8 long hours inside the SEC.........

The following is taken from DeepCapture.com, the finest blog on Earth regarding the shenanigans of Michael Milken, naked short selling and Steve Cohen. This my friends is just another why you are sadly mistaken if you believe the SEC is out to protect the little guy. Read and tremble. dp


Washington, DC) The SEC’s roundtable on securities lending and short selling got started today, and Deep Capture was there.

What follows is my assessment, based on my observations thus far.

In the simplest terms, I’d say the situation at the SEC is one of extreme disconnection. This is an agency that has completely lost track of its founding mission.

The day consisted of four panels, all dedicated to examining different aspects of securities lending. The panelists included one academic, one public employees’ pension fund manager, the CEO of FINRA, and 20 representatives of hedge funds and brokerages or companies that provide services to hedge funds and brokerages.

Not a single representative or advocate of retail investors had a voice on any panel, and the substance of the panelists’ comments was consistent with the thinking that obviously called them all together: the discussion never got beyond reforms to benefit the institutions that get rich from lending out the shares entrusted to them by the rest of us.

Nor did retail investors get any more than a passing reference in any other context. The industry was there to talk about the needs of industry. Period.

The result was eight hours of possibly the least interesting discussion I’ve voluntarily endured. In fact, it more resembled two dozen high school book reports on a handful of facets of a single industry, as the same thing was said over and over in the lest interesting way possible.

For eight hours.

Meanwhile, the subject that really matters: illegal naked short selling, is scheduled for just three hours tomorrow (including a break!), with panelists hailing from four hedge funds, Goldman Sachs, DTCC, the Security Traders Association, NASDAQ, NYSE, one academic, and one fish-out-of-water from IBM.

Is there any question how those panels are going to come down on the issue?

This entire exercise, I’m nearly prepared to declare, is little more than a farce.

Lest I leave you with the impression that everything was devoid of meaning, allow me to recount one of those moments of cosmic synchronicity that make days like today all worthwhile.

It happened during the fourth panel. Specifically, during the opening remarks given by Leslie Nelson (yes, a male, but sadly no, not the guy from The Naked Gun movies), Managing Director of Global Securities Lending at Goldman Sachs.

Just as Mr. Leslie Nelson was beginning to talk, about 15 of you emailed me a link to Matt Taibbi’s recent post where he announced that naked shorting will be a major component of his upcoming piece in Rolling Stone.

Included in that post was a link to a pamphlet apparently being circulated broadly on Capitol Hill by Goldman Sachs lobbyists, intent on preserving the status quo with regard to loopholes permitting illegal naked short selling. Trusting my audio recorder not to miss anything, I decided to tune Mr. Nelson out slightly to read the words of his notorious employer.

In the Goldman pamphlet, the first sub-point of bullet point one reads:
“Rule 204 of Regulation SHO has been effective at reducing fails in the marketplace.”

At precisely the same time read that line, I heard Nelson read the following from his prepared statement (prefatory to what — consistent with the rest of the day’s panel — had nothing to do with delivery failures):
“Rule 204 has been undeniably effective at bringing US equities fails to levels that are truly de minimis.”

See…I read and heard those lines at precisely the same moment.

It was as though the Goldman Sachs government relations team had briefly hijacked my eyes and ears.

It’s also indicative of how very seriously Goldman is taking this challenge to what is likely one of that company’s most plumb sources of revenue.

Finally, I’d say it’s predictive of the message what we can expect to hear repeated over and over again as the issue makes its was earnestly through Congress and flaccidly through the SEC.

You know, I do not drink, but if I did, I’d suggest everybody take a shot whenever they hear that phrase repeated during the three short hours (including a break) of the roundtable’s second and final day. That might just make the thing tolerable.

I bet you would agree..........

that no matter how long you have been in the securities industry, I have only been around since April 1, 1982 (that is NOT an April Fools joke) there has not been a time that confidence in how Wall Street operates is at such a low.

This whole business is about greed and excess. Listening to Ace Greenberg today on CNBC was the icing on the cake after reading "House of Cards" by William D. Cohan (if you haven't read the book I suggest you stop whatever you are doing and either order the book online or drive straight to a book store and order your copy for your library). After reading that book perhaps Ace should be in jail. For what? For not doing his job as a fiduciary of the firm.

The regulators are clueless, the revolving door at the SEC swings in the wind every week, the politicians and lobbyists protect their campaign coffers and the public is as clueless about risk and money management as they ever were. Dark pools, naked short selling, unfunded liabilities, lack of transparency, fragmented exchanges, derivatives and where does it end? The accounting games, the IPO mispricings, the side-pocket hedge fund investments, the bankrupt FHA and FDIC mortgage mess and you know what? In 2009, a large number of Americans still entrust their retirement assets to salesman who are only concerned about their income and not the clients outcome. I guess America deserves what is being shoved down its throat. Until we vote for real change nothing will change. The government is not getting it done.

Today, only two guys are in jail. Sir Allen Stanford and Ponzi Madoff.

Two, only two.

For the love of America, how can that be?

Where I come from..........

they call the kettle black. When your bank account goes to a zero balance you are broke. Pure and simple. Please tell me what you would call this situation.

"[FDIC] staff estimates that both the FDIC Fund balance and the reserve ratio as of September 30, 2009, will be negative. This reflects, in part, an increase in provisioning for anticipated failures. In contrast, cash and marketable securities available to resolve failed institutions remain positive." - FDIC, September 28

This LPL salesman

Listening to this stockbroker telling CNBC viewers that their biggest investment risk is being in cash is typical of the salesman mentality that permeates Wall Street investment advice.

These brokers are all about commissions, not about making money.

Call them on it.

An epic CNBC "battle"......

This Wilbur Ross v Ace Greenberg discussion on Andy Halls $100 million pay package is one for the record book.

Ace might want to walk off the set and find a mirror for looking up "accountability" to shareholders.

Wilbur Ross makes too much sense for Ace to comprehend.

Common sense is still in short supply on Wall Street.

Al Gore, now filthier rich......no surprises here

WASHINGTON -- A tiny car company backed by former Vice President Al Gore has just gotten a $529 million U.S. government loan to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000.

An Ohio A.G. with brains......

“[Bank of America and Merrill Lynch] were concealing billions of dollars in losses with one hand and clearing the way for extravagant bonus payments with the other. This case gives the public pension funds and other shareholders a chance to stand up against Wall Street.” - Richard Cordray, Ohio Attorney General

From Philip Greenspun's blog...........

Barack Obama has taken pains to assure Americans that illegal immigrants won’t be able to buy health insurance on his new exchange. They’ll still get free emergency care but they will be prohibited from paying the world’s highest prices for health care.

Meanwhile, we taxpayers in Massachusetts are stuck with the bill for housing Obama’s Aunt Zeituni. The Wikipedia entry on this illegal immigrant has a good explanation of how she has avoided deportation thanks to the U.S. court system taking years to process even the simplest cases, e.g., Should a woman who has already twice been ordered deported, but did not leave, be… deported? ...

Massachusetts taxpayers have been paying for Aunt Zeituni’s housing for six years. Ever since Barack Obama’s ascendancy to the White House, we’ve also been paying for extra police details to deter the curious and the press. ...

What could Barack Obama do to help Massachusetts? He owns a 14-room, 6500 square foot house in Chicago (using fossil fuels to heat 6500 square feet for a family of four in one of the coldest parts of the U.S. is apparently a demonstration of one’s commitment to reversing global warming) that presumably sits vacant nearly all year. The house is guarded 24/7 by Secret Service agents. The street is closed to non-residents. Why can’t Aunt Zeituni live there? ...


If Barack Obama wants to convince Americans that his health care plan won’t burden national taxpayers with the cost of caring for illegal immigrants, wouldn’t it be good for him to relieve the taxpayers of Massachusetts of the cost of caring for his illegal immigrant relative?

Via this posting I hereby offer to pay for Aunt Zeituni’s round-trip transportation to Chicago. I will pick her up in her public housing complex, drop her off at the new Southwest Airlines terminal at Logan Airport, buy her a ticket on Southwest, and arrange for my friend Jen to pick her up at Midway. Jen will drop Aunt Zeituni off at the Secret Service barriers and they can escort her to Obama’s house. We will reverse the process to get her back to Boston for her February 4, 2010 immigration hearing.

Saturdays last minute victory......#24, J. Parisian

Paces 88 at the St. Regis........

What's not to like? A Saturday evening of fun and food with friends is to be treasured.

http://www.paces88.com/

Dennis Kneale

There must be somebody left with a brain at CNBC for canceling the Dennis Kneale show.

Why it took so long is the question.

What Did Harry Miss?

Harry Markopolos made his second major appearance before Congress, this time in front of the Senate Banking Committee along with two SEC lawyers, who clearly were not up to his professional and intellectual standards. Harry talked about his aborted attempts over a ten year period to get the SEC to listen to the fact that it had taken him about five (5) minutes to figure out Bernie Madoff was a stone fraud. He then described his impressions of lack of professional attributes of SEC staffers to recognize fraud at even an elementary level, much less a career examiner’s level.

He pulled no punches, saying at one point that the SEC “couldn’t find ice cream in a Dairy Queen”, to they “couldn’t find a steak in an Outback (Steakhouse)”. Since his interview will be available electronically soon, there is no need to recite his many statements challenging the conduct and skills of the SEC staff. Suffice it to say that he told the Senate Banking Committee that they should start by firing half the staff, and replace excess lawyers with smart trading and accounting people who should be paid bonuses for finding and busting crooks and frauds.

from Mike Ditka.....

"You're never a loser until you quit trying."

Grayson for President in 2012

Congressman Grayson: Something I found very intriguing was the Semi-Annual Report from the Federal Reserve to the Congress. That’s a mother-lode of secrets if you read it very carefully and ask the right questions.

Since it looks like the Federal Reserve may soon be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, that opens many opportunities for the public to see the facts.

These are not conspiracies. The Federal Reserve’s own website has some incredibly interesting information about the general state of the US economy and the distribution of wealth in our country. I was recently reading our national wealth capped out at $62 trillion two-years ago has crashed to $50 trillion since. Those are Federal Reserve statistics on their website.

Damien: Congressman, I know you have another interview in a moment, so thanks for your time. I would love to follow up with you on this story sometime soon.

Congressman Grayson: Super. This is the story of the millennium. There are very few stories you can ever write about where the numbers involved have 13 digits in them.

Nassim Taleb's economic nudity.....the exposed truth

Margaret Wente: Happy days are here again. The central bankers say the recession is over. The markets are buoyant. Can we relax?

Nassim Taleb: Not at all. Central bankers have no clue. In the first place, the financial crisis was not a black swan. It was perfectly predictable.

MW: Are you saying the U.S. shouldn't have done all those bailouts? What was the alternative?
NT: Blood , sweat and tears. A lot of the growth of the past few years was fake growth from debt. So swallow the losses, be dignified and move on. Suck it up. I gather you're not too impressed with the folks in Washington who are handling this crisis.

NT: Globalization and the Web create worldwide mass effects, whether positive or negative. We have planetary fads that cause random variables to have bigger spikes than ever before. Variables that used to move 10 per cent now move 30 per cent. The whole planet can pull its money out on the same day.

MW: So if everyone is still on the wrong track, what's the right track?

NT: My whole idea is to lower risk in society by developing a system that can resist human error, rather than one where human error rules. The first step is to make sure that no financial institution is too big to fail. Next, make sure governments don't favour big companies. Governments should also decrease the role of economists – they're no more reliable than astrologers, and they do more damage.

Simpe issue with our Federal Reserve.......

Grayson: “So who got the money?”
Bernanke: “Financial institutions in Europe and other countries.”
Grayson: “Which ones?”
Bernanke: “I don’t know.”
Grayson: “Half a trillion dollars and you don’t know who got the money?”

One of millions.........

She looked sick and pregnant, very pregnant. She was dark-skinned, a small thing, pulling a tattered suitcase that had probably never been inside a 757. It was very early in the morning and she was headed to the United States on foot. Our eyes met briefly at the border crossing at the US entry point at Tiajuana, Mexico and she looked away. I knew. Her slow careful movement told me she was going to give birth soon. For all I knew, maybe that day. She was coming into the United States for a reason. You see, wise (and pregnant) Latinas dash across the border just in time to give birth at American hospitals -- medical services paid for by U.S. taxpayers --gaining instant citizenship for their children, thereby entitling them to the entire Chinese menu of American welfare programs.

In 2004, 42.6 percent of all babies born at taxpayer expense in California were born to illegal aliens, according to a state report on Medi-Cal-funded deliveries. In hospitals close to the Mexican border, the figure is closer to 80 percent. Remember: This is before health care becomes "free" to every U.S. resident.

Hospitals across the country are going bankrupt because the federal government forces them to provide free services to illegals. This situation appears to have angered some segment of the population, in particular, American citizens who pay taxes to support the hospitals, but then are forced to spend hours writhing in pain in hospital waiting rooms.

And now Democrats have the audacity to tell us that national health care won't cover illegals. Not only that, but they tell us we must not be able to read if we think it does.

It truly is a health care deformity. May God bless America and may God bless that woman and her baby. I hope we all make it.

Politics from the WWE

WASHINGTON -- Pro wrestling executive Linda McMahon has never been shy about wading into the ring - and now she's plotting a smackdown of Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday McMahon has resigned as the company's chief executive to seek the Republican nomination for Dodd's seat, providing a show-business twist to one of the nation's marquee Senate races.

"I never do anything half-heartedly," McMahon said in a telephone interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. "I am 100 percent serious about this race."

My take on this is simple.

One savvy business person trying to unseat a fake and liar.

Government Cheerleading.....

is reaching a crescendo. Have you ever heard such cheerleading from a President?

The lobbyists are fat, the Long Gray Line are knocking rings, NASA is elated, the bankers are TARPED and Goldman Sachs once again owns their liberal guilt over making too much money.

And every week, the healthcare deformity looms. The bodies return from Afghanistan. And the lies continue about the fiscal health of America.

Cuomo versus Lewis

The management team of B of A should be taken to the woodshed with their checkbooks.

The Thain -- Paulson love fest for the white shoe firm isn't a hot topic in this mess........hopefully it will ALL come out sooner rather than later.

Who in the world do we believe? Ben or Buffett?

US stocks pushed higher Tuesday, reaching new highs for the year, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession is likely over.

CARLSBAD, California (Reuters) - The U.S. economy has not begun to climb out of the worst recession since the Great Depression but the "terror" that followed last year's near-collapse of the financial system is gone due in part to government intervention, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said on Tuesday.

"At the moment we don't see it getting better or worse, but that's better than you could say six months ago," said the Wall Street guru known as The Sage of Omaha for his long history of successful investments.

"The economy has not turned up but it will turn up," he told Reuters in a brief interview at a Fortune conference in Carlsbad, California.

The Parisian Team, 2009, Carillon Beach

Transparency and truth ahead............

The only thing better than Judge Jess Rakoff taking on B of A would be Walstreetpro2 taking on Jim Cramer in his garage.

Rep. Frank on CNBC

this beautiful Monday morning is some of the best comedy I have heard so far this month.

From what planet is this guy from? Surely from somewhere in the universe where common sense is extinct.

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe

There are many questions that Lower Brule Sioux tribal members need to be asking. Here's some for the Lower Brule Sioux membership to bring to the next Council meeting.

What independent firm or advisory shop did the due diligence on the Westrock transaction? What is the experience of the firm that did the due diligence? What were the terms of the transaction? How do we know we got the best price for the Tribe? How was the deal structured? If the deal was purportedly in the works for three years did we or did we not "pay up" for the "new" institutional trading desk and asset management unit that was started a month ago? Why did we a buy a small Broker-Dealer based in New York instead of conducting a national search for available Broker-Dealers to buy? What ramifications will there be with insurance issues of owning a Broker-Dealer? Where will FINRA suits come into play against the firm and the Tribe with tribal sovereignty issues? Did the Tribe consider a joint venture with another Sioux tribe to cut in half the risk of the investment and further diversify into other business lines? Did the Tribe speak to the professionals at First Nations Development Institue for help on the deal? Who is looking after our investment that is independent and unbiased and A)understands the securities business B) understands the institutional trading business and C) understands the asset managment business or do we simply rely on what we are told by Westrock? What is the compliance record of Westrock with FINRA and the SEC? Given that most retail brokers gross production levels are off significantly from 2007 after the 2008 financial debacle did we agree to lower price terms over the course of the negotiations or did we wind up paying top doller for this revenue stream? What liabilities, if any, did we inherit upon closing? How can this acquisition help ALL of the Lower Brule Sioux tribal membership and why is the Tribe using brokers to help tribal members when they probably should be using fiduciaries like Registered Investment Advisory firms instead of salesmen-brokers to cut trading costs and commissions for tribal members. There are many reasons that Lower Brule Sioux Tribal members need to be careful in who they entrust their hard-earned investment portfolios. Here are some things for the Lower Brule Sioux members to contemplate. Forget them at your financial peril.

Your stock broker is not a fiduciary. Their best interests are not your best interests. They are employees of brokerage firms who work for the benefit of their brokerage firm, not your financial outcome.

Your stockbroker’s fancy title is not awarded for achieving above average investment results for clients’, it is for charging clients big fees and commissions no matter how well your portfolio performed.

Do you think it’s responsible and prudent to trust your “financial life” in retirement and your portfolio and serious money to a salesman rather than a fiduciary?

Stockbrokers worry about generating income for themselves, before worrying about your results. If they don’t, they lose their job even if market conditions warrant doing nothing with your portfolio. They still need to churn your assets.

Stockbrokers who call themselves financial planners are usually far more concerned with planning their commissions and fees from your portfolio rather than planning your financial future.

When was the last time your broker made any serious money for you or any money at all? Brokers are not trained to trade stocks, they are trained to gather assets and sell investment products. Few brokers have made themselves serious money in the stock market.

A stockbroker's goals are based on "gross production sales credits" which are the fees and commissions charged to clients and not the performance of their client’s investments.

A financial advisor compensated via commissions is really a salesman with huge conflicts of interest with the client and it is in his best interests to keep his client ignorant.

These reasons are provided courtesy of Chippewa Partners, Native American Advisors, Inc. a Registered Investment Advisor. The firms founder, Dean T. Parisian, began his Wall Street career in 1982.

It never ends in Indian Country.........

By Gale Courey Toensing

Story Published: Sep 11, 2009

Story Updated: Sep 11, 2009

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. – The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council has forced its chairman into an administrative leave in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Chairman Michael Thomas was relieved of his duties Aug. 31, just days after an announcement that the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, owner of the country’s largest casino, is restructuring a $2.3 billion debt and is at risk of defaulting on a $700 million loan.

In a statement, the tribal council said, “The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council has placed Michael Thomas, the chair of the tribal council, on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal review. As a matter of policy, the council does not discuss personnel matters and does not intend to comment further.”

Six of the seven council members sent Thomas an e-mail saying that he “betrayed” their trust in a letter he sent to tribal members, describing his plan to deal with the tribe’s financial crisis and giving his opinion of the situation, according to an unnamed senior tribal adviser, The Day reported. Thomas is the seventh member of the council.

“Earnings are down considerably and there are no signs of immediate improvement. These are dire financial times for our tribe,” Thomas wrote to members Aug. 19.

“Incentive” payments to tribal members have been halved over the past year and now range from $90,000 to $120,000 a year, but Thomas said there would be no further reductions in incentive payments.

“Instead, tribal government and the incentive will now be paid FIRST with any cuts or changes to our operation taking place after our members are paid. I will not waver from my pledge to protect the tribal government and the incentive,” he wrote.

“Regardless of what may happen I have made it clear that we will not accept Wall Street mandates for cuts to tribal government or the incentive. Anyone who puts the interests of consultants, bankers and bond holders ahead of our tribal community will have to answer to me.”

The six councilors said they were “appalled” by Thomas’s letter and his attempts to deal with the financial crisis unilaterally.

They gave him a Sept. 10 deadline to resign; otherwise the council could vote him out of office with a three-fifths vote and hold a special election within 30 days to fill the vacancy, according to the tribe’s constitution and bylaws.

The senior adviser said Thomas will try to maintain his chairmanship by a referendum vote from tribal members. He said the attempt to oust Thomas was “wholly without merit” and the “epitome of irresponsibility,” and that Thomas would seek a referendum vote of tribal members on his expulsion and a special meeting to recall the other six councilors.

The tribe’s financial woes sent a shockwave through Indian country.

Hit by the recession and competition from nearby casinos, Foxwoods’ revenues have dropped consistently over the past year. In July, Foxwoods announced slot revenues of $63.2 million – a 13.5 percent drop compared to the same period last year. The state’s 25 percent cut in July was $15.9 million.

In an effort to staunch the flow, the nation laid off 800 employees last year and cut government jobs.

The $2.3 billion debt is $1 billion more than the tribe’s Foxwoods Resort Casino can sustain, the senior advisor said.

Most immediately, the tribe is at risk of defaulting on a $700 million line of credit in October.

Standard & Poor’s has cut Mashantucket’s rating four steps to CCC and placed the debt on credit watch, citing the restructuring reports. Ratings of BBB or above are generally considered by regulators and market participants to be “investment grade,” while those that receive a lower rating are generally considered “speculative grade,” according to S&P’s Web site. A credit watch status means it will be difficult for the tribe to borrow.

In a statement issued after news of the restructuring broke Aug. 26, the nation said it has hired Miller Buckfire & Co., LLC and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, as financial and restructuring adviser and legal counsel, respectively, to guide it through the process.

“We have sufficient resources to continue to operate our businesses as normal and it will be business as usual. We do not anticipate that the financial restructuring being considered by the tribe will affect our employees, customers, vendors or business partners. The tribe does not plan to make any additional comments regarding this matter at this time,” the statement said.

Foxwoods opened in 1992 to huge success. Kien Huat, the Malaysian investment company that bankrolled the casino, is owed $21.2 million of the original $160 million loan.

Last year, the nation opened the $700 million MGM Grand at Foxwoods, a 30-story, two million-square-foot facility with a new casino, a 4,000-seat performing arts theater, restaurants, signature stores, and an enormous convention space with a ballroom/dining hall that can seat 5,000 guests.

Under Thomas’ chairmanship, the tribe built a $67 million highway expansion on the state road leading to Foxwoods.

The Mashantucket Pequots’ financial crisis has raised a number of unanswered questions concerning tribal casinos in Indian country. What happens if a tribal nation defaults? Are tribal nations subject to the federal government’s bankruptcy laws? Can a nation continue to pay itself and its members while not paying its debtors?

Creditors probably can’t take over assets or operations of casinos on sovereign tribal land as they may with commercial bankruptcies, Megan Neuburger, an analyst at Fitch Ratings in New York, told www.bloomberg.com Aug. 26. That leaves them little choice other than to restructure debts and work with the tribe, she said.

Native Top 10 .............

HERE ARE THE TOP 10 THINGS NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLE SHOULD SAY TO WHITE FOLKS.

10. HOW MUCH WHITE ARE YOU?

09. I'M PART WHITE MYSELF, YOU KNOW.

08. I LEARNED ALL YOUR PEOPLE'S WAYS IN THE "BOY SCOUTS".

07. MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WAS A FULL-BLOODED WHITE AMERICAN PRINCESS.

06. FUNNY, YOU DON'T LOOK WHITE.

05. WHERE'S YOUR POWDERED WIG AND KNICKERS?

04. DO YOU LIVE IN A COVERED WAGON?

03. WHAT'S THE MEANING BEHIND THE SQUARE DANCE?

02. WHAT'S YOUR FEELING ABOUT LAS VEGAS CASINOS? DO THEY REALLY HELP YOUR PEOPLE, OR ARE THEY JUST A SHORT-TERM FIX?

AND HERE IT IS............THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION NATIVE PEOPLE SHOULD ASK WHITE FOLKS.

01. HEY CAN I TAKE YOUR PICTURE?

COME ON NATIVES KEEP THIS GOING....SEND TO OTHER NATIVES AND NON-NATIVES FOR A GOOD LAUGH.

Jamie Dimon, J.P. Morgan Chase

Mr. Dimon,

You are a pretty smart guy. Harvard Business School smart. You haven't accumulatd what you have without being brilliant or lucky or friends with Sandy or just TARP happy. In fact, your move to withdraw $250,000,000 out of the Madoff quagmire was brilliant timing. I bet you had some interesting "transparency" on that move.

I came to your bank via the Washington Mutual acquisition. I've been a good retail bank customer. You bank pays virtually zero interest on my bank balances which at times have been very high. Your bank has some fine employees in the Chase blue and black. Make no mistake, your employees are capable. Unfortunately our relationship is coming to an end. You see, I've been around too long. When transparency goes away, Dean Parisian goes away. What is your bank hiding? Why are your policies so archaic, so smoke and mirrors? Why can't your bank be a model citizen and champion full transparency? Why can't you compete with your competition on either side of you and up and down the street? All I wanted was a simple HELOC. A HELOC I was told I had except the losers at Washington Mutual failed to do their part and lie. No wonder that outfit is bust. I wanted nothing major. No rush. A simple HELOC. I only wanted the paperwork 48 hours in advance of the closing date to review with my real estate attorney what it was I was to sign. Review with my attorney on my dime. Fairly simple right Jamie? I bet you would do the same thing as bright as you are. Have your team of legal eagles review what you may be on the hook for with your John Hancock. This isn't derivatives trading or flash trading or naked short selling. Nothing illegal here, no need for Mary Shapiro to frown on your team. Just business. Let the customer review what documents they are going to sign BEFORE the closing. We all know what the law is, the 3-day right of recission AFTER signing. You see Jamie I only wanted the paperwork 48 hours PRIOR to signing. Not hard Jamie, easy. Good business easy. Smart business easy. Chase made it easy to leave.

Farewell Jamie.

There's transparency ahead.

With best wishes,

Dean Parisian

Lies and more lies.................

Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.

- Sen. Barack Obama, 2006

Two cases...........

CLAMAN: Naked short selling; I had a fund manager ask me yesterday, when is the SEC going to start enforcing the rules to prevent people from abusing naked short selling? I know there are rules in place, but enforcement.

SCHAPIRO: We actually did some cases in the last couple of weeks.

CLAMAN: How many?

SCHAPIRO: Oh god, probably just two cases that I can think of off the top of my head in the last couple of weeks. We are going to enforce those rules, as we’re going to enforce all of our rules in a more aggressive way. Of course, we’ve proposed some regulatory responses.

We made final in the last month on rules with respect to the failure to deliver on short positions. Those rules have been credited with really bringing down failed to deliver by about 56 percent. So those are tremendous positive steps.

We’ve also proposed some market-wide price caps that would slow the decent of the market caused by short selling, or some circuit breakers, as an alternative, where an individual stock declines by more than a certain percentage on a day. A circuit breaker would kick in and no more short selling would be permitted in that stock.

CLAMAN: Why not just reinstate the uptick rule?

SCHAPIRO: We proposed that as an alternative and asked for comment on that. We’ve got thousands of comment letters on all of these multiple proposals that we’ve put out. There’s a concern about whether — in this new market environment, whether the old uptick rule really can work. We want to put into place something that’s going to be effective, not something that just sounds good because it existed in the past.

Voters for the health deformity bill will end their careers

WASHINGTON, Sep 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a radio actuality previewing President Obama's health care address to Congress on Wednesday evening.


Secretary Sebelius: "On Wednesday night, President Obama will make the case for what is at stake for the American people in this debate, and he'll provide a clear direction for what a true reform plan is: A plan that will bring stability and security to Americans who have insurance, and help those who don't get coverage they can afford. He'll discuss what health insurance reform means -- and what it doesn't mean -- for all Americans. Now we've come a long way and we're closer than ever to passing real health insurance reform. One thing is clear: doing nothing is not an option. Health care costs are rising three times faster than wages...millions of Americans are being denied coverage because they get sick...and insecurity is growing. We're entering a new phase in this important debate. Now is the time to begin pulling together the bills that have been written and the solutions that have been proposed to create a final product that reforms our health insurance system and offers families the security and stability they need."

9-9-2009

The big red fox running across my lawn at daylight was special. Perhaps a harbinger of good things to come or an omen of the sly trickster making minions out of cunning market mavens?

Or maybe just a hungry fox hunting rabbits in the 'hood.

Whatever the case, a very special day for the Parisians.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commision

The case starts tomorrow. This case could repeal the little but remaining legal structures that keep corporate influence in check.

If you think as I do that we have little influence on Capitol Hill now and Citizens United losses we as a nation will have fallen into ruin.

Health Care Deformities...........

Just where is this health care "deformity" bill on the Internet? Where is the one single bill in document form where Americans like Dean Parisian can look at the bill whether the Congressional bill or Senate bill? If the President is going to discuss it, where is it?

The untruths and lies continue. And the lobbyists run to the bank.

Orlando of Federated

The esteemed market strategist is either A)clueless B)drinking the CNBC kool-aid or C) spewing the bullish party line to allow their fund managers to continue liquidating funds like their FMCPX. Another disaster for Federated.

Ever wonder if these mouthpieces at the top have made any serious money for themselves and their families in the market by picking individual stocks?

Ted Nugent telling it like it is.............

By Ted Nugent
09/03/2009

The problem with being host to the United Nations is that it attracts many of the world’s thugs, punks and dictators like flies to a summertime barbecue left out too long.

And when the U.N. General Assembly convenes on September 23, we’ll again be treated to a parade of the worst of the worst, ranging from “Apocalypse Wow” Ahmadinejad to Hugo Chavez and Hu Jintao.

And we’ll be treated to the presence of Moammar Gaddafi,… the dictator punkmaster who runs Libya.

Gaddafi is coming to the United Nations to give a speech that will make about as much sense as out of tune goat music. Dogs in Central Park will bay in confusion and chase their tails. Sena. Chuck Schumer, of course, will probably agree with the speech and, like Gaddafi, blame America for all the world’s problems. And, in protest, our secretary of state will buy another pantsuit.

Gaddafi recently threw a “get out of jail” party for mass murderer Abdel Baset al-Megrahi after the United Kingdom cut an oil deal with Libya that included releasing the Lockerbie killer after serving just eight years for mass murdering hundreds of innocent people.

189 Americans were slaughtered over Lockerbie by this butcher. I’m praying he dies a slow, agonizing death and that the United Kingdom’s government is infested with the fleas, gnats and blowflies that inhabit Gaddafi’s oil rich tent.

Gaddafi is a toxic wart on the world’s stage who, if our country was run by patriots instead of loony leftists, would be denied a visa into the United States to give his speech at the United Nations. However, this won’t happen because Barry O’s international policy is one of apology for international America hating terrorist scum such as Gaddafi.

Terrorist bankrollers such as Gaddafi don’t respect Barry O and America. This was on
full display when terrorist supporter Gaddafi literally wanted to pitch his tent in the community of Englewood, N.J. when he travels to New York to give his loony speech.

Englewood lost 39 citizens in the Lockerbie mass killing, which Gaddafi financed. Gaddafi knew this but obviously wanted to pour salt into the wounds of the American families who lost loved ones over Lockerbie and was confident the American paper tiger would not interfere.

Rep. John Alder and the Englewood mayor told Gaddafi in no uncertain terms to go pitch his tent somewhere else. There were no strong words from Barry O and crew to Gaddafi and his circus tent terrorist sideshow clowns.

Eventually Gaddafi backed down and is reportedly now going to stay at a swanky New
York City hotel. Regardless how soft the economy, no hotel in the Big Apple should allow murdering-in-the-name-of-Allah Gaddafi in their front door. Not so close to Ground Zero, one would think.

Instead, we should tell Gaddafi to pitch his tent in the backyard of the United Kingdom embassy in D.C. and to then have Gordon Brown’s government shuttle the terror punk to the United Nations in New York City.

No nation has any respect for Barry O, including our supposed friends and allies who will turn their backs on America when it benefits their interests. Margaret Thatcher would never have betrayed America — or risked her relationship with Ronald Reagan — by releasing a mass murderer for oil.

Winston Churchill is rolling over in his grave.

My advice to the American families of the victims is to not wait for Barry O to strongly condemn the United Kingdom for this murderer-for-oil deal. What these families should do is to call a press conference and make a united statement condemning the United Kingdom.

It appears that the United Kingdom has become a spineless and weak people and country. Like France, they used to be an international power. No more. These are not my words but the words of a London cab driver who I spoke with a couple of years ago. The cabby told me he desperately wanted to leave the United Kingdom and move to America. I wanted to give him a gun, but instead told him to remember the Alamo.

So, while a bureaucratic punk in the Brown administration was busy denying radio talk show host Michael Savage entry into the United Kingdom for “hate speech,” the same Brown government was in negotiations with a terrorist supporting nation to trade a mass murderer for oil. Just another reason to never trust a bureaucratic government punk.

The London cabby was only part right when he told me the United Kingdom was weak. Little did he know, but his government was also cutting deals with terrorists.

The sun long ago set on the United Kingdom’s empire. All that remains can be swept under the rug in Gaddafi’s tent.

Congressman Pete Stark

Pure bum.

Another reason why our country is in such poor shape.

This guy is a prime example of the 9 scariest words in the English language;

"We're from the government, and we're here to help"

Liars, thieves and lobbyists

Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Congress’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level in more than two decades, according to a Pew poll that also shows Democrats fare better than Republicans among U.S. adults.

Thirty-seven percent of those questioned gave Congress a favorable rating, the lowest in the poll’s 24-year history and a 13-point decline since April. Fifty-two percent rated Congress unfavorably.

The poll of 2,003 adults was conducted Aug. 20-27 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life of Congress. The survey had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

Congress returns to Washington next week to resume work on a proposed overhaul of health care that President Barack Obama has listed as a top priority. The lawmakers also are confronting legislation to curb the emissions blamed for global warming.

The Pew poll showed that respondents, by a margin of 46-27 percent, say Democrats would do a better job than Republicans of overhauling health care. Forty-five percent said they have confidence in Democratic congressional leaders compared with 40 percent for Republicans.

Fifty-five percent said they had confidence in Obama’s ability to handle health care.

The respondents also favored Democrats over Republicans on other issues, saying they had more confidence in the majority party as follows: 42-32 percent on the economy, 47-25 percent on energy and 44-31 percent on foreign policy.

Honest Government

The poll found Americans believe Democrats care more about people like them by a 51-27 percent margin and regard Democrats as more honest and ethical by 42-26 percent.

Even so, Democratic support slipped to 45 percent when the poll asked which party’s candidate the respondent would vote for in next year’s election or which way the respondent was leaning. Fifty-two percent picked the Democratic candidate in a poll preceding the 2006 elections when the party captured both houses of Congress.

The comparable figures for Republicans were 44 percent in the next election, up from 40 percent four years earlier.

Among those who described themselves as independent voters, the generic Republican candidate was supported over the Democrat 43-38 percent. In a poll preceding the 2006midterm elections, Democrats held an 11 percentage point edge among independents.

Charles Rangel

The Democrat should be jailed for his failure to disclose personal financial assets. Unbelievable but then he is from New York.

What a slap in the face to honesty which long ago was requisite to public office.