Of note is the fact that they still have yet to fix any of the underlying problems that resulted in what is nothing more than trillion dollar welfare checks for the bankers:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

"The leaders on Wall Street completely lost any sense of their responsibility to the society," Lewis said. "And if you know you're gonna blow up AIG by putting $20 billion of bad subprime mortgage risk into it even though it's gonna be very profitable for you, you should stop and say this shouldn't be done."

You would think that Wall Street and the bankers would feel some sense of shame because they are living on welfare. But the absurd size of their welfare checks eases their pain and I am sure they would like to thank you for keeping them in the money as you go without. (H/T to Susie Madrak at Crooks and Liars)

What do you think this kind of crappy inbreeding results in?

(Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc.
named Peter Hancock, described by a former employer as an
“architect” of the derivatives business, to oversee finance
and risk, including the insurer’s money-losing credit-default
swap unit.

Hancock spent 20 years at a predecessor to JPMorgan Chase &
Co., where he established the derivatives group and served as
chief financial officer, New York-based AIG said in a statement
today. Hancock, who most recently was vice chairman at KeyCorp
responsible for national banking, will report to AIG Chief
Executive Officer Robert Benmosche.

Hancock “is one of the people that basically developed the
credit-default swaps market at JPMorgan in the mid-1990s,” said
Ed Grebeck, CEO of Stamford, Connecticut-based debt-consulting
firm Tempus Advisors and an instructor at New York University on
derivatives. “Given that he was one of the pioneers, it’s
probably the first good appointment that any one of these
bailed-out firms has made.”

Those prankster shadow bank CEOs... They sure know where to put the right people to bury their body of crimes. What? You're not laughing??? You little people have no sense of humor. Maybe you'll like this joke a little more?

promoted by roxy. Originally posted 2010-01-27 17:20:57 -1000

Michael Collins

Just a few cynics doubted the magnificent procession of then Senator
Barack Obama to the highest office in the land. He was the redemption
of our past sins, the proof that we were a better nation than we had
been. After all, race has been at the center of American politics since
Bacon's Rebellion was crushed in 1667 but we were  moving beyond that.  And we did.   Race was set aside for most of those who voted.

From StevenD at Booman Tribune we get this interesting observation:

What part of my citation from this story is dripping with irony? Take your time, but it should be easy to spot without too much hard work.

The president will announce a series of measures to cut
down on excessive risk-taking as part of a revamp of the country's
financial regulatory system, a senior Obama official said on Wednesday.

The move could also help the White House tap into public rage over Wall
Street excess after Obama's Democratic Party was rebuffed by voters in
Massachusetts, who elected Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. senate.

"The proposal will include size and complexity limits specifically on
proprietary trading and the White House will work closely with the
House and Senate to work this into legislation," the official said.

Did you see it? I'm sure you did, but being the incurable know-it-all that I am, let me point it out for you anyway:

"[T]he White House will work closely with the House and Senate to work this into legislation."

I hope this doesn't mean that they will go about this the same way they
"worked closely with the House and Senate" to get a workable health
care reform bill passed. Because if that's the case all I can see is
another looming failure where certain Senators and Blue Dog Democrats
hijack the process and turn the financial reforms the administration
proposes into the same bowl of thin gruel that health care reform ended
up as, thanks to people like Bart Stupak, Joe Lieberman, Olympia Snowe
and Ben Nelson.

In what is completely and totally unrelated news that will never, NEVER EVER, have any impact on the information StevenD is talking about:

The number of foreclosure filings hit a record high in the 3rd quarter: "Despite signs of broader economic recovery,
number of foreclosure filings hit a record high in the third quarter -
a sign the plague is still spreading."

And banks are keeping losses off the books as they ignore the people that are not paying their mortgages:

JUAN GONZALEZ: And William Black, where is the outrage? It
seems to me, at this stage, with the—as the foreclosures continue to
escalate in numbers, and yet we’re seeing these enormous profits less
than a year after the financial crisis. There doesn’t seem to be the
kind of outrage, even in Congress, that there was six months or eight
months ago.

WILLIAM BLACK: There’s no palpable outrage, certainly not
in Congress. The reform efforts on derivatives, for example, are a
scandal. They exempt virtually all of the problem derivatives, and
they’re designed to exempt it. And that’s the bill that’s introduced,
and of course it’s likely to get worse with additional lobbying from
the special interests.

Link the things that you’ve just been talking about. You talked
about foreclosures reaching record highs. But in fact, foreclosures,
relative to delinquencies, are quite low compared to historical ratios.
In other words, banks have tons of folks who are not paying their
mortgages on time, and they’re not foreclosing. And the reason they’re
not foreclosing is, once you foreclose, you have to recognize losses
under the accounting rules. And the banks gimmicked the accounting
rules. They put pressure on Congress, and Congress put pressure on the
accounting profession to gimmick the accounting rules now about a year
ago. Now, these bonuses, of course, are paid compared to alleged
profits. What happens if you understate your losses dramatically? You
report much higher profits and much higher bonuses. So this is a web of
fraud, in which they are getting as much as they can before the place
goes to hell in a handbasket again.

Here we are neck deep in debt to pay off the gambling debts of the bankers and now they are completely ignoring their very real losses that are piling up at a record rate simply so they can keep the bonus money flowing into their own pockets:

The Dow is Up but Your House is Gone

So here we have another bankster scam being waged on the consuming public. The scam is to create another "too big to fail" scenario as they make record profits and pay out record bonuses by rigging their books.

But the good news is the Dow is up.

So you or someone you care about is likely without a job or looking for more work. But the elite are rigging the system again, and you are going to fix things next time by voting for a Republican.

And what are these bankers with their Enron style accounting doing to help the homeowners that are on the verge of losing their homes? You can be certain that they are still out there offering ARMs to unsuspecting victims of their financial rape of the world.

And as for you? You get nothing but shafted:

bailoutpeople.org

Citizens Respond

Michael Collins

PITTSBURGH
-- A new world order is emerging at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh with
a decision by the group to become the premier coordinating body on
economic issues.  Radio Free Europe, Sep. 26, 2009

  THE WHITE HOUSE
 
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________
                      
Remarks of President Barack Obama
A New Foundation
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Washington, DC
 
 
As Prepared for Delivery
 
It has now been twelve weeks since my administration began.  And I think even our critics would agree that at the very least, we’ve been busy.  In just under three months, we have responded to an extraordinary set of economic challenges with extraordinary action – action that has been unprecedented in both its scale and its speed.
 
I know that some have accused us of taking on too much at once.  Others believe we haven’t done enough.  And many Americans are simply wondering how all of our different programs and policies fit together in a single, overarching strategy that will move this economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity.     
 
So today, I want to step back for a moment and explain our strategy as clearly as I can.  I want to talk about what we’ve done, why we’ve done it, and what we have left to do.  I want to update you on the progress we’ve made, and be honest about the pitfalls that may lie ahead.

Via Heather at Crooks and Liars, where they have the video, Chuck Todd is doing some kind of Mr. Moneybags two step:

Here is what I thought was one of the more infuriating moments of last night's press conference. Chuck Todd with this doozie:

Todd: Some have compared this financial crisis to a war and in times of war past Presidents have called for some form of sacrifice. Some of your programs whether main street or Wall Street have actually cushioned the blow for those that were irresponsible during this economic period of prosperity, supposed prosperity that you were talking about. Why, given this new era of responsibility that you're asking for why haven't you asked for something specific that the public should be sacrificing to participate in this economic recovery?

Really, Chuck Todd? You're joking, right? If you had asked what he should have asked Wall Street to sacrifice, that would have been one thing. But the public? Unbelievable.

War on Banking Error:

Promoted. Some banks, like Bank of America, charge $35 - $39 per overage. If you have $20 left in your account before the next paycheck hits and an unexpected item -- say a $20 maintenance fee -- hits just before 3 small checks for under $5 come in, you can suddenly find yourself over $100 in the red. Some banks will refund those overages. Some will not. Originally posted 2009-02-19 20:22:40 -0500. -- GH

The last time I received unemployment compensation in Texas, a check came in the mail.  I was quite surprised to read how the states cut deals with major banks to handle unemployment benefits nowadays..... Following is an excerpt:

Banks slapping fees on unemployment benefit debit cards

For hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs during the recession, there's a new twist to their financial pain: Even when they're collecting unemployment benefits, they're paying the bank just to get the money — or even to call customer service to complain about it.

Thirty states have struck such deals with banks that include Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., JP Morgan Chase and US Bancorp, an Associated Press review of the agreements found. All the programs carry fees, and in several states the unemployed have no choice but to use the debit cards. Some banks even charge overdraft fees of up to $20 — even though they could decline charges for more than what's on the card.

There has got to be a better way.....and pressure from the grassroots usually gets the trick done! Thoughts?

Obama's speech announcing his $75 plan to stop foreclosures.

In the corporatist scumbag selling out the American taxpayer kind of way:

The New York Times reports that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner “prevailed” against several top Obama aides in “opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions” in the debate on the bailout. Geithner successfully blocked “more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid” and replacing top bank executives and wiping out “shareholders at institutions receiving aid.”

There has to be more oversight. Those failed, incompetent and corrupt executive banking windbags stealing our money, right now, should be replaced. And the banks should be nationalized.

I am guessing it is going to get worse than this before the elites in this country start paying attention:

Wearing bright yellow hats and t-shirts with pictures of sharks and the words "Stop Loan Sharks," protesters had already targeted the home of John Mack, CEO of Morgan Stanley, at 6 Club Road, Rye, N.Y. earlier in the day.

At Frey's house, 10 Glenville Road, Greenwich, they chanted slogans such as "Fix our loans, save our homes." They placed furniture on the lawn to symbolize the dislocation felt by people who have had their homes foreclosed upon and been evicted, their belongings tossed outside by state marshals.

"We did it to make them feel what it must be like for someone to have their home foreclosed upon," NACA mortgage counselor Carmen Orta said.

Called the "Predators Tour" these actions were the start of NACA's "accountability campaign," an aggressive, confrontational protest aimed at several top executives of companies that refuse to allow NACA to renegotiate the terms of loans on behalf of members, according to NACA CEO Bruce Marks.

This is a fight over how to solve what is, IMHO, the 2nd Great Depression.

And the haves are already uncomfortable at giving up the 3rd vacation palace, the corporate jets, corporate paid and government subsidized vacation junkets and cutting back on their nannies time to save a few bucks. Just imagine what will have to be done to get them to pay attention to little people all around them - for no other reason than the fact that it is the right thing to do?

More below the fold via Land of Enchantment...

Q: Where did some of these incompetent and corrupt bankers spend their time and the banks' money last year?

• an investment banker from Lehman Brothers who saw "Kelsey and Keely together" and later saw "Aria and Skyler at the same time"
• an investment banker at
  Read more

Or is that a Shut and Open Case in a very real class war?

Glen Beck's thought process is a freakin' mess:

While interviewing Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) on his CNN Headline News show last night, right-wing talker Glenn Beck declared that there’s “nobody in Washington that anybody trusts anymore.” Saying that he’d “like oversight” of the money Congress is allocating for the bailout of the financial system, Beck suggested Gen. David Petraeus would be the perfect person to provide the oversight:

Read more

Forbes, just yesterday, let the truth slip out about how the bail out would artificially keep your cost of living higher. Today, Time Magazine tells you to your face the facts about a bail out:

Let Risk-Taking Financial Institutions Fail
By Ari J. Officer and Lawrence H. Officer

Follow the money. Average Joes and Janes are not the holders of the other side of complicated, over-the-counter derivatives contracts. Rather, hedge funds are the main holders. The bailout will involve a transfer of wealth — from the American people to financial institutions engaging in reckless speculation — that will be the greatest in history.

Rescuing financial institutions is not the best solution.

Information and facts are the only things that will protect you from any attempts by the government to take your money and hand it over to the support the lavish lifestyles of these corrupt, reckless and foolish bankers.