Reading this article (And Washington Post, this is a critical article about the administration that unlike the earlier monstrosity is backed up by this thing called actual reporting) about the Federal Reserve not telling the Treasury Secretary about the AIG bonuses who then seems to have at best dragged his feet in telling the President about the scheme reminds me of something: 9/11. A lot of the blame on the side of the government then was federal agencies – in particular the CIA and FBI – not working together and building up their fiefdoms. TALK, dammit. It’s a wild guess on my part but I think it’s an in-network call for the Fed, Treasury and White House to conference call with each other. It won’t cost much, if anything!
Also, Tim Geithner may be a financial wizard but he seems to have the same sort of communication skills that Hank Paulson had. In other times people don’t much need to hear from their Treasury secretary. In times like this, he or she needs to be front and center. I doubt he’s going anywhere, even though a few Republican congressmen took their grandstanding pills today (Wonder if these guys said a peep when Donald Rumsfeld was leading American and Iraqis off to their deaths? Doubtful.) On the off-chance that does happen, just send a car for Professor Krugman.
Randtard tenure on the march
Why do you say Geithner is a wizard? He was head of the NY Fed during the meltdown. He skipped on paying his taxes, while taking reimbursements for his tax expenditures. And he has a tin ear when it comes to communicating.
The guy’s a bozo, and it speaks volumes that Obama was so effusive in his praise of the guy during his nomination and confirmation process.
J.
Everyone knew except the president? You believe that tripe?
Jay, allow me to break it down for you.
Obama picked Geithner; therefore Oliver is fine with him.
Obam also picked Panetta at CIA. Wait and see how that turns out.
Agree about Krugman, OW. But during the selection process he’d already declined publicly, something I think you don’t do unless you mean it. He claimed to be more useful on the outside, looking in.
He claimed to be more useful on the outside, looking in.
And I think that’s true. He could still take a meeting now and then.
Allow me to break it down for you.
Obama, well, anything Obama actually. And therefore joaquin is irrationally opposed to it.
shorter joaquin: Wargle gargle!
Of all the nominees with tax issues Geithner was the one who President Obama felt he had to have.
Is Gates the only member of Obama’s cabinet who hasn’t caused a front-page fuck-up yet?
Geithner is probably safe as long as Chris Dodd is in front of him for the “Being Thrown Under the Bus” ride there in DC.
SFC B: Is Gates the only member of Obama’s cabinet who hasn’t caused a front-page fuck-up yet?
Gee, I dunno. Seen any “front-page fuck-up” from Tom Vilsack (confirmed by unanimous consent), Steven Chu (unanimously confirmed), Eric Shinseki (unanimously confirmed), Arne Duncan, Shaun Donovan, Janet Napolitano, Ray LaHood, Hilda Solis, etc? No fuck-ups? Then STFU.
There’s just this one little teeny-tiny issue, Sean. Geithner, the one Obama had to have, along with the economy are front and center. Those other ones, don’t really mean a whole lot. Until they f*ck-up!
I give this Geithner guy, oh I don’t know, maybe 30 days.
The “Federal Reserve” is a federal agency? I’m pretty sure the Federal Reserve it was a bunch of corporate banks granted quasi-federal powers. US, the US citizens should really think about taking back that power.
This is a story of corporate entities telling the American citizenry where to stick it.
What’s got the right wing totally freaked out is that part of the curtain is being pulled back on the corporatism that’s had this country in it’s claws for a very long time.
Corporatism is where banksters get to write trillions in bad paper, and when it blows up in their face, they call the “Federal Reserve,” and the “Fed”, through the back door, bills the debt to the American taxpayer.
There were a lot of lefties that were really pissed that Geithner and Summers were appointed by their boss. It telegraphed a LOT about where their boss was taking a stand. Both Geithner and Summers (amongst others in their bosses employ) are quasi-corporatists.
Of course that’s still not good enough for the right. The right wing demands full on corporatistists who have a fanatic fealty to mammon first, country and citizenry be damned.
…
There’s been reporting that AIG was responsible for writing $2.7 TRILLION in insurance policies that they were never able to cover. Which is hard enough to wrap the mind around until you read that there is somewhere between $43 to $500 TRILLION in derivitives that may or may not be a house of cards.
All of this makes the SNL crisis, the LTMC crisis, the Enron and Worldcom collapses combined look like children’s games.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are taking their marching orders from Jack Abramoff’s buddy Grover Norquist, the Mammon Worshipping Queen, who tells Republicans what they can vote on to secure the allegiance of the top %02 percent, those Economic Royalists that apparently are still angry about the whole “Democracy” thing.
Well, it seems Shinseki was at least tangentially involved in the “let the wounded veterans provide their own coverage” fiasco, so he gets a tentative yanking from Sean’s list.
J.
You mean that insurance plan that was being considered but has not actually been proposed, JT? That one?
Don’t get me wrong, at first glance I think it’s a terrible idea. But for goodness sakes, it’s not as if he’d be kicking them out into the cold with no insurance. Or sending them into battle with inadequate armor, or something crazy like that.
Well, it seems Shinseki was at least tangentially involved in the “let the wounded veterans provide their own coverage” fiasco,
You want to explain “tangentially involved”? If you do it yourself, you might have a chance to walk that back just a bit. You might also like to be a bit more accurate than “let the wounded provide their own coverage.” It was not quite as draconian as you make it out to be.
joaquin: Those other ones, don’t really mean a whole lot.
SFC B suggested Obama’s entire cabinet had front-page fuck-ups. I easily disproved that. You could have acknowledged he’d overstated it. But, hey, why be an adult? Stay juvenile and move those goal posts.
Jay Tea: Well, it seems Shinseki was at least tangentially involved in the “let the wounded veterans provide their own coverage” fiasco, so he gets a tentative yanking from Sean’s list.
Nope. He stays. Come up with something more than “tangentially involved” in a proposal that wasn’t as drastic as wingnuts are making it out to be.
Sean, I wasn’t calling for Shinseki to go. On the contrary, I hope he stays — lord knows Obama’s cabinet is filled with people without the slightest idea of how the military works, and his career was quite distinguished. I was just pointing out that his department’s had its own incredibly stupid scandal already.
But that the idea of letting the VA bill private insurance companies for treatment of war injuries — what kind of fucking moron would even put such an idea on paper? Whoever put forth that notion needs to be horsewhipped.
J.
the idea of letting the VA bill private insurance companies for treatment of war injuries
There. Now that didn’t hurt a bit, did it?
The VA bills private insurance companies today–just not for service-related care. Somebody came up with the idea to hit up the insurance companies for (some, not all) care for service-related injuries.
Why?
To get more money to take care of injured members of the military!
Rotten scoundrels!
Speaking of different parts of Team Obama NOT talking to each other…
Apparently, the person who decided that the perfect gift for Gordon Brown would be a DVD boxset completely forgot to mention to the person charged with actually buying it that the recipient lives in a different region than the US.
Note to Team Obama: For future gifts to Gordon Brown, try Amazon.co.uk instead of Amazon.com
Most.Competent.Administration.EVER
Obama’s Cabintet.
State: Clinton. “Reset Button”, Giving China a pass on human rights
Treasury: Geithner: I can’t think og anything… can you?
Justice: Holder: Calling a plurality of Americans cowardly racists. Upholding most of the Bush Administrations policies.
Interior: Salazar: Nada
Agriculture: Vilsack: Nada
Commerce: None: The clusterfuck with Richardson
Labor: None: Nada
HHS: None: The clusterfuck with Daschale, Gregg, and even Sebilius having funneled Medicare money to a charity run by her confidant while other KS charities got squat.
HUD: Donovan: Nada
Transportation: LaHood: Government tracking the movement of Americans via GPS.
Energy: Chu: He just told Congress that the US should consider a cardon tariff. Clinton was on the phone to China five minutes later to China to talk them Down. Geithner called them 10 minutes later asking them to buy more bonds.
Education: Duncan: Said the DC School system was too rich.
VA: Shinseki: Managed to purpose a program that was so hated by vertern groups Obama took it off the table the day after meeting with the heads of the US service organizations.
Homeland Security: Napolitano: Nada, but this one is just a matter of time.
Defense: Gates: Nada
Of the 15 Cabinet level positions nine of them have managed to do something to make the Obama Administration look dumb and either retract or “clarify”. Of course, if you remove the positions which are fuck-ups because of how poorly President Obama has done in choosing someone to fill the position, it is only 7 of the 15.
So, you’re right Sean. Gates isn’t the only one to cause a problem for Obama. Only most of his Cabinet has.
That’s so mcuh better.
Shinseki: Managed to purpose a program that was so hated by vertern groups Obama took it off the table the day after meeting with the heads of the US service organizations.
What? Now you’re saying Shinseki proposed this?
SFC, you really need to stop getting all your info from ‘winger blogs.
You’re right. My bad. I made the mistake of assuming that the White House would bother running its ideas for veteran care through, I dunno, the Veterans Affairs Administration, prior to going public with it. My mistake.
Shinseki had nothing to do with it because the White House completely ignored seeking his council on the subject of which he is supposed to be the Administration’s point man. That’s even so much betterer.
I forgot that the Department of Transportation has managed to get Mexico to put a tariff on several dozen US goods in response to them canceling a cross-border trucking program which is part of our obligations under NAFTA.
Let’s see, economic crisis, AIG bonuses, alienating allies, and possibly getting into a trade war with one of our neighbors. We’re not even at the two month mark.
I forgot that the Department of Transportation has managed to get Mexico to put a tariff on several dozen US goods in response to them canceling a cross-border trucking program which is part of our obligations under NAFTA.
Holy moley! You’re in favor of the cross border trucking program?
economic crisis, AIG bonuses, alienating allies, and possibly getting into a trade war with one of our neighbors
You’re right. The Bush team handled these things so so much better.
Um, yeah. Why aren’t you? It reduces the cost of goods since it eliminates the need to transfer from Mexican to US trucks. It also allowed US trucks to operate in Mexico.
When did you stop believing the US had to live up to the responsibilities it incurs when it ratifies treaties with foreign countries?
Right wing apologist “SFC B” also conveniently forgot that:
LaHood is a Republican.
Gates is a holdover from the Republican Bush regime.
Shinseki’s warning to use ‘on the order of several hundred thousand’ troops in Iraq were ignored and that’s why there have been over 4,000 American troops that died, and nealry ten times that that were injured, and untold hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths.
Chu is brilliant and while a carbon tax and carbon tariff might piss of SFC B and his right wing friends it might just be the only thing to keep the planet livable, assuming that’s a even a concern of the right wing.
Apparently SFC B is a Limbaugh ditto head and his one talent is telling more lies than can be briefly responded to.
What’s weirdly sad is that many of Obama’s cabinet picks are conservative centrists but the Limbaugh Party has become so extreme that just “conservative centrist” isn’t good enough for them.
And in two months the Obama team has managed to make things even worse.
I can’t wait until May so “This is Bush’s Fault” can be retired.
Um, News Reference, the point I was making had nothing to do with party affiliation and everything to do with the Obama Administration spending its first 60 some odd days tripping over its own dick.
I really wouldn’t worry about a carbon tariff pissing off SFC B. I’d worry a lot more about a carbon tariff pissing off every other country on Earth which does trade with the US. And, really, I thought I was being a bit hyperbolic with my “Gates is the only one to not cause a front page screw up”. “Make the plant unlivable” tops that.
Um, yeah. Why aren’t you?
I am, actually. I’m just surprised you are too.
Why would you be surprised? What, in anything that I’ve said here or anywhere, would lead you to believe I didn’t support free trade and commerce?
SFC B: Shinseki: Managed to purpose a program…
SFC B: Shinseki had nothing to do with it because the White House completely ignored seeking his council on the subject
Wow. From claiming he proposed it to claiming he wasn’t even consulted on it in under 2 hours.
You really don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?
What, in anything that I’ve said here or anywhere, would lead you to believe I didn’t support free trade and commerce?
Just kind of pictured you as one of those “New World Order” conspiracy theorists.
Apologize for any inconvenience.
So, which do you prefer Sean? Shinseki being responsible for things that pertain to the areas which his department covers, or that he’s basically a figurehead through which the stupidity of the White House flows? Cause either way he and Obama managed to step into it up to their knees with the “make veterans pay for service-related disability care”, thus earning the VA part of the Obama Administration cabinet those front-page headlines for stupidity I’d talked about in the first place.
O….k…..
What?
SFC B: So, which do you prefer Sean?
Reasonably accurate comments based on the person having made a fair attempt to obtain actual knowledge of what they are talking about. But I won’t hold my breath.
he and Obama managed to step into it up to their knees with the “make veterans pay for service-related disability care”,
But that wasn’t the issue. It was for billing Blue Cross (if the soldier in question already has BC/BS) for service related injuries, which they don’t do now. The whole “making vets pay for their own care” is a made-up thing by the – ahem – “liberal media.”
But the whole things been dropped, so it’s a moot point.
O….k…..
What?
Skip it.
Why would you be surprised? What, in anything that I’ve said here or anywhere, would lead you to believe I didn’t support free trade and commerce?
It’s not support for free trade and commerce that surprises me. It’s the willingness to accept Mexican trucks and drivers on U.S. highways that surprises me.
A great number of your ideological fellow travelers aren’t fond of the plan.
SFC, the best article on the VA insurance proposal is at Military.com:
What? Increase the VA budget 15 percent? Obama hates the troops!
While we’re listing the dubious achievements of cabinet secretaries, let’s not forget Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Solis was treasurer of a special-interest group — American Rights At Work — that lobbied on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act, a measure Solis co-sponsored. So she was signing off on checks to lobby herself and her colleagues.
She also neglected to mention this position on her ethics and financial reports to Congress…
J.
Jay Tea: So she was signing off on checks to lobby herself and her colleagues.
You mean she was consistent in her position and tried to rally support for it thru numerous channels? The horror!
No, Sean, I mean she had a clear duty to disclose — both to the House and her constituents — her dual role in the pushing of this bill, and did not do so. A hell of a lot clearer conflict of interest than Dick Cheney and Halliburton, I might add.
How much more effective was her group’s lobbying, with a sitting member of Congress helping arrange and coordinate the lobbying?
J.
I’m sorry, Jay. I don’t like conflict of interest any more than you do, but I’m not seeing the real foul here. Did she write lobby checks to herself? Then you might have something. But to work with an outside group, to coordinate her activities with theirs to accomplish a goal, I don’t see the major no-no. Outside groups lobby politicians all the time, and politicians lobby each other just as often. I don’t see a real conflict.