Cknolls

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 26, 2011 -> 09:28 PM) So do people realize that we have a shutdown deadline in September if we somehow get through this, for passing a 2012 budget? The Dems in the Senate will be ready, I'm sure, what has it been now, 2 plus years w/o proposing a budget. They should be raring to go on this one, no?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 26, 2011 -> 01:40 PM) I understand the point behind it, there used to be a real defense. It's actually not a bad thing to have Congress have a mechanism by which it can force a default if it so chooses, defaults have happened before and nations have recovered, and there's nothing a priori wrong with having Congress have protest votes now and then; they're going to anyway. But at this point, defaulting with no good reason other than not liking the President suggests that we've entered a different phase, where the existence of this vote does way too much harm to exist any more. Could we please stop with the default bulls*** already. We will not default. Once again we will cover our borrowing costs, ergo no Default.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 25, 2011 -> 02:32 PM) Lets ask this in a different way. The debt to GDP ratio in the U.S. is close to unity right now. That's not the highest its been in U.S. history, but it's getting close. However, Japan is facing a debt to GDP ratio of 230% and that will shoot up while paying to rebuild from the tsunami. The Japanese however are paying a whopping 3% interest on their 10 year bonds. Why should the U.S. debt risk be so much higher at 100% of GDP than Japan's is at 230% of GDP? Because ffor the most part, Japan self finances it's debt. we do not.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 25, 2011 -> 02:32 PM) Lets ask this in a different way. The debt to GDP ratio in the U.S. is close to unity right now. That's not the highest its been in U.S. history, but it's getting close. However, Japan is facing a debt to GDP ratio of 230% and that will shoot up while paying to rebuild from the tsunami. The Japanese however are paying a whopping 3% interest on their 10 year bonds. Why should the U.S. debt risk be so much higher at 100% of GDP than Japan's is at 230% of GDP? Because ffor the most part, Japan self finances it's debt. we do not.

I am a seller of this gov't closing loopholes. Loopholes, cutting waste, blah blah. Just another way of kicking can down the road. Like SS2K5 said, real cuts will occur when you do not just slow the rate but actually cut this s***. This too will fail. Glad I went home short 25 futures Fri.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 24, 2011 -> 12:48 PM) Technically, legislation is supposed to originate in the House. (Although I think you're wrong that no plan has ever been presented by the Dems). What were Obama's cuts to the entitltement programs? Can't seem to find any specifics.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 21, 2011 -> 03:38 PM) By the way, since we're talking about shutdowns. The FAA has been reauthorized by Congress 20 times in its history. The authorization for its existence expires at the end of the day on Friday. Its current reauthorization is held up because House Republicans attached a rider that makes it harder for rail and air travel workers to unionize, while the Senate Democrats did not. The House Republicans responded by passing a bill that defunded a number of rural airports in states inhabited by key Democratic votes. Yeah. It's not like the Dems had control of Congress or anything.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 21, 2011 -> 07:59 AM) Nice trick of words. Defaulting on DEBT you say. But if you default on OBLIGATIONS, that is also a default, just of a different kind. Lol. Am I wrong? What is so tricky? GMAFB

Pete Hoekstra is tossing his hat into to the ring to challenge Stabenow for the SENATE in Michigan. One step closer to control in th supper chamber.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 20, 2011 -> 09:00 AM) Really CK. Let me ask you this...if the U.S. government stops sending out social security and military paychecks because it's at the debt limit but maneuvers to pay off the bonds that are due... If you were a bond investor, would you want to buy into the bond issue that came out at that time? Or would you judge that there was a much higher risk associated with those bonds because of the fact that the Congress is already considering a bill saying "Fund Social Security first" and demand a much higher risk premium on those bonds? Paying the interest on our bonds is servicing the debt. Will they be able to pay the interest, Yes. Hence no default on the debt. Deciding what to pay after that is another story.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 19, 2011 -> 07:43 PM) So do you favor defaulting on the debt? The gov't will be able to service its debt. So they will not default.

Well we could pass the farse the White House is calling spending cuts. They do not take place for several years, future Congresses can ignore them. Now that is the way to cut the deficit. Sounds like the healthcare bill. A big ole pile of the stinky stuff. But it comes from the mouth of the man who voted against raising the debt ceiling while he was in the Senate in 2007, so it must be Gospel.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 19, 2011 -> 05:31 PM) Btw, I've done enough sales on my own to know...the guy living in the run-down area with the huge TV, new cell phone, Cadillac...very often bought all those items with cash. Literally cash. Paid in $20's and $100's. I'm hoping you're catching my meaning. So would legalizing drugs be a job killer then? And racist?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 19, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) I think that if someone has luxury goods like cell phones and xboxs and multiple tv's they're not making the right decisions to get themselves out of being poor. Do not forget the Nike gym shoes man. Gotta have the shoes.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 7, 2011 -> 10:51 PM) You fail to see any sadness in the fact that the US has an agreement with Mexico and the US failed to honor that agreement? At the end of the day, I take my word seriously. If I tell you that we have an agreement, that means something. As an United States citizen I am ashamed that we told 170 countries that we would abide by a treaty and we failed to do it. Not only that, but after we were told we were in the wrong, we didnt even change our actions, we just went on our way acting like it doesnt matter, that somehow vengeance is more important then our word. That makes me sad, it makes me sad because we are supposed to be a country where there is liberty and justice for all. And that means we treat the worst of society with the same respect and decency we treat the best of society. I wonder what the people of the great state of Texas would say if an American civilian was denied rights in Mexico and executed. Would we merely say "Well Mexico has that right" or would we expect more? Would we expect that our citizen be given the rights and treatment that Mexico agreed to give them when they signed the treaty? So today I am sad, not because of the death, but because we were so hellbent on killing this man that we had to break our word to do it. And unlike you, I dont believe Mr. Leal will be going to hell, I dont believe hes going anywhere. Dead is dead. Her 64 year old father probably feels like the system worked. And as far as an American committing murder in a foreign country; if you are dumb enough to commit such a heinous crime you deserve whatever consequences that are rendered.

Another s***ty jobs report. But what did Plouffe say, It will not matter.

to Texas, and you too Supreme Court. 15 years too late for my liking. Burn in hell scumbag.

«ongre~~ of tfJ niteb ilsl)i gton, July 5,2011 VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General u.s. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Attorney General Holder: t, teg Yesterday, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson participated in a transcribed interview regarding Operation Fast and Furious and related matters with both Republican and Democratic staff. He appeared with his personal counsel, Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods LLP. His interview had originally been scheduled through the Justice Department to occur on July 13 in the presence of DOJ and ATF counsel. As you know, however, under our agreement Department witnesses who choose to attend a voluntary interview with their own lawyer are free to exercise that right rather than participate with counsel representing the Department's interests. After being made aware of that provision of our agreement, Acting Director Melson chose to exercise that right and appeared with his own lawyer. We are disappointed that no one had previously informed him of that provision of the agreement. Instead, Justice Department officials sought to limit and control his communications with Congress. This is yet another example of why direct communications with Congress are so important and are protected by law.1 1 Specifically, no officer or employee may attempt to prohibit or prevent "any other officer or employee of the Federal Government from having direct oral or written communication or contact with any Member, committee, or subcommittee of the Congress" about a matter related to his employment or the agency "in any way, irrespective of whether such communication or contact is at the initiative" of the employee or Congress (emphasis added). Moreover, the prohibition also applies to any officer or employee who "removes, suspends from duty without pay ... any other officer or employee of the Federal Government ... by reason of any communication or contact of such other officer or employee with any Member, committee, or subcommittee of the Congress." Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, P.L.111-117, 123 Stat. 3034, § 714 (2010), as continued by §1104 ofP.L. 112-10- which extends the funding levels, as well as "the authority and conditions provided in such Acts," through September 30, 2011. See generally, Attorney General Eric Holder July 5,2011 Page 2 of5 Acting Director Melson's cooperation was extremely helpful to our investigation. He was candid in admitting mistakes that his agency made and described various ways he says that he tried to remedy the problems. According to Mr. Melson, it was not until after the public controversy that he personally reviewed hundreds of documents relating to the case, including wiretap applications and Reports of Investigation (ROIs). By his account, he was sick to his stomach when he obtained those documents and learned the full story. Mr. Melson said that he told the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG) at the end of March that the Department needed to reexamine how it was responding to the requests for information from Congress. According to Mr. Melson, he and ATF's senior leadership team moved to reassign every manager involved in Fast and Furious, from the Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations down to the Group Supervisor, after learning the facts in those documents. Mr. Melson also said he was not allowed to communicate to Congress the reasons for the reassignments. He claimed that ATF's senior leadership would have preferred to be more cooperative with our inquiry much earlier in the process. However, he said that Justice Department officials directed them not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress. The result is that Congress only got the parts of the story that the Department wanted us to hear. If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively muzzled while the DOJ sent over false denials and buried its head in the sand. That approach distorted the truth and obstructed our investigation. The Department's inability or unwillingness to be more forthcoming served to conceal critical information that we are now learning about the involvement of other agencies, including the DEA and the FBI. The Role of DEA, FBI, and Other Agencies When confronted with information about serious issues involving lack of information sharing by other agencies, which Committee staff had originally learned from other witnesses, Mr. Melson's responses tended to corroborate what others had said. Specifically, we have very real indications from several sources that some of the gun trafficking "higher-ups" that the ATF sought to identify were already known to other agencies and may even have been paid as informants. The Acting Director said that ATF was kept in the dark about certain activities of other agencies, including DEA and FBI. Mr. Melson said that he learned from ATF agents in the field that information obtained by these agencies could have had a material impact on the Fast and Furious Government Accountability Office, "Department of Health and Human Services-Chief Actuary's Communications with Congress," B-302911 (Sep. 7, 2004) (discussing the history and background in support ofthe government-wide prohibition on attempts to prevent direct communications with Congress). As you know, obstructing or impeding a Congressional inquiry is also a criminal violation under 18 U.S.C. § 1505. Attorney General Eric Holder July S, 2011 Page 3 ofS investigation as far back as late 2009 or early 2010. After learning about the possible role of DEA and FBI, he testified that he reported this information in April 2011 to the Acting Inspector General and directly to then-Acting Deputy Attorney General James Cole on June 16, 2011. The evidence we have gathered raises the disturbing possibility that the Justice Department not only allowed criminals to smuggle weapons but that taxpayer dollars from other agencies may have financed those engaging in such activities. While this is preliminary information, we must find out if there is any truth to it. According to Acting Director Melson, he became aware of this startling possibility only after the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and the indictments of the straw purchasers, which we now know were substantially delayed by the u.s. Attorney's Office and Main Justice. Mr. Melson provided documents months ago supporting his concerns to the official in the ODAG responsible for document production to the Committees, but those documents have not been provided to us. It is one thing to argue that the ends justify the means in an attempt to defend a policy that puts building a big case ahead of stopping known criminals from getting guns. Yet it is a much more serious matter to conceal from Congress the possible involvement of other agencies in identifying and maybe even working with the same criminals that Operation Fast and Furious was trying to identify. If this information is accurate, then the whole misguided operation might have been cut short if not for catastrophic failures to share key information. If agencies within the same Department, co-located at the same facilities, had simply communicated with one another, then ATF might have known that gun trafficking "higher-ups" had been already identified. This raises new and serious questions about the role of DEA, FBI, the United States Attorney's Office in Arizona, and Main Justice in coordinating this effort. Nearly a decade after the September 11th attacks, the stovepipes of information within our government may still be causing tragic mistakes long after they should have been broken down. Efforts to Oust Melson In the last few weeks, unnamed administration officials have indicated to the press that Acting Director Melson would be forced to resign. According to Mr. Melson, those initial reports were untrue. Regardless of what we might have thought before about how he should handle a request to resign, we now know he has not been asked to resign. We also now have the benefit of hearing his side of the story and will have a chance to examine what he said and compare it to the other evidence we are gathering. However, that will take some time. Attorney General Eric Holder July 5,2011 Page 4 ofS Mr. Melson served as the First Assistant to the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia for 21 years, from 1986 to 2007. That is a career position. After the controversy over the firing of the U.S. Attorneys, he took over the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA). He indicated that he was asked to convert to a non-career Senior Executive Service (SES), a politically appointed position, in order to speed the hiring process, and he agreed. However, his former position at EOUSA is currently filled by a career SES employee, Marshall Jarrett. As you know, for civil servants, the distinction between career and non-career status is significant. In 2009, he said he was asked to take over as Acting Director of the ATF. Acting Director of the ATF is by its nature a temporary job. According to Mr. Melson, he was willing to serve the Department with the understanding that after a short tenure as Acting Director, he would return to a position as a career senior executive elsewhere within the Department. However, two days after he told Acting Deputy Attorney General Cole about serious issues involving lack of information sharing, the Wall Street Journal reported that unnamed sources said that Melson was about to be ousted. The revelations about Operation Fast and Furious have focused intense scrutiny on the ATF. It has no doubt taken a toll on the agency and the good people who work there. Much of that damage has occurred because the Department prevented ATF from being more forthcoming and responsive to questions from Congress. This is the context in which Mr. Melson decided to submit to an on-the-record interview with private counsel, pursuant to our agreement with the Department. Technically, Mr. Melson no longer enjoys the due process protections afforded to career officials. Given his testimony, unless a permanent director is confirmed, it would be inappropriate for the Justice Department to take action against him that could have the effect of intimidating others who might want to provide additional information to the Committees. We hope that the Department will take a much more candid and forthcoming approach in addressing these very serious matters with the Committees. If other important fact witnesses like Mr. Melson have a desire to communicate directly with the Committees they should be informed that they are free to do so. They should also be notified that if they are represented by personal counsel, they may appear with personal counsel rather than with Department lawyers. Any decision about Mr. Melson's future with the Department would need to be justified solely on the basis of the facts and the needs of the agency, rather than on his decision to speak to us. We encourage you to communicate to us any additional significant information about any such decision so that we can work together to ensure Attorney General Eric Holder July 5,2011 Page 5 of5 that it would not impede our investigation. For now, the Office of Inspector General is still conducting its review, and we are still conducting ours. Knowing what we know so far, we believe it would be inappropriate to make Mr. Melson the fall guy in an attempt to prevent further congressional oversight. Darrell Issa, Chair an Committee on Oversight & Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives cc: Sincerely, Charles E. Grassley, Ranking M Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight & Government Reform The Honorable Patrick Leahy, Chairman U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary SHHH. Nothing to see here move along. Nothing political at all in this Dept. of Justice. These guys make the Bushies look like angels.

QUOTE (FlySox87 @ Jul 6, 2011 -> 09:06 AM) I've admitted that there are exceptions to each of these rules. However, I still ardently believe that the private sector is far more efficient. If these guys like BigSqwert and Russ can't accept that as my opinion, then whatever. You mean $250+ thousand/job isn't efficient? MORE STIMULUS

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 09:55 AM) And, again, not doing anything useful with those earnings because they are hoarding and capitalizing internally. Clarify the regulations, even if stringently, and you will see more money flow back into the markets and into loans. Guaranteed. They know how that's how they'll make more money later. They have to hoard and capitalize because they know what garbage they have on their book. The accounting atrocities they are allowed to get away with are baffling. Mark this s*** to market for crying out loud. You marked to market while riding the coaster to the top of the hill.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 08:40 AM) Yeah, it's Obama's fault that record numbers of banks are closing. Not the fact that they invested in assets that left them insolvent. It's Obama. That one ranks up there with thinking FNMA and FDMC caused the housing crisis when 6% of their mortgages went bad while 18% of private bank mortgages went bad. Yeah who would have thought investing in Fannie Mae preferreds would lead your bank to insolvency??

Pssst. The word of the day is CORPORATE JETS.......... My wife just went to South Africa on the biggest corporate jet, but pay no attention to that, you cannot have s*** food here it tastes better 10000 miles from America. And hell it only cost several hundred grand.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 28, 2011 -> 05:15 PM) War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Tax cuts pay for themselves and generate revenue. And Keynesianism has a multiplier effect.

So the incompetent corruptocrats in the Illinois Dept. of Revenue send me a letter saying they revised my tax return to reflect changes they made. The changes they made were cheating me out of $500 of my return. They said they did not receive my estimated payment for the 4th quarter of 2010, which is paid in Jan of 2011. But guess what, they cashed my check less than a week after I sent it to them. And I had to get a copy of the front and back of the check, and lo and behold the f***ers did cash the check. The cynic in me says these thieves do not want to pay the entire refund so they f*** with the citizens to delay paying the money they owe because were basically insolvent. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!!!!!!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 06:06 PM) who's desperate, and for what? OBAMA. REelection. This does nothing long term.