[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: do.rflex wrote: Congress, White House Pointing Fingers Over Who Killed Bonus Provision... You need to get some smarts, Mr. Manning, the AIG bonuses aren't even a blip on the radar compared to the crazed spending by the Obama Democratic Party Congress. And nobody knows where the money is even going. Obama is turning into a nightmare spender. The Obama, Reid and Polosi clique are bent on ruining our economy and turning this country into a Soviet-style communism. There's anger brewing in the masses and like Barry2 says, rebellion is in the air. LOL !...only among the minority rednecks like you and Chuck Norris, Richard. What a joke. Where would we be if it weren't for the minority of rednecks (patriots) that took issue with the powers that be in the late seventeen hundreds? Probably best to wait before making a judgment.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Nelson nelsonriddle2...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings no_reply@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: do.rflex wrote: Congress, White House Pointing Fingers Over Who Killed Bonus Provision... You need to get some smarts, Mr. Manning, the AIG bonuses aren't even a blip on the radar compared to the crazed spending by the Obama Democratic Party Congress. And nobody knows where the money is even going. Obama is turning into a nightmare spender. The Obama, Reid and Polosi clique are bent on ruining our economy and turning this country into a Soviet-style communism. There's anger brewing in the masses and like Barry2 says, rebellion is in the air. LOL !...only among the minority rednecks like you and Chuck Norris, Richard. What a joke. Where would we be if it weren't for the minority of rednecks (patriots) that took issue with the powers that be in the late seventeen hundreds? Probably best to wait before making a judgment. If you've studied the american patriots at all you know they were definitely not rednecks. Anyone with an ounce of economic sense knows the current crisis was created and started long before obama was around, and the current spending is to stimulate the economic in response to this crisis. Funny how $5 trillion in debt incurred during bush yrs before he created a crisis didn't raise an eyebrow for these republican idiots.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
boo_lives wrote: Anyone with an ounce of economic sense knows the current crisis was created and started long before obama was around... So, Richard Holbrooke approved the AIG bonuses when he served on the AIG board. Holbrook also got sweetheart deals from Angelo at Countrywide. But where was Holbrook when Enron was going down? Now Holbrook is Obama's special envoy? So, this is the hope and change in Washington D.C. with Obama. Read more: 'Strike Two for Holbrooke' Kausfiles, March 20, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/ddtwgv
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
Dodd will be defeated in the next election, now he's trying to put the blame for the AIG bonuses on Tim, Barak, Harry and Nancy. boo wrote: You're finished Richard. Give it up old man. You are all washed up, and no-one cares about your stupid Chevy truck that has broken down. So, Tim Gaithner knew about the AIG bonuses on March 3rd, not just last weekend. Business as usual in Washington, D.C. Dodd will be defeated in the next election - he's finished. Next to go will be Tim Gaithner, I predict. 'Congress, Geithner knew about bonuses on March 3rd' Posted by Ed Morrissey Hot Air, March 20, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/d2bl29
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willy...@... wrote: do.rflex wrote: Congress, White House Pointing Fingers Over Who Killed Bonus Provision... You need to get some smarts, Mr. Manning, the AIG bonuses aren't even a blip on the radar compared to the crazed spending by the Obama Democratic Party Congress. Er, that money from Obama is money for a very large part of a CONTINENT the size of Europe, and almost as big an economy as Europe. It is called the USA Richard. OffWorld
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Robert babajii...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , enlightened_dawn11 no_reply@ wrote: this partisan warfare has reached an unhealthy level, with the radicals on the right not even willing to wait to see the effects of the president's policies. it wouldn't have been tolerated even ten years ago, but the poison of the bush era continues to seep into american politics. pathetic and disturbing. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com mailto:FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com , Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: Judy wrote: Treasury is stabbing Dodd in the back to cover up its own stupidity, and as I said earlier, the right-wingers are happily helping out in that effort... It would probably be in the best interests of the country for Obama, Gietner, Dodd, Reid, and Pelosi to just resign today, snip Basically I think they're stuck on keeping any change from seeping through. They are afraid of any real change of anything. Ronald Reagan is their hero, and that's that. Yes, that would be the Ronald Reagan who supplied Saddam Hussein with chemical weapons to use (on a daily basis) against the Iranians. The right wing are LITERALLY insane. OffWorld
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willy...@... wrote: do.rflex wrote: Congress, White House Pointing Fingers Over Who Killed Bonus Provision... You need to get some smarts, Mr. Manning, the AIG bonuses aren't even a blip on the radar compared to the crazed spending by the Obama Democratic Party Congress. And nobody knows where the money is even going. Obama is turning into a nightmare spender. The Obama, Reid and Polosi clique are bent on ruining our economy and turning this country into a Soviet-style communism. There's anger brewing in the masses and like Barry2 says, rebellion is in the air. LOL !...only among the minority rednecks like you and Chuck Norris, Richard. What a joke. Dodd will be defeated in the next election, now he's trying to put the blame for the AIG bonuses on Tim, Barak, Harry and Nancy. What is so hilarious is that you do not even realise that the Republicans will loose EVEN MORE seats in 2010. Its over for the Republican party. It will take 20 years for them to come back. Their MAIN base, the christian fundamentalists have given up on them, and most of their base are bankrupt anyway and can't afford to buy the party, like they back in 2000 and 2004. Hell, even the people who rigged the elections for Bush have been saying so, and have turned against the Republican party now. You're finished Richard. Give it up old man. You are all washed up, and no-one cares about your stupid Chevy truck that has broken down. Start hitch hiking. OffWorld
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willy...@... wrote: Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. This is false. Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. Full story: 'White House, Dems backpedaling on AIG' By David Espo Associated Press, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/dajxoo
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. Judy wrote: This is false. That's just your opinion - I don't agree. According to Harry Reid, the Dodd words were included. Dodd did it - maybe in the future he should read the bill BEFORE he signs it - then he wouldn't have to go into back-pedal mode. I think we should look at what we did put in the bill. We did put the Dodd language... - Harry Reid During a late-night, closed door meeting last month, negotiators for the House, Senate and White House agreed to strip an amendment to the stimulus bill that would have restricted bonuses to any company receiving federal bailout funds. Instead of that measure, another measure by Senator Chris Dodd (D) from Connecticut was inserted that limited executive compensation, but specifically exempted bonuses. Read more: 'Stimulus backroom deal backfires' By Mark Matthews ABC-KGO TV, Tuesday, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cszubn Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. Full story: 'White House, Dems backpedaling on AIG' By David Espo Associated Press, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/dajxoo
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willy...@... wrote: Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. Judy wrote: This is false. That's just your opinion - I don't agree. Not a matter of opinion, sorry. Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ \ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. According to Harry Reid, the Dodd words were included. Dodd did it - maybe in the future he should read the bill BEFORE he signs it - then he wouldn't have to go into back-pedal mode. I think we should look at what we did put in the bill. We did put the Dodd language... - Harry Reid During a late-night, closed door meeting last month, negotiators for the House, Senate and White House agreed to strip an amendment to the stimulus bill that would have restricted bonuses to any company receiving federal bailout funds. Instead of that measure, another measure by Senator Chris Dodd (D) from Connecticut was inserted that limited executive compensation, but specifically exempted bonuses. Read more: 'Stimulus backroom deal backfires' By Mark Matthews ABC-KGO TV, Tuesday, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cszubn Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. Full story: 'White House, Dems backpedaling on AIG' By David Espo Associated Press, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/dajxoo
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. Judy wrote: This is false. That's just your opinion - I don't agree. Judy wrote: Not a matter of opinion, sorry. Somebody is lying, that's fer sure; either Dodd or Reid - that's my opinion. Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the corporate crony who is the largest recipient of AIG donations, is now leading the charge to tax the retention payments in order to recoup the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial-products unit. But Dodd, it turns out, was for protecting AIG's bonuses before he was against them. Read more: 'Spare us your fake furry, DC hypocrites' Posted by Michelle Malkin New York Post, March 18, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/c3nepd Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ \ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. According to Harry Reid, the Dodd words were included. Dodd did it - maybe in the future he should read the bill BEFORE he signs it - then he wouldn't have to go into back-pedal mode. I think we should look at what we did put in the bill. We did put the Dodd language... - Harry Reid During a late-night, closed door meeting last month, negotiators for the House, Senate and White House agreed to strip an amendment to the stimulus bill that would have restricted bonuses to any company receiving federal bailout funds. Instead of that measure, another measure by Senator Chris Dodd (D) from Connecticut was inserted that limited executive compensation, but specifically exempted bonuses. Read more: 'Stimulus backroom deal backfires' By Mark Matthews ABC-KGO TV, Tuesday, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cszubn
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
Congress, White House Pointing Fingers Over Who Killed Bonus Provision Sam Stein - Huffington Post - 3/18/09 The question of who killed a provision that could have reined in lavish bonuses issued by bailout recipients remains a mystery, with key players either declaring innocence or pointing the finger at someone else. Senior Hill aides insist that the main congressional suspects were not involved, and contend that they are still searching for answers themselves. On Tuesday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.) told the Huffington Post that a measure sponsored by he and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) -- which would have levied a 35% tax on bonuses issued by TARP recipients exceeding $100,000 -- was inexplicably and anonymously removed from February's stimulus bill during House/Senate negotiations. The result was that the legislation, while targeting future bonuses given by bailed-out firms, allowed companies like AIG to award senior executives $165 million for 2008. Whenever I went to one of these special interest groups that I knew were one of the people that was likely trying to unravel this, they would say 'oh my goodness. It wasn't us. It must have been someone else,' Wyden recalled. And so it was sort of a pin-the-tail on the donkey kind of exercise to figure out who was actually responsible for killing it. The difficulty in finding the culprit underscores just how sensitive a topic these bonuses have become. Many sources on Capitol Hill claim to be totally in the dark about what happened during the conference committee. Others have simply been mum. One name floated as a suspect is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). He chairs the Senate banking committee, has received large financial support from AIG, and is the insurance company's home-state Senator. But, in a statement released on Tuesday, the Connecticut Democrat said he supported Wyden's legislation: unfortunately, that provision was removed from the stimulus bill in Conference. Moreover, as one Hill aide notes, Dodd wasn't even part of the conference committee. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), on the other hand, was a member of the conference committee. But the Finance Committee Chair, according to officials, was not granted purview of executive compensation. That was considered Banking's domain. And in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, he noted that the stimulus was constructed in such haste that he didn't have time and other conferees didn't have time to address many of the provisions that were modified significantly. His office confirmed the quote, which seems to indicate that Baucus was not involved.. Then there is Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), who was also on the conference committee, and has long recoiled about using the tax-code as a political weapon. But the longtime Harlem Democrat, like Baucus, doesn't have jurisdiction over the bonuses. One House Democratic aide noted: This issue was put forward by the Senate Banking Committee and was never dealt by other members of the conference committee. If not Dodd, Baucus or Rangel, then who? Much of the ensuing speculation has focused on the Obama White House and/or Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Dodd, for starters, said that a separate provision limiting executive compensation that he introduced to the stimulus was modified at the insistence of the administration to include exemptions for bonuses protected by contracts. Moreover, during the crafting of the stimulus, senior administration officials were letting it be known that they were concerned with hard caps on compensation. Publicly, chief adviser David Axelrod acknowledged that Geithner and Larry Summers had concerns about stringent limits. A call to the White House to discuss this issue was not immediately returned. And while the president's press secretary Robert Gibbs has not been asked specifically about what happened during the stimulus conference committee, he has defended the administration from accusations that it dropped the ball on the bonus front. Understand that the compensation structure for executives prior to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, laying out the way we're going to do business changing, there was -- Barack Obama came in and there was a new sheriff in town on executive compensation, Gibbs said on Tuesday. He changed the way we did business here and the way Wall Street did business, by instituting the toughest executive compensation rules that had ever been entered into, changing the lawlessness with which all of this was governed prior to that announcement. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/18/congress-white-house-poin_n_176412.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willy...@... wrote: Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. Judy wrote: This is false. That's just your opinion - I don't agree. Judy wrote: Not a matter of opinion, sorry. Somebody is lying, that's fer sure; either Dodd or Reid - that's my opinion. Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the corporate crony who is the largest recipient of AIG donations, is now leading the charge to tax the retention payments in order to recoup the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial-products unit. But Dodd, it turns out, was for protecting AIG's bonuses before he was against them. This is false. Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ \ \ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. Read more: 'Spare us your fake furry, DC hypocrites' Posted by Michelle Malkin New York Post, March 18, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/c3nepd Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuse\ \ s/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Dodd has his ethical problems, but he was on the side of the angels in this instance. According to Harry Reid, the Dodd words were included. Dodd did it - maybe in the future he should read the bill BEFORE he signs it - then he wouldn't have to go into back-pedal mode. I think we should look at what we did put in the bill. We did put the Dodd language... - Harry Reid During a late-night, closed door meeting last month, negotiators for the House, Senate and White House agreed to strip an amendment to the stimulus bill that would have restricted bonuses to any company receiving federal bailout funds. Instead of that measure, another measure by Senator Chris Dodd (D) from Connecticut was inserted that limited executive compensation, but specifically exempted bonuses. Read more: 'Stimulus backroom deal backfires' By Mark Matthews ABC-KGO TV, Tuesday, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cszubn
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. Judy wrote: This is false. That's just your opinion - I don't agree. Judy wrote: Not a matter of opinion, sorry. Somebody is lying, that's fer sure; either Dodd or Reid - that's my opinion. Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the corporate crony who is the largest recipient of AIG donations, is now leading the charge to tax the retention payments in order to recoup the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial-products unit. But Dodd, it turns out, was for protecting AIG's bonuses before he was against them. This is false. Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. Uh-oh: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) looks like he may be facing a fresh political firestorm. Dodd just admitted on CNN that he inserted a loophole in the stimulus legislation that allowed million-dollar bonuses to insurance giant AIG to go forward after previously denying any involvement in writing the controversial provision. . We wrote the language in the bill, the deal with bonuses, golden parachutes, excessive executive compensation that was adopted unanimously by the United States Senate in the stimulus bill, Dodd told CNN's Wolf Blitzer this afternoon. But for that language, there would have been no language to deal with this at all. Dodd had previously said that he played no role in writing the controversial language, and was not a part of the conference committee that inserted the language in the bill. As late as today, Dodd's spokeswoman denied the senator's involvement. The AIG bonuses have caused a political firestorm, with Republicans and Democrats alike looking to lay blame for who's responsible, and leading lawmakers looking to revoke the bonuses. Dodd's role in the legislation will likely come up as he faces the likelihood of a tough re-election. Former GOP congressman Rob Simmons announced he was running this week, and has already taken issue with Dodd's stewardship as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., won passage of a provision earlier this year that they said would have prevented the type of payments now at the center of a storm. It was dropped without explanation in the final compromise on the economic stimulus measure, replaced by a less restrictive set of conditions backed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and accepted by the White House. Judy wrote: This is false. That's just your opinion - I don't agree. Judy wrote: Not a matter of opinion, sorry. Somebody is lying, that's fer sure; either Dodd or Reid - that's my opinion. Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the corporate crony who is the largest recipient of AIG donations, is now leading the charge to tax the retention payments in order to recoup the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial-products unit. But Dodd, it turns out, was for protecting AIG's bonuses before he was against them. This is false. Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. Uh-oh: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) looks like he may be facing a fresh political firestorm. Not Exactly - Dodd just admitted on CNN that he inserted a loophole in the stimulus legislation that allowed million-dollar bonuses to insurance giant AIG to go forward after previously denying any involvement in writing the controversial provision. . We wrote the language in the bill, the deal with bonuses, golden parachutes, excessive executive compensation that was adopted unanimously by the United States Senate in the stimulus bill, Dodd told CNN's Wolf Blitzer this afternoon. But for that language, there would have been no language to deal with this at all. Now from Alternet: http://snipurl.com/e3scw According to Dodd, officials at Treasury expressed concern that if the government were to prohibit payouts, it risked being sued by companies like AIG, which had contracts stipulating that bonuses were to be paid. At the urging of Treasury officials, Dodd modified a clause he had previously inserted into the stimulus that prohibited bonuses from being issued by bailed-out companies. An exemption was added to allow bonuses that applied to in-place contracts. The alternative was, in my view, losing the entire section on executive excessive compensation, he said. Given the choice ... I agreed to a modification in the legislation, reluctantly. I wasn't negotiating with myself. I wasn't changing my own amendment. I was changing the amendment because others were insisting on it. I would have preferred that we kept my language, as it left the Senate unanimously, Dodd added. In fact there were objections when I wrote the language even before it left the Senate. ... The administration expressed reservations with the amendment. They came to us and asked for modifications in the amendment. The alternative was, of course, losing the amendment entirely, which was a possibility. I didn't want to see that happen. I suspect we would be having a conversation tonight why we didn't include some language in here to deal with bonuses, golden parachutes and the like. ... I don't believe anyone had any idea, I certainly didn't, that a month and a half later from February we would be talking about AIG and the bonuses they are receiving for their retentions, these $165 million. So that was never a part of the consideration. The disclosure should put to rest one aspect of the debate over how a company like AIG, which has received $170 billion in taxpayer funds, was allowed to dole out $165 million in bonus payments. Still unresolved is who in conference removed the amendment introduced by Sens. Wyden and Snowe that would have taxed bonuses exceeding $100,000 at 35 percent. More detail in CNN's write up here: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/18/aig.bonuses.congress/index.html Dodd had previously said that he played no role in writing the controversial language, and was not a part of the conference committee that inserted the language in the bill. As late as today, Dodd's spokeswoman denied the senator's involvement. The AIG bonuses have caused a political firestorm, with Republicans and Democrats alike looking to lay blame for who's responsible, and leading lawmakers looking to revoke the bonuses. Dodd's role in the legislation will likely come up as he faces the likelihood of a tough
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@... wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jstein@ wrote: --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: snip [quoting extreme right-winger Michelle Malkin:] Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, the corporate crony who is the largest recipient of AIG donations, is now leading the charge to tax the retention payments in order to recoup the $450 million the company is paying to employees in its financial-products unit. But Dodd, it turns out, was for protecting AIG's bonuses before he was against them. This is false. Actually it was the White House that insisted on the provision that excluded AIG; Dodd opposed it. The administration is dishonestly trying to pin it on Dodd, and the right-wingers are happily helping out. Uh-oh: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) looks like he may be facing a fresh political firestorm. This piece from Politico is highly and almost certainly deliberately misleading. Anybody who read the link I provided would realize this. The point is that Dodd *opposed the loophole*, spoke out against it, argued with the administration about it, but was ultimately forced by Treasury to put it in or get no limitations on executive compensation at all. See the original link I provided: http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuses/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Also see Glenn Greenwald's post at Salon; his Update III specifically addresses Dodd's CNN appearance: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/17/dodd/ http://tinyurl.com/cwmqbj Treasury is stabbing Dodd in the back to cover up its own stupidity, and as I said earlier, the right-wingers are happily helping out in that effort. This is truly reprehensible reporting by Politico.
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, authfriend jst...@... wrote: See the original link I provided: http://firedoglake.com/2009/03/17/treasury-attempts-to-blame-dodd-for-aig-bonuses/ http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has a petition No More Dough Till We Know Where It Goes I'm on her email list so I signed it last week. I hope anyone who feels so inclined will take a moment to sign. Jane has been leading the way calling the Obama to task on his promise for more transparency in government. http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/Transparency http://tinyurl.com/cuj4uj
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
Judy wrote: Treasury is stabbing Dodd in the back to cover up its own stupidity, and as I said earlier, the right-wingers are happily helping out in that effort... It would probably be in the best interests of the country for Obama, Gietner, Dodd, Reid, and Pelosi to just resign today, after trying to pull off this stunt - they just gave away millions of tax-payer dollars - they sold out to AIG and tried to trick the American public by acting angry and surprised. Sen. Dodd told CNN Wednesday that officials in the Treasury Department asked him to add the bonus loophole to the stimulus bill before it was passed. Full story: 'I was responsible for bonus loophole, says Dodd' CNN Politics, March 18, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cbuu9u For the administration official to blame Dodd in the pages of the New York Times for the payout of these bonuses, after the White House publicly fought him tooth and nail to weaken compensation limits, is completely disingenuous. Full report: 'Treasury Attempts to 'Blame Dodd' for AIG Bonuses' Posted by Jane Hamsher Firedoglake, Tuesday March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/cq2n6l But now that a political scandal has erupted over these payments, the White House is trying to deflect blame from itself and heap it all on Chris Dodd by claiming that it was Dodd who was responsible for that exemption. Read more: 'The dishonest Blame Dodd scheme from Treasury officials' Posted by Glenn Greenwald Salon, March 17, 2009 http://tinyurl.com/dzr68z
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
do.rflex wrote: Congress, White House Pointing Fingers Over Who Killed Bonus Provision... You need to get some smarts, Mr. Manning, the AIG bonuses aren't even a blip on the radar compared to the crazed spending by the Obama Democratic Party Congress. And nobody knows where the money is even going. Obama is turning into a nightmare spender. The Obama, Reid and Polosi clique are bent on ruining our economy and turning this country into a Soviet-style communism. There's anger brewing in the masses and like Barry2 says, rebellion is in the air. Dodd will be defeated in the next election, now he's trying to put the blame for the AIG bonuses on Tim, Barak, Harry and Nancy. Dodd is history, I predict. He will be fired from his job as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee for taking kickbacks from A.I.G. Senator Barack Obama received a $101,332 bonus from American International Group in the form of political contributions...The two biggest Congressional recipients of bonuses from the A.I.G. are - Senators Chris Dodd and Senator Barack Obama. Read more: 'Obama Received a $101,332 Bonus from AIG' http://tinyurl.com/dazprd Sam Stein - Huffington Post - 3/18/09 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/18/congress-white-house-poin_n_176412.html
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
this partisan warfare has reached an unhealthy level, with the radicals on the right not even willing to wait to see the effects of the president's policies. it wouldn't have been tolerated even ten years ago, but the poison of the bush era continues to seep into american politics. pathetic and disturbing. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willy...@... wrote: Judy wrote: Treasury is stabbing Dodd in the back to cover up its own stupidity, and as I said earlier, the right-wingers are happily helping out in that effort... It would probably be in the best interests of the country for Obama, Gietner, Dodd, Reid, and Pelosi to just resign today, snip
[FairfieldLife] Re: Backpedaling on AIG?
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, enlightened_dawn11 no_re...@... wrote: this partisan warfare has reached an unhealthy level, with the radicals on the right not even willing to wait to see the effects of the president's policies. it wouldn't have been tolerated even ten years ago, but the poison of the bush era continues to seep into american politics. pathetic and disturbing. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Richard J. Williams willytex@ wrote: Judy wrote: Treasury is stabbing Dodd in the back to cover up its own stupidity, and as I said earlier, the right-wingers are happily helping out in that effort... It would probably be in the best interests of the country for Obama, Gietner, Dodd, Reid, and Pelosi to just resign today, snip Basically I think they're stuck on keeping any change from seeping through. They are afraid of any real change of anything. Ronald Reagan is their hero, and that's that. Bush was bad because he was just too arrogant about the policy of militarization and Reagan Voodoo Trickle Down...Cocaine/Winner take all, take a hike mike. damn hippies, get off my lawn; you're killing me; who cares? what me worry? Just say No!...Jimmie Who? Obama aims for the opposite, from the ground up. So, they say he's like Jimmie Carter? Wow, the ultimate slur! So, now the Joker plays the heard, the sheep, and angry mass sausage. They are playing the fear card, at every turn. The Russians are coming; this is socialism folks; playing into every Red State button, they can push, push, push... And for those that feel powerless and fearful, well then, they just keep on listening to the same schlock everyday. Rush Limbaugh is their point man, and he's just in it for the King Jester role...that's all the Republicans have left. Ronald Reagan has become Rush Limbaugh... 'The Times They Are A Changin'' There's no going back to the way things were...it could not be sustained; R.G.
