Obama.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that employees "fired after cooperating in sexual harassment investigations may sue for retaliation." The case involved three women who participated in a Tennessee school system's internal investigation into the possible misconduct of an employee relations director. The three women were fired for speaking out; the perpetrator was not.

Yesterday, over 2,000 government employees involved in foreign policy issues "signed a letter delivered to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton...calling on the government to give equal benefits to same-sex partners." While the Bush administration resisted such efforts, "Clinton, during her confirmation hearings, indicated a greater willingness to explore the issue."

Late last week, the BBC refused to air an appeal from a charity group seeking to send aid to Gaza. The decision, which the BBC "defiantly reaffirmed" on Monday, has caused heated protests in Britain and spurred more than 11,000 complaints to the network. The appeal was created by some of Britain's most respected aid groups, including Oxfam and the Red Cross.

Detroit slammed President Obama's move yesterday toward approving of California's auto emissions standards, saying the regulations "would basically kill the industry." David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, warned, "It would have a devastating effect on everybody, and not just the domestics."

The White House was hit with an email "server outage" yesterday. The Washington Post explains, "Instead of BlackBerrys, everyone used cellphones" and the press office relied on a loudspeaker and photocopies to distribute releases. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs quipped, "I haven't had a less stressful day in five years."

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Karl Rove was subpoenaed a second time. The committee is seeking to learn about Rove's suspected role in U.S. attorney scandal. Rove's attorney commented, "It's generally agreed that former presidents retain executive privilege as to matters occurring during their term."

And finally: How do you spell "Barack Obama"? Well, it depends on which website you visit. The site gooseGrade.com released a study finding that at least 60 million web pages misspell Obama's first name. Roll Call took a look at federal lawmakers' websites at least five members have used "Barak," including Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) in a statement congratulating Obama on his election victory. At least four have used "Barrack."