By Beachwood Novelties
A perfect gift for the holidays. Buy it now!
Posted on November 29, 2010
George W. Bush’s Letter To President Obama
By Ralph Nader
Dear President Obama:
As you know I’ve been peddling my book Decision Points and while doing interviews, people ask me what I think of the job you’re doing. My answer is the same: He deserves to make decisions without criticism from me. It’s a tough enough job as it is.
But their inquiries did prompt me to write you to privately express my continual admiration for the job you are doing. Amazing! I say “privately” because making my sentiments public would not do either of us any good, if you know what I mean.
First, I can scarcely believe my good fortune as to how your foreign and military policies – “continuity” was the word used recently by my good friend, Joe Lieberman – has protected my legacy. More than protected, you’ve proven yourself just as able – and I may say sometimes even more so – to “kick ass” as my Daddy used to say.
Posted on November 25, 2010
Lupe Fiasco vs. Kanye West
Stop Apologizing To George W. Bush And Put Him On Trial
Former president an imperial gangster.
Posted on November 24, 2010
George Ryan’s Dogs And Ponies
By Ed Hammer
On November 22, 2010, I sat in the federal courtroom of Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer and witnessed a dog and pony show. Lawyers representing George Ryan argued their motion to get Ryan released from prison based on the June 2010 Conrad Black case, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal honest services law of which he was convicted is vague and unconstitutional.
In 2006, after almost a six-month long trial and several days of deliberation, a jury unanimously convicted Ryan on all 22 counts of his indictment. Judge Pallmeyer subsequently sentenced Ryan to 6 1/2 years in federal prison. So far, he has served three of those years.
Posted on November 23, 2010
A County Clout List
By Dane Placko
“FOX Chicago News obtained a copy of a ‘clout list’ showing who landed jobs funded by a federal disaster grant. The list details who in county government sponsored the employees and contains information about friends and family already working at Cook County.
“The $10.3 million dollar grant was awarded to help residents whose property was damaged by flooding following heavy rains that swept through Cook County in the summer of 2008 . . .
“The list contains the names of 31 people who got jobs or contracts funded by the disaster grant. Written in hand beside many of the names are notations such as ‘father and uncle with county,’ ‘Andrea’s brother,’ or ‘uncle in highway.'”
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Posted on November 22, 2010
Quinn vs. Quade
By The Beachwood Vs. Affairs Desk
Compare and contrast.
Quinn: Accidental Governor.
Quade: Accidental Manager.
Quinn: Lame backup to Blago.
Quade: Lame substitute for Ryno.
Quinn: Winner of garbage-time election.
Quade: Winner in garbage-time games.
Quinn: Inexplicably eager to spend next four years taking blame for larger institutional problems which will most likely go unaddressed for decades after he’s gone.
Quade: Ditto.
Posted on November 19, 2010
FOIA Reform Fading
By The Beachwood Freedom Affairs Desk
“The Illinois House voted on Tuesday to overturn Gov. Pat Quinn’s amendatory veto on a bill that originally kept private the performance evaluations of all public employees,” Illinois Statehouse News reports.
“In 2009, the General Assembly revamped Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to give the public greater access to government information.
“But in the last year, the General Assembly has taken steps to reduce the amount of information that is available.”
How they voted:
Posted on November 18, 2010
Gangster City
The Tony Scales Chronicles
From the grief-stricken citizens of Chicago.
Posted on November 17, 2010
Americans Going Hungry
By The Greater Chicago Food Depository
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported Monday that more than 50 million Americans, including more than 17 million children, are food insecure – meaning they lack consistent access to a nutritious, well-balanced diet. The findings are based on data collected by the government in December, 2009.
In Illinois, 12.2 percent of households were food insecure at least some time from 2007 to 2009, including 4.4 percent with very low food security – up from 11.1 and 4.1 percent, respectively, in 2006-2008.
The report, Household Food Insecurity in the United States, is a sobering snapshot of the pervasiveness of hunger in our nation. The report shows that child hunger remains critically high. Nearly one in four children was at risk of hunger in 2009.
Posted on November 16, 2010
Obama Loan Mod Pledge Doesn’t Add Up
By Paul Kiel/ProPublica
When the Obama administration launched its flagship foreclosure prevention program in early 2009, it pledged to spend up to $50 billion helping struggling homeowners. But the government has so far only spent a tiny fraction of that.
A recent Treasury Department report summarizing TARP spending put the total at $600 million through October.
Although the Treasury Department posts the maximum amount that could go to each mortgage servicer on its website, it doesn2019t report the details of the spending. So we filed a Freedom of Information request for the data, and can now show for the first time exactly how much money has gone to each servicer. (A Treasury Department spokeswoman said they’re considering regularly releasing the information going forward.)
The program, which uses TARP money, tries to prevent foreclosures by paying mortgages servicers incentives to make loan modifications. The largest payout, $79 million, has gone to JPMorgan Chase. Next on the list is Bank of America with $45.1 million. That’s a drop in the bucket for BofA, which reported net servicing income of $780 million in the third quarter. (You can use our bailout tracker to see how much money has gone to each mortgage servicer. The figures, which come from our FOIA request, only go through August.)
With the government’s program showing signs of slowing down, the small payout so far shows that Treasury won’t come close to using the full $50 billion, said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance.
Posted on November 15, 2010