Jon Stewart Interviews Obama Economic Advisor

Check out the latest from the Obama economic advisor about the state of the American economy.






From Denny: One of the Obama economic advisors is Austan Goolsbee. Jon Stewart interviewed him recently about what exactly is going on in the economy and how The Obama Economic Team is grappling to get its hands on this runaway monster. They recognize the difficulties in getting down the unemployment rate. One of the ways in which they are taking measures to do so is by funneling credit to small businesses so they can hire. After all, it's the small businesses who are the heroes of the economy. Small businesses hire 80 percent of the workers in America.

Americans Lose Jobs Twice As Fast As Immigrants Gain Jobs

In the  2009 jobs report, immigrants gained 656,000 jobs while native-born Americans lost 1.2 million.





From Denny:  A new disturbing report about jobs gained among immigrants (legal and illegal) vs. severely lost among native-born Americans is about to be released from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Labor data by the Pew Hispanic Center. What it proves is that immigrants are gaining jobs twice as fast as native-born are losing them.

Prez Obama Slaps Down Big Banks For Shady Home Foreclosure Bill

Obama catches last minute sleaze Republicans and Big Banks tacked on into new bill to cheat homeowners of their consumer protection rights while in foreclosure.

From Denny:  Leave it up to the Republicans to sleaze the public and try and slide yet another scumbag piece of legislation past the public and the President.  Fortunately, the White House caught it in time.  As it was, none of the Democrats in the House or the Senate realized they had been sleazed by the Republicans with a last minute tacked amendment they didn't know they were about to vote into law.  They thought the law stood as agreed with no changes yet they got snookered by the Republicans and their handlers yet again.

Obama Investigates: Big Banks Screw Up Home Foreclosures

Learn how the Big Banks just screwed themselves out of all their profits.

From Denny: Who really feels sorry for the greedy Big Banks who have repeatedly raped the wallets of the American public? Awww, everyone all together now in unison, "Can you hear me now???"

What Is Really Happening In This BP Claims Process?

From Denny: This is a local Baton Rouge, Louisiana, news story detailing the shabby treatment from the claims fund manager, Kenneth Feinberg, and BP toward local restaurant owners. Business is down about 40 percent in the Baton Rouge area since this oil spill disaster occurred and the oil moratorium was put in place.

Restaurants run on a small profit margin. No one knows how long these beloved institutions can stay in business unless something changes. These are the well established business people. What is happening to small business owners who have not had decades to set aside some cash for emergencies like this one?







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Funny Video: Truth Is Bush Tax Cuts Are 30 Percent Of Our Deficit

*** Stewart mocks the usual GOP hypocrisy claiming the Bush Tax Cuts lower the deficit when actually they increase the deficit.





From Denny: Oh, the tangled web the Republicans weave. They keep pushing those renewed Bush tax cuts - all of it. Well, frankly, there are a few things in the tax cuts that were thrown in to appease the middle class like a $1,000 child tax credit and the like. When the Bush tax cuts expire that same child tax credit will drop down to $500 per child unless Congress does something about it.

There are other taxes that will skyrocket like capital gains and death taxes unless Congress does something about it to safeguard what's left of middle class wealth. Clearly, the top one percent of the country does not need such great tax cuts anyway. They aren't in home foreclosure to the growing tune of 20 million, or out of a job for two or more years to the tune of five million, with another 15 million out of work or trying to survive by living in their cars, paying rent in a church parking lot, out wandering the street - like in the tunnels under Las Vegas or in a tent city.

There are too many middle-aged baby boomers who have literally lost everything that they worked for and saved. They won't live long enough to completely rebuild their lifestyles to previous levels nor will they now be able to consider retirement. Congress did a number on working Americans by refusing to safeguard pension plans from corporate raiders the past 25 years since the Republicans took over Congress, squeezing every last dime out of taxpayers.

The huge shame of the Republicans has been their well touted Bush Tax Cuts that have sent middle class wealth to the richest Americans who still are so greedy they want more. The Republicans complain about the deficit yet it is their very Bush Tax Cuts Plan that has added 30 percent to the deficit in the first place - $300 billion. Want to reduce our deficit? Then let the Bush Tax Cuts expire.

America needs a vastly different tax plan anyway. As it stands no politician is willing to rein in Big Business nor force them to pay up. Well, at least the government has begun to chase down the tax cheats hiding their money in Swiss banks. That's a great start. Meanwhile, back at home, we need to take away tax incentives to Big Businesses that send American jobs overseas or import foreign workers to take American jobs.

Jon Stewart called out the Republicans on their stupid plan and constant political drumbeat to convince weak-minded Americans of their usual lies. Better yet, he showed clip after funny clip of contradictory statements by the Republicans about the deficit and taxes. Amazed at how two opposing ideas can exist on the same party platform, Stewart: "How exactly can you be for deficit reduction and extending tax cuts?" and then aired a clip where Sarah Palin argues for both in the same sentence.

Yet another bizarre confusing argument from LaLa Political Land is where the conservatives claim "The money the government earns in taxes isn't the same as the money they spend, so the tax cuts will not affect the deficit." These guys have been in Washington far too long for their own good. Throw the bums out. Of course, Stewart replies with a Goodfellas funny clip of the "F you - pay me" scenario. Because, as Stewart says, "The deficit doesn't care where the money comes from."

Yeah, and it's about time the wealthiest in America pay their fair share, the government collects from them what they owe, and the richest invest back into America with 22 million jobs to rev up the economic engine.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Deductible Me
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

*** For more laughs check out this post:

Roundup of Late Night Funnies - 16 Aug 2010 - Check out this week's funny late night jokes and latest cartoons lampooning politics to American culture, with a funny side dish of funny video clips thrown in to keep you grinning.




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Obama Sends Thousands More Jobs Out of America: Mexico

*** Prez Obama tricked by GM to send thousands of jobs out of America and to Mexico.




New GM CEO Dan Akersan is from the Carlyle Group, famous for sending American jobs overseas


From Denny: Here's what is really happening and how the President got snookered by Big Business, namely the auto makers and, in particular, General Motors.

GM just reported their best quarterly profit in six years: $33 billion. Yet they are suddenly changing out their CEO to a guy who is with the Carlyle Group. What is the reputation of the Carlyle Group? These guys are a bunch of snakes. They are known for shipping jobs overseas.

As soon as this new GM CEO, Dan Akerson, was announced GM made a move to create a new plant in Mexico to the tune of a $500 million investment. Those are American jobs getting shipped out of the country yet again by Big Business.

Team Obama did a lousy job and did sloppy negotiations nor did they hold Big Business to the fire to do more than save jobs. They did not get any commitments from the auto industry, namely General Motors and Chrysler, to create jobs. And, so, the American taxpayers who footed the bill for all these bailouts gets the reward of thousands of their jobs getting sent out of the country.

It's time for Team Obama to step up and defend the American worker and take back those jobs - and those tax breaks for American Big Business who stiff arm us. As it is, the jobs that need to be created to get us back to a stable economy is huge: the astounding number of 22 million.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

White House hails new GM CEO Akerson


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*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Foreclosure Violated Military Act: Yet Another Reason Not to Live in Texas

*** A soldier returns from Iraq only to find his own Homeowners' Association sold his home at sheriff's auction.





From Denny: The whole neighborhood is in an uproar to discover a Texas homeowners' association thought nothing of it to foreclose on a house only owing a mere $800 in dues. A more than $300,000 house sold at sheriff's sale for a pittance to "an investor": $3,200. Then the homeowners' association re-sold it for the low price of $135,000 to another investor who proceeded to evict the original homeowners, the family of National Guard Capt. Michael Clauer.

Just one problem here, folks, there is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). This federal law has been around since World War I to prevent sleazy businessmen from profiting unfairly while soldiers are on active duty away from home. The only way to foreclose on a military service person is for it to be ordered by a court. Yet the law did nothing to protect this military family. And that's the heart of so much of what is wrong in America today: we have the laws to protect yet no one enforces them so they end up toothless.

The homeowners' association tried to claim that Clauer was not on active duty at the time but that isn't true. The foreclosure was in May 2008 and the law should have prevented this from happening. Besides, where was the primary mortgage lending bank in all this? Why didn't they do anything to stop from losing their investment? They are bound by federal laws against this kind of act.

The Clauers did not learn of the foreclosure status until June 2009 when the new owner tried to demand rent from them. He also tried to evict them. Now, since this outrage came to public attention the new owner, Jad I. Aboul-Jibin, has agreed to return the home to the Clauers but wishes to be reimbursed by the homeowners' association or whomever originally purchased the home to sell to him.

Waiting for the court to decide this family's fate will take until the court date of January 2011. Clauer believes it is morally wrong for states to give so much power to homeowners' associations to foreclose for a mere $800. Believe it or not, there are a few other states that allow this nasty practice.

Currently, the Clauers are suing the The Heritage Lake Homeowners Association, the investors who bought the home at foreclosure and sold it, and the home's current owner.

Does something smell fishy here or what? Obviously, this was a scam investor who did their part for war profiteering while military service members were away. Everyone knows you don't sell a $300,000 house for only $3,200 and what kind of sheriff's department did not investigate this discrepancy? It sounds like a lot of people were not doing their jobs.

It's also no surprise that the neighbors of the Clauers and the neighborhood are emailing and phoning in death threats to the homeowners' association offices. How would you like to be a member of that HOA and be on the hook for such a large lawsuit? How would you like to read this story in the newspaper to discover an HOA could do it to you too just that easily?

The Clauers have reached an agreement with the current owner to continue living in their home with their two young daughters while awaiting the court's decision.

One thing is for sure: beware of your neighborhood HOA and read the fine print to know just how far they can go. I, for one, would not like to be party to some one's foreclosure. What ever happened to just putting a lien on it and when they sell it the HOA gets their money?

We in Louisiana often refer to Texans as "sh*t-kickers." Yeah, that about sums it up. They even do it to their neighbors. Yet another reason not to live in Texas. After the last eight years you can easily guess the first reason. :)





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One Million Homeowners Walked Away: Can It Kill Our Economy?

From Denny: What I find to be an alarming development that could cascade - and cause our fragile economy to collapse or develop a severe limp - is this new trend of homeowners walking away from devalued homes while they can still afford to pay. It's called "strategic default" and already over one million homeowners have done this. Currently, there are over 11 million homeowners across the nation who are struggling to pay their mortgages.

There is no way the banks can absorb this many toxic assets. Of course, the big banks dug themselves into this hole and refuse to work with homeowners. They haven't even dipped into the huge billions Obama gave them to help restructure mortgage debt.

And you think the BP oil spill is a mess - wait until this real estate walk away spreads past Arizona and California. I simply do not understand why banks are so incredibly stupid. It just goes to the old Louisiana saying, "Greed will bring you to your knees." There is no way the American taxpayers will ever again OK a bailout for any big banks or Wall Street. Our biggest banks like Bank of America and Citibank are setting themselves up to fail.

When this mess finally shakes out there is no telling what our financial landscape will look like in America. Will any of us recognize it? As it is, a recent bill in Congress to break up the big banks was shot down. After another mortgage meltdown that bill might enjoy a serious Come to Jesus Meeting and Resurrection.

Below is an excerpt from the original CBS story. Links to very short video clips worth the viewing are posted on this blog too.


Strategic Default: Walking Away from Mortgages (CBS)

60 Minutes: A Million Have Walked Away; Trend Could Undermine the Fragile Economic Recovery

Despite some indications that the economy is recovering, the housing market remains a disaster area. Currently, about seven million homeowners are behind on their mortgages and that number is only getting worse.

Banks, with the help of the government, are offering some relief to homeowners who've lost jobs and just can't meet their payments.

But there's a growing number who can pay but are simply walking away from houses that are now worth as little as half of what they paid for them.

It's called "strategic default." People have done the math and decided making those monthly payments is just throwing money away, leaving the mortgage holders - the banks - as zookeepers of an ever-growing parade of white elephants.

In the past year it is estimated that at least a million Americans who can afford to stay in their homes simply walked away...

The Southwest has become an inland ocean of bad mortgage debt. In Arizona, a full 50 percent of houses are underwater, and in Nevada it's even worse: 65 percent of houses there are drowning and the rivers are rising.

And it's not just the Southwest: according to CoreLogic, more than 11 million homeowners across the country are underwater. It's estimated that number could double in the next year, which means nearly half of all American mortgage holders will owe more on their homes than those homes are currently worth....

To try and stem the tide of foreclosures, Stevens says the Obama administration has set aside billions to give banks incentive to help struggling and underwater borrowers with their mortgages. But banks have been slow to modify the terms of those loans....



Watch CBS News Videos Online


Video: The Case For Walking Away From Your Mortgage - Brent White, a law professor at the University of Arizona does the math and explains why walking away from your mortgage might make financial sense.


Video: Are Mortgage Walkaways Going Viral? - Yale Economics Professor Robert Shiller developed the widely used Case-Shiller Home Price Index. He talks with Morley Safer of "60 Minutes" about trends in real estate and whether mortgage walkaways are "going viral."


Video: YouWalkAway.com - Chad Ruyle, co-founder of YouWalkAway.com talks about his business.


Video: Walking Away From A Mortgage - Chris Deaner of Sun City, Arizona tells Morley Safer of "60 Minutes" why he walked away from his home mortgage.



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Video: The Case For Walking Away From Your Mortgage

The Case For Walking Away From Your Mortgage - Brent White, a law professor at the University of Arizona does the math and explains why walking away from your mortgage might make financial sense.



Watch CBS News Videos Online


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Video: Are Mortgage Walkaways Going Viral?

Are Mortgage Walkaways Going Viral? - Yale Economics Professor Robert Shiller developed the widely used Case-Shiller Home Price Index. He talks with Morley Safer of "60 Minutes" about trends in real estate and whether mortgage walkaways are "going viral."



Watch CBS News Videos Online


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Video: YouWalkAway.com

YouWalkAway.com - Chad Ruyle, co-founder of YouWalkAway.com talks about his business.



Watch CBS News Videos Online


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Transocean Kidnapped Oil Rig Survivors, Coerced Signing No Legal Repsonsiblity

From Denny: I knew something wrong was going on about the BP oil rig survivors that we had yet to hear. It just wasn't the usual media coverage about such a huge environmental disaster of this scale. What's the first thing you see on TV but the bright lights of news cameras and microphones shoved into the faces of the survivors? Yet nothing happened for hours and hours after the accident. Nor did we hear from the hospitals or the relatives of these survivors.

Why was that? Because, it turns out, Transocean took it upon themselves to spirit away the survivors under an ominous company paid security guard - not local police - away from hospital treatment, psychiatrists for PTSD treatment, away from family and away from the media. They held the survivors for 15 hours and interrogated them to break their wills while they were in a fragile emotional and mental state. Talk about scumbags of the lowest order.

Lawyers and investigators working for Transocean forced the survivors to sign away their rights to later lawsuits for injury compensation or company responsibility. I'm sure Transocean thinks they accomplished quite a corporate coup here but I say "Hell, No!"

Why? Well, for one thing, if Transocean took any of these survivors to other states that will trigger investigations from the FBI, especially now that the survivors claim they were tricked and taken against their will. They thought they were being taken to the hospital for treatment - not interrogation by company lawyers.

What the attorneys did was keep the survivors out off shore on the water, in boats and on another rig for an additional 15 hours or more immediately after the explosion. The explosion happened at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, 20 April, yet the attorneys did not bring the survivors to shore until 3 a.m. Thursday, 22 April.

From one of the lawyers representing some of the survivors, Houston attorney Kurt Arnold, "They were zipped into private buses, there was security there, there was no press, no lawyers allowed, nothing, no family members. They drove them to this hotel and they escorted them into the back of this hotel, once again under escort."

Transocean purposely wasted many more hours to follow before allowing the survivors to phone loved ones to let them know they were safe.

Well, guess what else, you scumbag Transocean lawyers? If these survivors were held off shore in Louisiana waters within the international mile limit, and these survivors were Louisiana residents, then by Louisiana law it is not possible to sign away their rights, under duress or not. Not unless that law has changed recently. Even if the attorneys took the survivors beyond the international mile limit it does not matter for the the men who were Louisiana residents. It does not matter where they were at the time of the kidnapping. Louisiana law states they cannot sign away their rights no matter what.

For those who were not Louisiana residents, signing under duress is also not recognized by American law. So, Attorney General Holder, when do you plan to throw these Transocean attorneys in jail? They should be prosecuted to the full limit of the law. Taking American citizens hostage and forcing them into an interrogation situation and then coercing them to sign away their rights is as un-American as you can get. At some point citizens expect their government to stand up for their rights.


*** To read the full story from National Public Radio (NPR) go here:

Rig Survivors Felt Coerced To Sign Waivers (NPR)

*** ALSO over at Dennys Global Politics:

USA Offshore New Oil Drilling Halted, New USA Terrorist Screening, 3-Way Tie in Brit Election - News Headlines 6 May 2010

Supreme Court Pick Hunt, Dems Whimp Out on Finanacial Fund 4 Reform, How You Get on No-Fly List, Obama Tough on Airlines - News Headlines 5 May 2010

Pakistan Trained Bomber, Obamas Workaholic Ways, Catholics Polled About Sex Abuse - News Headlines 4 May 2010

BP Oil Spill Coverage - News Headlines 3 May 2010


Image from NASA of BP oil spill 29 April 2010


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