Big Dan's Big News March 19, 2009

Special Commentary by Big Dan: "Now that AIG bonuses of $165 Million have got your attention, let's shift that outrage to spending $410 Million PER DAY in Iraq & Afghanistan!!! The AIG bonuses are a DROP IN THE OCEAN compared to what we're spending in these countries!!! And how come we have endless money for bailouts, but no money for health care for all Americans and more college aid?"

HFSC hearing-Rep. Kanjorski (D-PA) grills AIG Chairman Edward Liddy

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"Perp Walks Instead of Bonuses": Veteran Journalist Robert Scheer on AIG Bonuses, the "Backdoor Bailout" and Why Obama Should Fire Geithner, Summers

ROBERT SCHEER: Yes. I mean, first of all, let me say, the bonuses—I think it’s an important glimpse into the cesspool that is Wall Street, but it’s a side show, you know, and I know it’s confusing—millions, billions, trillions. But the real scandal is—the money—AIG is basically a shell game at this point, and they’re passing the money through AIG to the big banks, the former stockbrokers and so forth. Goldman Sachs got the biggest amount, $12.5 billion. The head of AIG was on the board of directors and the head of the audit committee for Goldman Sachs for five years. The Treasury Secretary that put this deal together, Paulson, under Bush was the head, was the CEO of Goldman Sachs. The guy who administered the TARP fund was a vice president at Goldman Sachs. The Democrat who made all of this deregulation possible, Robert Rubin, when he was Secretary of Treasury, and then Lawrence Summers who followed him, Rubin had been the head of Goldman Sachs. And they pushed through the basic deregulation that allowed these banks to become too big to allow to fail.

The Best "Democracy" Money Can Buy!

American International Group: All Recipients
Among Federal Candidates, 2004 Cycle
Total: $757,910

Name Office Total Contributions
Bush, George W (R) Pres $160,160
Kerry, John (D-MA) Senate $55,900
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) Senate $40,578
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) Senate $18,250

(see the whole list)


American International Group: All Recipients
Among Federal Candidates, 2008 Cycle
Total: $644,218

Name Office Total Contributions
Obama, Barack (D-IL) Senate $104,332
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) Senate $103,900
McCain, John (R-AZ) Senate $59,499
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) Senate $37,965
Baucus, Max (D-MT) Senate $24,750
Romney, Mitt (R) Pres $20,850
Biden, Joseph R Jr (D-DE) Senate $19,975

(see the whole list)

Here's the list of top AIG recipients for the 2008 campaign:

1. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., $103,100
2. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., $101,332
3. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., $59,499
4. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., $35,965
5. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., $24,750
6. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, (R) Pres $20,850
7. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., $19,975

On Tuesday, it emerged that 11 AIG executives who had received retention bonuses of US$1 million or more had already left the company

ROBERT KUTTNER: Secretary Geithner is in bed with the wrong people in his entire approach to all of the financial rescues. The rationales that have been put forward are the most appalling thing—number one, the rationale that a contract is a contract. The UAW workers are giving up not just wages in their contracts, but retirees who have contractual guarantees to health insurance and pension benefits. Same thing happened in steel industry. If we go forward with the mortgage restructuring—mortgages are contracts—they’re going to be restructured. The idea that you can’t tell the head of AIG to not pay those bonuses is just preposterous. I mean, you could say to these workers—workers?—executives, “If you want your job, you should voluntarily forfeit these bonuses.” End of conversation.

RALPH NADER: I want people to read this remarkable document by AIG called “AIG: Is the Risk Systemic?” In other words, “We are too big to fail. We can collapse the global economy.” That is up on the website wallstreetwatch.org, wallstreetwatch.org. And if you want to see a taxpayer movement get underway, go to wallstreetwatch.org and join our email list. How many times yesterday did all these politicians talk about taxpayers, taxpayers at risk, taxpayers having to pay, and they won’t give taxpayers any facilities to organize in a political force to take this public fury that they keep talking about and move it from a burst of revulsion by tens of millions of people into a political force in Washington?

Kuttner & Nader: Public Outcry Forces Lawmakers to Say They'll Recoup Millions in AIG Bonuses, But Why Not the Billions in Taxpayer Bailout Funds?

Wallstreetwatch.org



Senator Dodd received two loans in 2003 through Countrywide’s V.I.P. program.

Dodd’s Country Cottage - Update

Chris Dodd "now you see 'em; now you don;t" "disclosure" of his Counrtywide mortgage documents.

We've got some leftover business from the 110th Congress -- namely, Chris Dodd's July 2008 promise to release the details of his sweetheart loans from Countrywide Financial.

Muckety list of top Washington power couples, 2009

The Dodd's interactive relationship map

Who Controls Account 990N?

The BIG SECRET they don't want you to know: The "Dirty Fucking Hippies" were right!!!



Learn about PROPAGANDA (or what it's called now: Public Relations) - Century of the Self - Episode I, the father of American propaganda: Edward Bernays, nephew of Sigmund Freud

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