Friday, December 9, 2011

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

JPMorgan’s CEO doesn’t know what tax rate he pays

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:54 AM PST

Posted by Ezra Klein, WashingtonPost.com

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon making the case against raising taxes on the rich: "Most of us wage earners are paying 39.6 percent in taxes and add in another 12 percent in New York state and city taxes and we're paying 50 percent of our income in taxes."

The only problem? The top marginal tax rate is 35 percent. And that's only on income after $250,000. On income under $250,000, the tax rate is lower.

So even before Dimon's accountant gets involved, he's not paying 35 percent, much less 39.6 percent.

"Next time you read an article about the behavior response to marginal tax rates on high income earners," comments Matt Yglesias, remember "that President Obama wants to restore the top marginal rate to the level that Dimon thinks it already is. Meanwhile, Dimon doesn't even know what tax rate he pays."

To read more, visit:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/jp-morgans-ceo-doesnt-know-what-tax-rate-he-pays/2011/08/25/gIQA1JDGfO_blog.html

Corzine Says He Doesn’t Know Location of Missing Funds

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:50 AM PST

By Silla Brush and Lorraine Woellert, Bloomberg.com

Jon S. Corzine, former chairman and chief executive officer of MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MF), apologized to investors, customers and employees of the failed New York broker and told lawmakers he doesn't know the location of an estimated $1.2 billion in missing client money.

"I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date," Corzine told lawmakers in his prepared statement to a House Agriculture Committee hearing in Washington today.

Corzine, a Democrat who served in the Senate and as New Jersey's governor before joining MF Global, testified on events leading to the brokerage's filing for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 31. James W. Giddens, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of the firm, has estimated that $1.2 billion in client money is missing, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department are investigating the collapse.

Corzine, who resigned from his MF Global positions on Nov. 4, said in his 21-page statement that he was "stunned" to learn on Oct. 30 that the company couldn't account for "many hundreds of millions of dollars." His appearance before the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, comes after the panel voted to issue a subpoena to compel his testimony. The Senate Agriculture Committee and a House Financial Services subcommittee also voted to subpoena Corzine.

Avoiding the Fifth

In his remarks, Corzine apologized to MF Global's customers, investors and former employees who have suffered because of the bankruptcy. "Their plight weighs on my mind every day — every hour," he said.

Corzine told lawmakers that he would attempt to answer questions and avoid relying on his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. "As a former United States Senator who recognizes the importance of congressional oversight, and recognizing my position as former chief executive officer in these terrible circumstances, I believe it is appropriate that I attempt to respond to your inquiries," Corzine said. At the same time, "without adequate time and materials to prepare, I may be unable to respond to various questions," he said.

To read more, visit:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/corzine-to-tell-panel-he-doesn-t-know-where-missing-mf-global-millions-are.html

Federal judge: Montana blogger is not journalist

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:45 AM PST

By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press

A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that a Montana woman sued for defamation was not a journalist when she posted online that an Oregon lawyer acted criminally during a bankruptcy case, a decision with implications for bloggers around the country.

Crystal L. Cox, a blogger from Eureka, Mont., was sued for defamation by attorney Kevin Padrick when she posted online that he was a thug and a thief during the handling of bankruptcy proceedings by him and Obsidian Finance Group LLC.

U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez found last week that as a blogger, Cox was not a journalist and cannot claim the protections afforded to mainstream reporters and news outlets.

Although media experts said Wednesday that the ruling would have little effect on the definition of journalism, it casts a shadow on those who work in nontraditional media since it highlights the lack of case law that could protect them and the fact that current state shield laws for journalists are not covering recent developments in online media.

“My advice to bloggers operating in the state of Oregon is lobby to get your shield law improved so bloggers are covered,” said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “But do not expect the shield law to provide you a defense in a libel case where you want to rely on an anonymous source for that information.”

The judge ruled that Cox was not protected by Oregon’s shield law from having to produce sources, saying even though Cox defines herself as media, she was not affiliated with any mainstream outlet. He added that the shield law does not apply to civil actions for defamation.

To read more, visit:  http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BLOGGER_DEFAMATION_SUIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-07-20-39-18

Could Playing Videogames Be a War Crime?

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:42 AM PST

By Michael Peck, Wired.com

Is your Xbox illegal under the Geneva Convention? Could you be hauled before the International Criminal Court for playing shooter games like Battlefield 3 or Call of Duty?

Absolutely not, says a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "War crimes are serious violations of the laws of war committed in real life situations, not on virtual battlefields," the ICRC's Bijan Frederic Farnoudi tells Danger Room.

But Farnoudi's colleagues aren't quite so sure. They believe that virtual worlds and real war crimes could conceivably be linked — especially if an army uses a virtual world to train its troops. The legality of violence and video games is certainly being mulled by the ICRC. The question arose in a side discussion to a recent Red Cross conference, prompted by a report from a pair of human rights groups.

Christian Rouffaer, head of the ICRC's international humanitarian law and videogames project, says that "a soldier trained on a computer or by any other means to shoot wounded enemy combatants would probably not be the only one to be prosecuted as it is primarily the responsibility of his commander to train, educate and to give him lawful orders." In other words according to Rouffaer, military training that violates the Geneva Conventions is still a crime — even if that training is virtual.

The ICRC discussion was spurred by the work of a couple of Swiss human rights groups: Pro Juventute and TRIAL, a legal organization that describes itself as putting "the law at the service of the victims of international crimes."

To read more, visit:  http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/12/video-games-war-crime/

GOP questions ‘two-month gap’ in Kagan’s health care involvement

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:32 AM PST

By Stephen Dinan and Dave Boyer, The Washington Times

The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee said Thursday that the Obama administration is fueling speculation about Supreme CourtJustice Elena Kagan's impartiality because it won't turn over documents detailing her role in crafting the legal strategy to defend the health care law while she was serving in the administration.

Rep. Lamar Smith, the committee chairman, told Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that emails show Justice Kagan took an interest in the case in January 2010, when she was solicitor general, and he demanded to know what role she played between then and March 2010, when Mr. Obama tapped her to sit on the high court.

"The issue is, how involved was she in health care discussions between Jan. 8 and March 5? Just as President Nixon had an 18½-minute gap, does Ms. Kagan have a two-month gap?" Mr. Smith, Texas Republican, said.

Conservative groups have called for Justice Kagan to recuse herself from ruling on the case challenging the constitutionality of Mr. Obama's health care law, which the Supreme Court last month said it will consider next year.

Mr. Smith has requested a fuller explanation of Justice Kagan's role. He said the Justice Department had denied his request but never cited any legal privilege to withhold information.

Mr. Holder told the committee that department officials tried to wall off Justice Kagan from conversations once they knew she was under consideration for the Supreme Court.

To read more, visit:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/8/gop-questions-two-month-gap-kagans-health-care-inv/

Tea Party members of Congress curiously not for Bachman or Paul

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:27 AM PST

By: Kevin Kervick, Examiner.com

Many political observers are beginning to wonder if the Tea Party Movement really exists at all, or if it was merely a figment of our imaginations.

Several months ago, I suggested there was not one coherent movement, but a series of factions that came together in opposition to the status quo and President Obama. With the passage of time, my analysis seems even more on target.

In an article in the Washington Times, Seth McLaughlin reports that only one member of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress has supported Ron Paul, the so-called Godfather of the Tea Party Movement, for President, and that is his son, Rand Paul. Michele Bachmann, the founder and leader of that caucus, has only one member endorsing her for President. What is going on? How can the two candidates most identified with the Tea Party Movement have so few fellow Tea Party Congressmen supporting them?

The article goes on to say that thirty-six of the Caucus members have not yet endorsed anyone and twenty-one members have endorsed either Tim Pawlenty (who dropped out), Mitt Romney, or Newt Gingrich. To many observers, and a few Tea Party leaders quoted in the article, the decision of the twenty-one members to endorse either Romney or Gingrich makes no sense because neither of those two men shares their limited government values. Gingrich is on record saying he identifies himself as a Theodore Roosevelt Republican and Romney initiated Romneycare as Governor of Massachusetts. Tea Party voters see Romneycare as a smaller version of Obamacare, the big government program Tea Party protesters vehemently opposed.

Despite his stated big government intentions, most people who say they support the Tea Party Movement are currently behind Newt Gingrich according to a new Gallup poll.

There are some sobering questions embedded in these developments that should hit Tea Party leaders and Identity Conservatives right between the eyes. Is the Tea Party Movement dead? Was it ever anything to begin with? Was it simply a rejection of President Obama with no substance behind the rhetoric?

To read more, visit:  http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-manchester/if-not-for-ron-paul-what-is-the-tea-party-movement

Tea party turns up the heat on GOP

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:23 AM PST

By Aaron Gould Sheinin, ajc.com

Tea party groups around Georgia are mobilizing to challenge state elected officials they've deemed RINOs — Republicans In Name Only.

They are emboldened by victories in 2010 and recent polling showing 2 in 3 Republican voters agree with the tea party's anti-tax, limited-government message.

Their ambition is to elect ideologically strict candidates. At stake is the direction of the party, which would drift more to the right if tea party backed candidates are elected.

Recruiting is under way to find challengers to 10 to 12 incumbent GOP lawmakers, including House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge.

"The Republican establishment needs to understand they are going extinct if they do not start adopting the ideology of the tea party in this state," said Bill Evelyn, a founder of the State of Georgia Tea Party.

The upstarts, who say it's time to "clean up the party," are most upset about Republican support for next year's regional transportation tax referendums, but say a general lack of fiscal responsibility is reason enough to challenge incumbents. But those who have drawn tea party ire say their fellow Republicans have the wrong targets.

To read more, visit:  http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/tea-party-turns-up-1254319.html

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook photos revealed after glitch exposes users’ private images

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 09:44 AM PST

By: John Terauds, The Star.com

Facebook users' private pictures were exposed to unauthorized downloads for a few hours on Tuesday.

This is the latest in a series of incidents that highlight the fragility of security in a global social network that counts 800 million users.

A post on a BodyBuilding.com forum provided step-by-step instructions on how to pilfer a person's private photos.

Curious people wasted little time downloading a shot of Mark Zuckerberg holding a chicken upside down, as well as other personal pictures posted by the Facebook founder.

Within hours, engineers at Facebook had plugged the security loophole, blaming the glitch on a software upgrade.

Last month, thousands of users were sent pornographic spam, again prompting swift action by the social media site.

To read more, visit:  http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1098228–mark-zuckerberg-s-facebook-photos-revealed-after-glitch-exposes-users-private-images
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