● Congress's Phony Insider-Trading Reform... ● Obama denounces Senate vote to block Cordray at consumer watchdog agency... ● Walker signs 'castle doctrine' bill, other measures... ● Holder faces House Republicans over health-care law, ‘Fast and Furious’... ● Postal workers behaving badly!... ● The supercommittee failed because Democrats insisted on $1 trillion in new taxes... ● Happy Thanksgiving!... ● Supercommittee announces failure in effort to tame debt... ● Happy Veterans Day to the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces.... ● Dead federal retirees are paid $120 million annually, report says...
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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Entries Tagged as 'Government'

Congress’s Phony Insider-Trading Reform

December 13th, 2011 · Congress, Corruption, Deception, Ethics, Greed

The denizens of Capitol Hill are remarkable investors. A new law meant to curb abuses would only make their shenanigans easier.

By JONATHAN MACEY

Members of Congress already get better health insurance and retirement benefits than other Americans. They are about to get better insider trading laws as well.

Several academic studies show that the investment portfolios of congressmen and senators consistently outperform stock indices like the Dow and the S&P 500, as well as the portfolios of virtually all professional investors. Congressmen do better to an extent that is statistically significant, according to studies including a 2004 article about “abnormal” Senate returns by Alan J. Ziobrowski, Ping Cheng, James W. Boyd and Brigitte J. Ziobrowski in the Journal of Financial and Qualitative Analysis. The authors published a similar study of the House this year.

Democrats’ portfolios outperform the market by a whopping 9%. Republicans do well, though not quite as well. And the trading is widespread, although a higher percentage of senators than representatives trade—which is not surprising because senators outperform the market by an astonishing 12% on an annual basis.

These results are not due to luck or the financial acumen of elected officials. They can be explained only by insider trading based on the nonpublic information that politicians obtain in the course of their official duties.

Strangely, while insider trading by corporate insiders has long been the white collar crime equivalent of a major felony, the Securities and Exchange Commission has determined that insider trading laws do not apply to members of Congress or their staff. That is because, according to the SEC at least, these public officials do not owe the same legal duty of confidentiality that makes insider trading illegal by nonpoliticians.

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Obama denounces Senate vote to block Cordray at consumer watchdog agency

December 10th, 2011 · Accountability, Congress, Deception, Dissention, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed, Obama Nominees, Obama's Scheme, Politics, Terrorism from Within

Reference: Issues concerning past Obama Nominees

By David Nakamura and Ylan Q. Mui, Published: December 8

An agitated President Obama accused congressional Republicans on Thursday of not standing up for ordinary Americans after the Senate derailed his nominee to head a new federal consumer protection agency.

At a brief news conference, the president charged that his Republican adversaries were not acting “on the level” after they blocked, by filibuster, his appointment of former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“This makes no sense,” Obama declared. “Consumers across the country understand part of the reason we got into the financial mess we did is because regulators are not doing their jobs.”

Two days after signaling that he would make economic inequality a central pillar of his reelection effort, Obama seized the opportunity Thursday to restate his argument that Republicans were not acting in the interest of middle-class Americans.

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Walker signs ‘castle doctrine’ bill, other measures

December 8th, 2011 · Government, News Alert, States, Wisconsin

Governor also OKs legislation to cap attorney fees, use test results to fire teachers

By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel

Dec. 7, 2011

Madison – Homeowners who shoot intruders will have new legal protections, under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Scott Walker.

The Republican governor also signed legislation to limit attorney fees in lawsuits – a bill that conservatives said would end frivolous lawsuits but which Democrats said also would end many lawsuits with merit.

Under the intruders bill, courts in most criminal and civil matters would presume that people using deadly force had acted reasonably against anyone unlawfully inside their residence, business or vehicle, whether the trespasser was armed or not.

The proposal is sometimes known as the “castle doctrine,” a reference to the saying that one’s home is one’s castle. The bill passed the Senate and Assembly on bipartisan votes last month.

The legislation is one of 21 bills that Walker signed privately Wednesday after they were passed by the Republican Legislature in October and November.

“By signing the castle doctrine into law, I am standing with those individuals who chose to protect their family and property,” Walker said in a statement.

On Nov. 1, Wisconsin became the 49th state in the country to allow people to carry concealed firearms.

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Holder faces House Republicans over health-care law, ‘Fast and Furious’

December 8th, 2011 · Accountability, Corruption, Deception, Ethics, Government Control, Healthcare, Money Matters, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed, Obama Nominees, Obama's Scheme, Politics, Selling Out the US, Supreme Court, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Jerry Markon, Published: December 8

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. clashed with congressional Republicans on Thursday, defending the Justice Department in the face of criticism of its “Fast and Furious” gun-trafficking sting and its refusal to turn over documents on the health-care law adopted last year.

Under exhaustive questioning from the House Judiciary Committee, Holder reiterated that his department would not provide Congress with more information about Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s health-care-related role when she was President Obama’s solicitor general. Republicans are seeking internal e-mails and other documents, arguing that Kagan might have to recuse herself from the court’s decision on the health-care law if she was involved in the legislation.

Attorney General Eric Holder says it’s inexcusable for the bureau to use a controversial tactic known as “gun-walking” in its effort to identify and prosecute major arms trafficking networks along the Southwest border. (Dec. 8)

Holder also was grilled over the Phoenix-based Fast and Furious operation, in which federal agents targeting drug cartels allowed guns to flow illegally onto U.S. streets and into Mexico. The operation led to a storm of criticism from Republicans, many of whom have urged Holder to resign.

The attorney general, who has resisted calls to step down, said the controversial Fast and Furious tactic known as “gun walking,’’ was “wholly unacceptable” and “must never happen again.” But he also condemned his accusers, saying the congressional investigation of the gun sting has been political and calling for cooperation in fighting firearms trafficking along the southwest border.

“Each of us have a duty to act, and to rise above partisan divisions and politically motivated ‘gotcha’ games,’’ Holder said. “The American people deserve better.’’

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Postal workers behaving badly!

December 7th, 2011 · Ethics, Federal Spending, Government, Greed

By Ed O’Keefe

(Andrew Harrer – BLOOMBERG) Most of the 574,000 employees of the U.S. Postal Service complete their appointed rounds and quickly move envelopes and packages to final destinations. But some postal workers steal mail, burn it, hoard it or claim thousands of dollars in fraudulent workers compensation claims, according to a new watchdog report.

There’s a Texas letter carrier who earned $207,706 in fraudulent workers compensation payments after submitting false travel vouchers over five years for approximately 96,000 miles in medical reimbursable transportation claims. Though she submitted a total of 480 travel reimbursement requests, the letter carrier only actually traveled to 13 medical appointments. She was sentenced in August to three years of probation and a year of home confinement, and she was ordered to pay $172,000 in restitution.

Details of the case appear in a semiannual report published this week by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General that reports on dozens of other postal employees who violated policies or broke the law:

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The supercommittee failed because Democrats insisted on $1 trillion in new taxes

November 25th, 2011 · Accountability, Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Economy, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government, Government Control, Greed, Money Lost, Money Matters, Non-Transparency, Obama Nominees, Obama's Scheme, Stimulus, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within

By Jon Kyl, Rob Portman, Pat Toomey, Jeb Hensarling, Fred Upton and Dave Camp, Published: November 25

We do not choose to add more to the blame game for failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction , but one Democratic talking point needs debunking: that the talks failed because of Republicans’ attachment to the Bush tax cuts.

The untold story of the negotiations is the significance of the Republican offer of fundamental tax reform. It is critical to understand the interplay between the proposal (dubbed the “Toomey plan”) and existing tax law.

First, a bit of history. The 2001 and 2003 changes to the tax code reduced marginal rates for all taxpayers as well as the rates for capital gains, dividends and the death tax. For technical reasons, all of these provisions expire at the end of next year — meaning that if Congress does not act, Americans will face the largest tax increase in our history.

This prospect has put a wet blanket over job creation and economic recovery. It would be the wrong medicine for our ailing economy. As President Obama has famously said, “You don’t raise taxes in a recession.” Partially to avoid this result, but also to try to meet the Democrats partway — given their absolute insistence on big, new tax increases — Republicans offered a proposal that would have both reformed the current code and produced significant new tax revenue.

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Supercommittee announces failure in effort to tame debt

November 21st, 2011 · Accountability, Congress, Economy, Federal Spending, Finance, Greed, Money Lost, Money Matters, Non-Transparency, Obama Nominees, Obama's Scheme, Politics, Stimulus, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within

By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, Published: November 21

A special congressional committee created to try to curb the national debt abandoned its work and conceded failure Monday, the latest setback in a long effort by Washington to overcome ideological differences and stem the rising tide of red ink.

In a joint statement issued hours before a midnight deadline, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the panel said that they were “deeply disappointed” by their inability to reach an agreement and that they hope for progress in the months ahead.

supercommittee conceded defeat Monday in its quest to conquer a government debt that stands at a staggering $15 trillion, unable to overcome deep and enduring political divisions over taxes and spending. (Nov. 21)

“Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” said the statement from Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committee’s work and can find a way to tackle this issue in a way that works for the American people and our economy.”

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Dead federal retirees are paid $120 million annually, report says

September 23rd, 2011 · Accountability, Corruption, Ethics, Federal Spending, Fraud Alert, Government, Tax Dollars

By Ed O’Keefe: September 22

The federal government pays out millions of dollars to dead people each year — including deceased retired federal workers, according to a new report.

In the past five years, the Office of Personnel Management has made more than $601 million in benefits payments to deceased federal annuitants, according to the agency’s inspector general. Total annual payouts range between $100 million and $150 million.

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U.S. Rep. Ribble moves out of District – A Democrat Move. Not illegal but defiantly WRONG

September 17th, 2011 · Corruption, Ethics, House, Republicans, Wisconsin

At least Kagen stood by his District.  You lost my Vote for re-election!

SHERWOOD — U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble confirmed reports Tuesday that he recently moved out of the 8th Congressional District and returned to his family’s three-bedroom home on Lake Winnebago in Sherwood, a house he left more than a year ago to challenge incumbent Democrat Steve Kagen in last fall’s midterm election.

Consequently, Ribble is no longer a voter in the district he represents in Congress. Ribble’s Sherwood home is in the 6th Congressional District, where Republican Tom Petri is the incumbent.

Ribble defended the move by asserting, “Northeast Wisconsin is my home and always will be.”

“I have a long and personal tie to the 8th District and assertions to challenge this are just ridiculous,” the Republican congressman wrote in a statement. “I grew up in Appleton, went to Appleton East High School and coached volleyball at Appleton East High School for over 20 years. My roofing business was located in Kaukauna and my wife’s longtime bookstore was also in Appleton.”

Amid reports he recently moved out of an apartment he had been renting in Lawrence in the 8th District, Ribble confirmed he intends to take his Sherwood residence off the sluggish housing market, where it had been on sale for nearly $600,000 as recently as last week, according to online real estate postings.

“My wife and I initially put our Sherwood house up for sale last year,” Ribble wrote. “With the listing contract coming to an end soon, the house is coming off the market until the housing market turns around. We are not immune to the negative effects of the unsteady housing market and just like many Americans across the country, we have had to change our plans.”

Ribble said he had planned to move to a smaller home in the 8th District that “requires less maintenance” given his frequent travel between Washington, D.C., and the Fox River Valley.

“We wish the home would have sold, but unfortunately the tough housing market prevented this from happening,” Ribble wrote.

Ribble’s spokeswoman did not clarify when the move back to Sherwood occurred or whether Ribble intends to transfer his voter registration.

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The Constitutional Moment: Judge Vinson introduces ObamaCare to Madison and Marshall.

February 1st, 2011 · Accountability, Government, Government Control, Healthcare

‘If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Federal Judge Roger Vinson opens his decision declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional with that citation from Federalist No. 51, written by James Madison in 1788. His exhaustive and erudite opinion is an important moment for American liberty, and yesterday may well stand as the moment the political branches were obliged to return to the government of limited and enumerated powers that the framers envisioned.

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