The Sound Of Eating Crow

"Improvements in lending practices driven by information technology have enabled lenders to reach out to households with previously unrecognized borrowing capacities."

Alan Greenspan
Former US Federal Reserve chairman
October 2004


"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief."

Alan Greenspan
On the global financial meltdown


"The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake."

Alan Greenspan

Joe The "Hot Head"

Meet Joe the Hot Head
Joe McCain said Friday he'll withdraw from campaign activities for his brother, GOP presidential nominee John McCain, after calling 911 to angrily complain about traffic. Joe McCain has apologized for making the call.

The candidate's younger brother, who lives in Alexandria, Va., told Washington radio station WTOP he was returning from a campaign event in Philadelphia around 2 a.m. on Oct. 18 when he got stuck in traffic on Interstate 495 at the Wilson Bridge. Police say the call was made about 1:30 a.m. Oct. 21.

Frustrated because of the traffic, Joe McCain called 911 to find out what was going on. The operator asked him to "state your emergency."

"Well, it's not an emergency, but do you know why on one side at the damn drawbridge of 95 traffic is stopped for 15 minutes and yet traffic's coming the other way?" Joe McCain said.

The operator asked him if he was calling 911 to complain about traffic. McCain then uttered an expletive and hung up the phone.

Greed By George!

"We probably had too good of an opinon of human nature in forming our confederation....We must take human nature as we find it. Perfection falls not to the share of mortals."

George Washington

Another Ayn Rand Cult Member Recants

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Financial regulators made "fateful mistakes" that helped drive the global financial system to the brink, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in congressional testimony Thursday. Cox said he and other regulators have learned many lessons, chiefly that "voluntary regulation does not work."
OH REALLY????????????









"Where Have You Been All These Years?" Rep. Cummings


Cox's Nomination In Review

"Cox, nominated on Thursday, has a long record of promoting the agenda of business interests that are a cornerstone of the Republican Party's political and financial support.

A major recipient of contributions from business groups, the accounting profession and Silicon Valley, he has fought against accounting rules that would give less favorable treatment to corporate mergers and executive stock options. Cox - a devoted student of Ayn Rand, the high priestess of unfettered capitalism - opposes taxes on dividends and capital gains."

Cox Last Week ( Now he tells us ) NY Time Opinion by Christopher Cox

THE historic volatility in the financial markets has raised important questions about the lack of meaningful regulation of financial instruments known as credit-default swaps. The $85 billion government rescue last month of the insurance conglomerate American International Group, for example, was needed in large part to protect those who held A.I.G.’s credit-default swaps and risked crushing losses if those instruments weren’t honored.

A.I.G. had issued $440 billion in credit-default swaps — which are like insurance contracts on bonds and other assets that are meant to pay off if those assets default. But as markdowns on A.I.G.’s investments in subprime mortgages led to downgrades in its credit ratings, the holders of the credit-default swaps demanded more collateral, which A.I.G. could not provide.

As large as A.I.G.’s swaps exposure was, it represented only 0.8 percent of the $55 trillion in credit-default swaps outstanding — this total market is more than the gross domestic product of all nations on earth combined.

Yet despite its enormous size, the credit-default swaps market has operated in the shadows. There is no public disclosure nor any legal requirement for these contracts to be reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other agency. So government regulators have had no way to assess how much risk is in the system, whether credit-default swaps have been accurately valued or honestly traded, and when people issuing and trading them have taken on risk that threatens others.

Rush To Think In Black Or White

ATBL was RIGHT all along!

Alan Greenspan acknowledged that his "Free Market" thinking was "F'd up". Why won't the POS Dr.s at OTBL????

Just a reminder. This blog has been saying what Greenspan now admits since it was founded. So,Take THAT OTBL!

"The financial crisis even prompted the Republican Greenspan, a staunch believer in free markets, to propose that government consider tougher regulations, including requiring financial firms that package mortgages into securities to keep a portion as a check on quality.

WASHINGTON - Badgered by lawmakers, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan denied the nation’s economic crisis was his fault on Thursday but conceded the meltdown had revealed a flaw in a lifetime of economic thinking and left him in a “state of shocked disbelief.”"

From The Wall St. Journal

The 82-year-old Mr. Greenspan said he made "a mistake" in his hands-off regulatory philosophy, which many now blame in part for sparking the global economic troubles. He quoted something he had written in March: "Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity (myself especially) are in a state of shocked disbelief."

He conceded that he has "found a flaw" in his ideology and said he was "distressed by that." Yet Mr. Greenspan maintained that no regulator was smart enough to foresee the "once-in-a-century credit tsunami."


Amid the barrage of questions, Mr. Greenspan dodged and weaved. He would begin meandering responses in the elaborate phraseology that once served him so well, only to be cut off as lawmakers sought to use their brief question time for sharper attacks.

They Smiled While The Nation Whined

"The fundamentals of our economy are strong."

John McCain
September 15, 2008

"Losing a job is painful, and I know Americans are concerned about our economy; so am I. It's clear our economy has slowed, but the good news is, we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the economy, by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands of American workers and businesses."

President Bush
March 7 on news that the economy lost 63,000 payroll jobs in February


"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about loss of competitiveness, 'American in decline'...We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today."

Phil Gramm
McCain Economic Adviser

New McCain Logo

The Core Message

The Road To The White House

What Would Joe The Plumber Wear

Republicans had to spend $150,000 updating Sarah Palin's wardrobe. Blaze orange and snowmobile suits saying "Artic Cat" just don't cut it in the Anti-American swing states.

Palin Before VP Selection


Broken by the Politico: According to financial disclosure forms, the Republican National Committee has spent a staggering $150,000 for wardrobe, and accessories for the Palin family since her selection as John McCain’s running mate. The costs include bills from Saks Fifth Avenue for almost $50,000, $75,000 at Neiman Marcus, and about $5,000 in hair and makeup.

Palin After $150,000 Makeover

RedStateUpdate Colin Powell Endorses Obama

Red State Update With Joe The Plumber

Protesters Picket Palin House

Republicans Reflect On "Joe"

Joe Six Pack, Joe The Plumber, Joe Stalin, Joe McCarthy...



Last Friday, we had an extraordinary claim made here on Hardball. U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said this about the Democratic nominee for president:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: So this is a character issue. You believe that Barack Obama may -- you're suspicious because of this relationship -- may have anti-American views. Otherwise, it's probably irrelevant to this discussion.

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, R-MINN.: Absolutely. I absolutely...

MATTHEWS: Do you believe that... Barack Obama may have anti-American views?

BACHMANN: Absolutely. I'm very concerned that he may have anti- American views. That's what the American people are concerned about. That's why they want to know what his answers are. That's why Joe the plumber has figured so highly in had the last few days...

MATTHEWS: OK. I just want to get off this...

BACHMANN: What I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that.

Read more by Chris Matthews.

Michelle (McCarthy) Bachmann on Anti-Americanism

The Right Bares Arms

Next Year's "Dancing with the Stars"

Advice We Didn't Heed

Colin Powell Endorses Senator Obama

Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.) endorses Sen. Barack Obama, D-Il. " Powell, who had been courted by both Obama and John McCain, breaks his recent silence and shares his reasons for crossing party lines to endorse Sen. Obama.

Timely Stock Buying Tip

Normally I avoid discussing any advice regarding buying or selling of stocks, but I felt this is important enough to share and warn you since this explosive situation might prove to be yet another ENRON. Please review any holdings you might have in the following stocks: American Can, Interstate Water, National Gas Company, Northern Tissue Company.

Due to uncertain market conditions, I advise you to sit tight on your American Can, hold your Water, and let go of your Gas. You may be interested to know that Northern Tissue touched a new bottom today, and millions were wiped clean.