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Daily Reads

Bush, Obama, and the Intellectuals

“America’s intellectual class seems to adore President Barack Obama nearly as much as it reviled his predecessor. While Bush was routinely derided for his purported lack of intelligence and learning, Obama has been embraced by the intellectuals as one of their own — to a degree unmatched by any president since perhaps Woodrow Wilson.”

Health Bill Has Democrats Scrambling to Find More Votes

“People close to the situation said House leaders Wednesday appeared about ten votes shy of the 216 needed to pass the legislation, which could be voted on this weekend. The tension was exacerbated by controversy in Washington over a possible tactic, known as ‘deeming,’ that Democrats are considering using to speed the vote.”

Conan and Fox in Talks for Late Night Return

Edge

Conan O’Brien may be returning to late night on the Fox mothership. “Key Fox executives, including Rupert Murdoch, are on board with the plan.” Fox is looking to nail down the details in time for the fall lineup presser on May 17. Come back Conan!

Take Your Hands Off My Pork

Politics

The Senate has decided to keep their pork, thank you very much. In a 68-29 vote they killed a move by conservatives to institute and earmark ban. Fifteen Republicans joined the Dems in the vote. Look for new frisbee golf courses, and bridges to no where in your state soon!

The Final Eleven

Politics

“Five more House Democrats said Tuesday that they will vote against Senate health care legislation, which puts opponents of reform just 11 votes shy of the 216 needed to prevent President Obama from scoring a major victory on his top domestic priority.”

Health Care: The Anti-Jobs Bill?

“Because employers would get penalized if any of their low- and moderate-wage workers ended up in the new subsidized insurance pool, they would avoid hiring such workers. Democrats claim they want to jam through HCR so they can turn their attention to jobs, but the bill provides a strong disincentive for businesses to hire.”

Dodd’s Financial Rules Package Would Result in More Fed Muscle

“Mr. Dodd’s bill would allow the Fed to examine any bank-holding company with more than $50 billion in assets, and large financial companies that aren’t banks could be lassoed into the Fed’s supervisory orbit. This came after Treasury officials pushed Mr. Dodd to bring more companies under the Fed’s purview.”

Credit Agency Warns U.S. and Others of Risk to Top Rating

“The United States, Germany and other major economies have moved “substantially” closer to losing their top-notch credit ratings and can not depend solely on economic growth to save them, a report warned on Monday.” The ratings of the Aaa governments are currently stable, but distance-to-downgrade ain’t looking good.

Wired Magazine, Conde Nast Scoop Breitbart, the ‘Bigs’ — HUD next O’Keefe Video Sting Target

Politics

This time, there are no prostitutes involved, just a shady, and serious, tax-fraud scheme. The ploy involves the Obama administration’s 10 percent tax credit to first-time home buyers. The law says that the credit maxes out at $8,000 for an $80,000 home. But at the Detroit office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the rule seems open to interpretation. O’Keefe asks a staffer, What if I bought a place for $50,000, but the seller and I agreed to write down $80,000 as the purchase price?

“Flip it any way you want,” the staffer replies.

What if the place is worth much less — like only $6,000?

“Yup, you can do that.”

China Threatens Google

Politics | Tech

The communist Chinese government threatened Google yesterday saying, “that the U.S. Internet company ‘will have to bear the consequences’ if its follows through on its pledge to stop censoring its Chinese search site.” Go get those commies Google!

JP Morgan & Citigroup Complicit in Death of Lehman

Market

“JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. helped cause the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. by demanding more collateral and changing guarantee agreements, according to a report.” Why am I not surprised.

Pelosi Goes Over Bill With Caucus, Plans Vote Next Week

“Pelosi and her caucus discussed President Barack Obama’s proposed changes to the Senate healthcare bill on Thursday as she aimed for a vote as early as next week. Pelosi and Democrats are struggling to garner the 216 votes necessary for approval, with members divided on abortion and deep, caucus-wide mistrust of the Senate.”

- March 18, 2010 -

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