Financial Reform Moves Forward - What Must Be Fixed to Make it Real?

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Now that the Senate Republicans have agreed to debate the financial reform bill we will finally get to see the real intent of Congress to tackle the Wall Street problems. Missing from the Democrat bill the media claims the GOP was blocking, when in fact the GOP wants it just as bad as the Democrats, are a number of critical elements that better be addressed in the floor debate.



First, the major cause of the economic collapse was the housing element in which sub-prime mortgages were forced on the public by the drop in mortgage standards by our monstrous housing agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These federally funded agencies who insure most of the mortgages in America reduced down payments from 20% to zero and allowed a technique called the Stated Income loan, or NIV for "No Income Verification". Most fraud on mortgage applications resulted from use of this technique in which applicants would just state how much income they earned without offering proof. This opened the floodgates to fraud.

Now a second feature of the extent of fraud and deception came in the repackaging of the loans into pools, called collateralized debt obligations, CDO, which was how Wall Street intended to cash in on the trillions of dollars in the mortgage market and the astounding increase in home values in the decade before 2006. Of course the demand for CDOs continued long after the housing market became stagnant and it became obvious certain markets were far overpriced.



To keep the housing market moving the Federal Reserve steps in and buys mortgage backed securities from the two housing agencies and banks. By March 31, 2010, the Federal Reserve had purchased $1.2 trillion of mortgage-backed securities from banks and $200 billion of direct obligation debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for total purchases of $1.4 trillion. As a result of these actions, the Federal Reserve now owns almost 25% of the stock of mortgage-backed bonds. Assuming that banks turned these excess reserves into loans at a typical 10:1 ratio, the increase in money supply would be $12 trillion. That's more than the current amount of outstanding mortgages in the United States!

Finally, the Treasury Department has estimated the total additional US spending to prop up the two federal agencies will be $188 billion dollars. This is above and beyond the Fed money. Treasury says $85 billion will be lost along with $49 billion in foreclosure activity by Treasury, a total of $237 billion in taxpayer exposure with a total loss expected of at least $134 billion. That means we will have about $1.5 trillion at risk in supporting the housing market.



Nothing in Senate financial reform bill addresses the issues concerning housing including the CDO issue, relaxed down payments, the stated income loans, Treasury aid, foreclosure aid and Federal Reserve aid, all of which is still at risk. That means the predator mortgages, fraudulent mortgages, even foreclosures saved by the government will cost the government at least $134 billion. That sounds like an incredible windfall for all the thieves who ripped off the government. A reason for the omission may be that the changes in federal rules and policy that led to the actions were approved late in the Clinton administration, a move Clinton already acknowledged was a failure of his to stop his people from changing the rules.



The Senate bill also fails to address the conflict of interest of the credit reporting agencies who gave the CDO packages triple A ratings to help sell them even though many were defaulting within months after issue. Since the brokerage houses selling the packages were paying the millions of dollars in lucrative fees made by the credit agencies, there was intense competition to approve them regardless of the real value of the mortgage pool. Some contained as much as 90% stated income mortgages. Nothing is in the Senate bill to stop the conflict of interest nor punish credit agencies for fraudulent ratings.



Also there is nothing in the bill to review the actions by the government that opened the floodgates to bank control over the economy. Once again the absence of this area may well be inspired by the fact it was the Clinton people who made the changes. In the '90s Wall Street took over Clinton's Treasury Department and all of the regulatory agencies (Clinton's Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin came from Goldman Sachs). In 1998 Rubin, his deputy Larry Summers, Allen Greenspan (Fed Chairman) and Arthur Levitt (SEC Chairman) gave Wall Street a major victory -- defeating a modest proposal to regulate the then nascent, exploding derivatives market (e.g., mortgage backed securities). In 1999 Glass-Steagall was repealed. From 1995 to 2009 the six biggest banks (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America) grew from 20 percent to 62 percent of GDP. These Wall Street victories gave us the Great Recession of 2008.



Finally there is the Consumer Protection Agency offered by Obama. For some odd reason he places it under the Federal Reserve which operates autonomous from the government and whose actions also played a role in the financial collapse. That is a big mistake. If anything, we should be auditing the Federal Reserve to find out what they are doing with America's currency, not adding to their powers.
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The Interests of Special Interests - What Greed? Not in New Jersey

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For those of you who pay attention you might have noticed that greed is not limited Wall Street and the politicians in Washington, it is penetrating throughout society. Let me give you yet another manifestation of greed in America.

Before telling you, let me first say I am a strong supporter of teachers but believe the education system is broken. I worked for eight years for the Governor of New Jersey. A couple of years I spent as the Assistant State Treasurer. While there I got to know the other side of the education industry and the power of special interests.

Since we left office in Jersey, leaving behind a substantial budget surplus, the subsequent Democratic governors have driven the tax rates in Jersey to the highest in the nation. The state teachers union is one of the strongest in the nation. No doubt they provided for the teachers as well as themselves. But what is the result?



Taxes are so high in Jersey that two decades of inward migration to Jersey were reversed in the past decade and people, mainly high income, are fleeing the state. In revolt, the people of Jersey stunned the political pundits and elected a Republican governor last November after almost 30 years of Democrats in control.

The incumbent governor, a Democrat and former CEO of Goldman Sachs, had pushed the liberal agenda which includes coddling the special interests too far. He was bounced from office. Faced with a deficit he inherited of $11 billion the new governor outline an ambitious recovery program.

Many people don't realize that by law states cannot have a deficit, unlike the federal government that lives off the future taxes of our kids. The budget has to be balanced. So the new governor rolled up his sleeves and went to work. New Governor Chris Christie faced a huge problem. According to writer Mark Impomeni in a story on the Human events blog website this is what happened.



Christie proposed a cut in state aid to education, intended to generate $500 million in savings the first year and $800 million the second year. It was equal to the annual budget surpluses in the school district and would result in no lost teaching jobs nor reduction in services. The teacher's union, in control of the legislature, demanded a new tax on families with incomes over $400,000 to pay the cost, a reinstatement of an old temporary tax that was responsible for driving tens of thousands of jobs out of the state. In fact the previous Democratic governor and legislature had refused to extend the tax.

Christie was elected on a platform of no tax increases and a cut in excessive state spending. He said no and countered with a challenge to the teachers union tax increase proposal.: He called on teachers to voluntarily agree to a one-year wage freeze and a permanent 1.5% of their salary to go toward the cost of their health insurance. The governor said that doing so would save school districts across the state more than the $820 million he was proposing to cut, resulting in no net reductions for education.

You see, thanks to the strength of the teachers union and the weakness of the Democrats in New Jersey teachers do not pay a single cent for health care. Retired teachers also pay nothing for health care. The health care plan for teachers ranked as one of the most expensive in the nation and was so extravagant it was classified as a "Cadillac" program and almost subject to a luxury tax under the Obama plan.



When the NJEA balked at this proposal, Christie took his case to the people. The governor said that New Jersey voters should reject the budget in any school district in which teachers refused to accept the wage freeze and health plan contributions.



“I just don't see how citizens should want to support a budget where their teachers have not wanted to be part of the shared sacrifice,” Christie said.

The teachers’ union, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), mounted a massive public campaign against the cuts, airing ads on local television accusing the governor of “attacking teachers, school bus drivers, and lunch aides.”



Last Tuesday, voters in the state decided overwhelmingly in the governor’s favor.

In an average year, nearly 70% of school budgets in New Jersey are approved. But last Tuesday, almost six-in ten-school budgets went down to defeat, a stunning reversal. Now, school budgets that were rejected will go to town councils for mandatory spending cuts or approval over the will of the voters. It seems unlikely in the current political climate that many town councils will choose to substitute their judgment for that of the voters. It is nothing short of a huge political victory for the governor.

Reacting to the vote, Christie called the results, “an extraordinarily clear signal” and “a seismic change that reflects … a changed attitude in New Jersey.” Still, Christie sought to distance himself from any personal political benefits from the vote, casting himself as the people’s messenger.



“[The people have] had enough,” Christie said. “They want real, fundamental change. We didn't lead in that regard. We merely gave voice to what the people of New Jersey were already feeling.”

The NJEA issued no comment on the results.

Christie moved quickly to capitalize on the vote, calling on the legislature to approve an amendment to the state constitution limiting property tax increases to 2.5% a year, to cut pensions and benefits for public sector workers, and to change the collective bargaining process to help reign in expanding budgets at the state and local level.



“We must arm the municipal governments with the tools they need,” he said. “We need to give people the opportunity to control their own property taxes."

Christie has been gaining national attention for his strongly conservative approach to closing New Jersey’s huge budget deficit. Tuesday’s victory will only serve to increase his national profile. New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio said the school budget votes in New Jersey were “a national model for fundamental change” and pledged to follow Christie’s example in Albany if elected.
Christie will now seek to push his $29 billion budget through the legislature ahead of the June 30 deadline. Tuesday’s results make it far more likely that his spending cuts will make it through largely intact.

This victory at the local polls demonstrates the degree to which the people's revolt against past spending habits has penetrated the American political system. It should serve as a warning to the free spending liberals throughout the nation that the Tea Party is just beginning and Independents have become more determined than ever to stop the nonsense and get control of government at all levels.



I lived in Jersey for 16 years and this is one of the most positive signs I have seen that the state has finally seen the light and is ready to again become the powerhouse of the Northeast, a position it last occupied when I was working for Governor Tom Kean. It is great to see Governor Christie is a man of his word and that the people understand it. Welcome back Jersey.

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The Shootout at the Capitol Corral - Congress versus Goldman Sachs

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After two weeks of pre-meditated murder by Obama, the SEC, Senator Carl Levin, Senator Chris Dodd and the Democratic leadership in Congress, in which the president and his gang pilloried the Demons from Wall Street, the heavy weights from Goldman went before Congress in a 10 hour marathon Tuesday for a public shootout.

It was no contest. The Democrats had virtually persecuted the Goldman gang in the days leading up to the hearing before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations with civil charges from the SEC, a public scolding from former Goldman poster boy Obama, and charges of misconduct by the two Senators in their haste to get a financial reform bill through the Senate.



The court of public opinion was swayed, but not convinced, that the Obama style of liberal spending and bigger government was needed, but it was not over yet. That had to be decided in the outcome of the hearing. But this shootout was a rerun of the most famous shootout in the history of the wild west, the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.



The gunfight at the O.K. Corral has been portrayed in numerous Western films. It has come to symbolize the struggle between law-and-order and open-banditry in frontier towns of the Old West, where law enforcement was often weak or nonexistent. The fateful battle took place in Tombstone, Arizona, where Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp fought the Clantons and McLaurys.

One group of fighters represented rural Democrats from Texas who were involved in the cattle-trade in a remote area of Arizona territory which had been desert just a few years before. The other faction, (the Earps) had come from the East with the frontier, and represented the very different city interests of Yankee Republican capitalists and businessmen who were attempting to manage a silver-mining boom-town with Eastern expectations of behavior.



The battle left three rural Democrats dead and the Yankee Republican capitalists in control and the outcome of the shootout at the Capitol Corral had just about the same outcome. Before the dust had settled the Democrat Senators with their thousands of pages of briefings, tons of staff and seats behind the elevated bench were outfoxed, outclassed, outsmarted and out to lunch. The Yankee capitalists had won again.

Now I worked on the hill a couple of times and have been to many a hearing and I do not remember a time when the Congress ever looked so disheveled, disoriented, ill-prepared and out matched than this particular hearing. The politicians, well they looked every bit the good old boys and the Goldman gang the city slickers. This battle turned out no different than the last shootout back in 1881.



Of course the liberal media are sure to paint a different picture because the Democrats are their champions of the far left redistribution of wealth philosophy and Heavens knows the media may soon be out of work and in need of a redistribution of wealth to take care of them. But the outcome of this battle was never in doubt to any honest observer.



Three levels of Goldmanites testified with the junior executives first, the senior executives second, and the CEO Lloyd Blankfein last. Committee Chairman Carl Levin started out the attack, and his effort soon withered into a constant repetition of the same old question because a socialist thinker clearly has no clue how a capitalist system works. The juniors executives had him so flustered he constantly was searching through the thousands of pages of documentation trying to figure out where in the world the emails he quoted were to be found.

Like good junior execs, the Dapper Dans from Goldman seemed to be taking forever to find whatever the Senators were talking about. There was little continuity in the questions and no follow up questions, even when the opportunity presented itself. As the hearing droned on and on with each Senator grilling the Goldman gang the interrogators got more and more confused until one might have asked what they were doing at the hearing.

When the senior executives took the floor and started explaining the complex and highly complicated world of Wall Street high finance, as played by the biggest and best in the world, the look of utter confusion was in all the Senate faces. One by one they acknowledged defeat when they admitted they did not understand the intricacies nor mind set of Wall Street.



By the time Blankfein took the center seat even John McCain, with all his years of experience, was left befuddled and dazed. The white flag of surrender was raised and finally the hearing was brought to a close. Perhaps the power of Goldman was most obvious by the fact the New York Stock Exchange, and every foreign stock exchange in the world, crashed when the hearing started and the Dow was down over 200points before it was through.

When the actions against Goldman can cause world stock markets to tumble one can only surmise Congress might have underestimated their standing. But Goldman went further as the Goldman stock was about the only publicly traded stock to gain in value on this day. It was an exclamation mark on the power of the money changers.

To be honest, I have done many critical articles about the activities of Goldman over the past few years and was hoping some of my questions would be answered. They were not to be. Our Senators seemed to lose their minds when attempting to extract guilty pleas or inside information to prove how dastardly Goldman had acted during the economic meltdown.



By the end of the hearing Goldman was assuring Congress they would help the committee with new provisions of the financial reform bill that would have a chance of meeting the needs of America while bringing some sort of discipline, ethics and transparency to the Wall Street wagering in the markets.

That's a good thing since no members of the Committee seemed to comprehend what was going on. Obama is certain to have no comment as what is there for him to say? Tuesday was a big victory for Goldman. They demonstrated that no matter how intense their opposition may come after them, they are up to the challenge.

Perhaps now the stock market can continue it's upward momentum. And one last point on the fading liberal power of the Obama Democrat machine. About midway through the hearing the committee took a recess so the Senators could go vote on the procedure to move the financial reform bill to the floor. It was the second straight day good old Harry Reid brought it up for a vote and for the second straight day the Republicans and a Democrat defeated the Obama initiative.

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Kentucky Derby 2010 - The Run for the Roses

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This 136th running of the most famous and exciting two minutes in sports is the ultimate test of champions before the largest worldwide audience to ever watch horse racing. It is the pride of Kentucky and the United States.

It's Derby week and Louisville has already come to life with parties, parties and more parties. So far the favorite and another top contender have already dropped out of Saturday's race making it a rather wide open affair.



Of course it is always wide open when 20 horses are pounding around the track making this the toughest test on thoroghbreds, especially 3 year olds, in horse racing. If you win this crown jewel of horse racing you assure your place in history and are in the forefront for a triple crown championship run requiring even more stamina during the next five weeks.

Tomorrow the final field will be set and the draw for positions will be held. For those of you interested in the race the following are the probable entries in the Derby with brief backgrounds. By Thursday I expect to have my picks and you should know I picked the winner 2 of the last 3 years.



American Lion: The first of the many speed horses entered in this year’s Derby, American Lion ran his first ever race on dirt in the Illinois Derby and it produced the best race of his career. He’s a long striding colt that may find it difficult to easily secure the lead on Saturday.

Awesome Act: Won the Gotham Stakes in New York this spring and then finished 3rd to the since scratched Eskendereya in his final prep race. Awesome Act is a patient horse that should be able to sit back and make a move late in the race. He’s got a great chance to win and could be available at odds of somewhere around 15/1 on Derby day, depending how things shake out.



Backtalk: A closer that currently might not make it into the Derby due to a lack of graded earnings. If he does draw in, he might be a short on stamina as he’s never won a race at a distance longer than a mile. Backtalk is sired by 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Smarty Jones.

Conveyance: Another of the many speed horses in this year’s Derby, Conveyance has never won a race when he didn’t lead the entire way. He and Sidney’s Candy should be fighting for the lead going into the first turn.



Dean’s Kitten: This colt has only run on dirt once in his lifetime where he lost by 33 3/4 lengths – not really the type of result you want to see from a horse in the Kentucky Derby. Dean’s Kitten likes to do his running late in the race so he could benefit if there’s a fast pace and a bunch of tired horses sucking oxygen in the stretch.

Devil May Care: The lone filly in this year’s field, Devil May Care has run some very nice races against female horses in her career but will try the boys for the first time on Saturday. No filly has won the Kentucky Derby since 1988, and only three have won in the 135 year history of the race (Regret, Genuine Risk, and Winning Colors).



Discreetly Mine: Another speed horse that has never won a race where he didn’t have the lead every step of the way. It’s very tough to make a case for this horse when you factor in the presence of other dominant speed horses like Conveyance, Sidney’s Candy, and Line of David. It will be tough for him to grab the lead.

Dublin: Sired by 2005 Preakness and Belmont winner, Afleet Alex, this colt has tons of talent in his pedigree but not a whole lot of career wins to show for it. He’s come up just short in all his races this spring but Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas appears to have him sharp for the big one. Dublin is a dangerous horse because it’s easy to think he’s going to finally win until you watch him run 2nd or 3rd.



Endorsement: A lightly raced colt that blew away the competition in the Sunland Derby in late March. This colt appears to have a ton of talent and a very high ceiling, but he’s short on experience. The Derby is the most difficult race in America to win and it’s even more difficult for an inexperienced colt like Endorsement. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him run huge or to see finish well back of the field.

Homeboykris: Hasn’t won a race since last October and finished second in a non-stakes race in Florida two months ago. This horse would produce payouts along the lines of Giacomo and Mine That Bird if he were to win the Derby.



Ice Box: If the pace is fast enough early, this hard-closing winner of the Florida Derby could find himself passing a lot of tired horses in the stretch. Ice Box is a very intriguing long shot possibility considering that the pace should be quite fast this year. Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito will be attempting to win his third Kentucky Derby, and his first since 1994.

Interactif: A turf horse that will be trying the dirt for the first time since last summer when he was as two-year-old. Interactif had an awful morning work on Monday and doesn’t appear to be training well heading into the biggest race of his life.



Jackson Bend: Another horse trained by Nick Zito, Jackson Bend is the direct beneficiary of the scratch of both Eskendereya and Rule, as he will now likely draw into the Derby field. He hasn’t won a race since last October, but he’s run credibly in all three of his starts this spring.

Line of David: Ran a huge race when he won the Arkansas Derby last time out but he’s struggled a little bit with his morning works over the last week. His sire, Lion Heart, ran second to Smarty Jones in the 2004 Kentucky Derby.



Lookin At Lucky: If you were wondering who the favorite in this year’s Derby would be after Eskendereya had to withdraw due to an injury, look no further than Lookin At Lucky. Lucky was the champion two year old colt in America last year after winning three graded stakes races and finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Bob Baffert is still one of the most charismatic trainers in the game and he has this colt working like a freight train in preparation for Saturday’s race.

Make Music for Me: This colt currently doesn’t have enough graded earnings to get into the Derby but if some of these others don’t enter he could squeak into the field. He’ll be a huge long shot to win as he’s never even won a graded stakes race in his career.

Mission Impazible: This colt’s races don’t exactly "wow" you but he’s definitely a horse that keeps running and running through the stretch. He might not make a great bet to win but he could be a horse to play in a trifecta or superfecta wager.

Noble’s Promise: Always a bridesmaid and never a bride, this colt has finished right behind Lookin At Lucky three times in his career. He had some troubles in the Arkansas Derby in his last race but has come back to post a couple of great works at Churchill Downs over the past week. When he’s on his game, he can run with the favorite.



Paddy O’Prado: Another colt that has spent most of his career racing on grass prior to his attempt at the Derby. He hasn’t run on dirt since last July is a mystery as to what he’ll do on Saturday. Paddy is trained by local Louisville trainer Dale Romans.

Sidney’s Candy: The undisputed King of California after he swept all three races he ran at Santa Anita this spring, including the Santa Anita Derby in his final prep race. Look for him to be out front early as he’s won all three races this year by leading every step of the way. Sidney’s Candy will be ridden by young gun, Joe Talamo.

Stately Victor: If you’re looking for this year’s Mine That Bird, this would be your colt. On paper, this horse looks to be completely outclassed by this field ... but they don’t run the Derby on paper. Stately Victor wants to see a fast, fast pace so that he call roll by the field in the stretch when all the others are tired. His two previous attempts to run on dirt, however, were not very strong.

Super Saver: There is so much to like about this horse -- he’s won a stakes race at Churchill Downs already in his career, he’s got Calvin Borel in the saddle (last year’s winning jockey), and he’s seems to be improving with every race this spring. This colt might be the sleeper of the entire Derby and it’s very possible that he could be the one to beat.

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Alzheimer Epidemic Sweeps Nation's Capitol - Politicians Fall Victim

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Someone better call the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and tell them there is a stunning epidemic of Alzheimers sweeping Washington, D.C., because if there isn't then there are a whole lot of people of all ages, Democrats and Republicans, White House people to bureaucrats, special interests to Wall Street interests, who have suddenly lost the ability to tell the truth.



It has gotten so serious it makes one long for a Jim Carrey character from the movie Liar, Liar to show up and start telling the truth no matter what. Could you imagine politicians who could never lie? Things have gotten so bad that if God were to destroy the sinners like some Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah then you better not look back like Lot lest you be turned into a pillar of salt.



Washington would be obliterated from the earth along with all the liars, fornicators, thieves and predators because if you wiped them out would there be anybody left? This epidemic is unusual as Alzheimers is generally a disease for seniors, and though many, many seniors from our old and ancient Congress are certainly present as we are reminded everyday when their chiseled faces are thrust into the cameras and they blurt out more untruths, the disease has also reached to the younger ones as well.

CDC might say the disease has mutated to the young since people like the president and his staff seem young although in this television age make up can often make an old person look young. And there is the question of the president's missing birth certificate. Yet these young types also seem to have gotten swept up into the epidemic. What a sad state of affairs.



Of course the media continues to exploit the disease ridden and to encourage them with never ending droll interviews, incessant exploitation of the twisted truths that pour forth from their mouths in the form of sound bytes, and the senseless analysis of the elite media personalities.

Democrats lie about the liar Republicans. Republicans counter lie about the lying Democrats. Obama seems to have completely forgotten the thousand promises he made during his campaign. Democrats forgot that Clinton people changed the rules on the economy to open the floodgates to crooks on Wall Street.



The crooks on Wall Street who formally ran the White House seem to have forgotten what they did in 1999 even though Clinton, who might have suffered the same disease when president but seems to be over it now that he is gone, apologized recently for letting his people change the rules for Wall Street, yet his people who changed the rules blame it on Bush.

Of course the Democrats like Dodd say the Republicans are protecting Wall Street when Goldman Sachs made sure the Democrats were the chief beneficiary of the Wall Street largess. Isn't that like lining the pockets of the people pointing the finger at everyone else. And where did Dodd get the huge discounted mortgages on his property?

According to Republicans Obama is responsible for the deficit, yet Obama and the Democrats say the Republicans are responsible. Aren't both responsible? Bush generated $5-7 trillion, now Obama has tripled it. I say the crippling deficit is the legacy of both parties and both presidents but only Jim Carrey would agree with me.



Obama demands the Republicans be open and transparent on the financial reform bill. Just like he was open and transparent on the health care reform bill I suppose. Right... Just like he scorns Wall Street but he and the Democrats received millions of dollars from the Wall and he even received a million from Goldman Sachs, but the facts don't really count.

If nothing else we have finally got total equality in our nation's capitol. All are about equal in the art of producing titillating sound bytes with no basis in fact, of spinning elocution to the point of making facts untrue, and of accusing their opponents of being the twisted ones. Truth in Washington has slipped into the political cesspool and the only smart Americans left are the ones who ignore all that goes on in the epicenter of politicians.



It almost seems as if Hollywood studios have bought our nation's capitol and converted it into a set for the next blockbuster film, an epic struggle between good and evil, the site of the new Armageddon, and all we are waiting for is Michael the Archangel to come flying in with his flaming sword to annihilate all of the wicked ones and give America back to the people.



The news media could stop the Alzheimers epidemic if they weren't so caught up in keeping things stirred up in a last, desperate attempt to hike rating and increase newspaper sales but neither seems to be working as more and more people turn away from the once proud medium. Right now psychics and channels have as much chance of telling the truth as the news media but only people outside the beltway know it.

One day soon the cable news networks will declare the workings of the White House and Congress as the new reality show in America since there hasn't been a real honest reality show on TV in years. When people finally realize that the only value left in the Alzheimer inflicted wheezers in Washington is a couple of hours of entertainment nightly, then all might be well.



At least we know the current round of Alzheimers might end with the fall elections. Then maybe the people of America will finally get a break. Let's hope at that time we will finally get campaign reform, ethics laws, conflict of interest laws, and truth or it will be a long 21st century.

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Kentucky Derby favorite Eskendereya out with swollen leg

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Associated Press

April 26, 2010 (LOUISVILLE, Ky.) -- Todd Pletcher thought he had more than a Kentucky Derby winner in Eskendereya.

The normally reserved Eclipse Award-winning trainer admits he believed the talented 3-year-old colt could become the first Triple Crown winner in more than 30 years.
"It's the first time I felt like we've got nearly the horse that could maybe withstand the three-race series," Pletcher said.

He'll never know.

Pletcher pulled Eskendereya (pronounced Es-ken-der-AE-ah) out of the Derby on Sunday due to swelling in his left front leg.

And while Pletcher could still send as many as six horses to the starting gate for next week's Derby as he tries to end his 0-for-24 streak in the Run for the Roses, he knows he lost something special.



"We've been fortunate to have some really, really good horses over the years," he said. "I don't think we ever had one at this stage of his development that's this good. ... He's special."

So special Pletcher and owner Ahmed Zayat figured it wasn't worth the risk once Pletcher noticed inflammation in the leg after Eskendereya's gallop over a sloppy track on Saturday.

The swelling grew worse overnight, and Pletcher sent Zayat a text at 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning expressing his concerns.

Two hours later, Eskendereya's Derby was over.

Pletcher said Zayat "took it better than I would have."

"He says the horse comes first," Pletcher said. "He loves Eskendereya. He's not going to do anything to take any chances. ... It's not a phone call I wanted to make."

Eskendereya had been so dominant in winning the Wood Memorial and Fountain of Youth Stakes by a combined 18 1/4 lengths he would have easily been the morning line favorite when the expected 20-horse field is set Wednesday afternoon.

Now the Derby is wide open and bettors are certain to have a field day.

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Do Special Interests Really Serve Special Interests?

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In this day of burgeoning special interest bureaucracies there are times when it seems the special interests have only one interest in mind and it is not what they proclaim. Oh yes they claim to address all those problems, perceived problems, and yet to be perceived problems of humanity and many even get a tax exemption for doing it under their banner. But does that mean it is their real purpose?

I wonder if some are more interested in survival, the old game of bureaucratic survival, than bringing a resolution to the causes they advocate. Take for example health care where there seem to be more special interests out to make America healthy than in practically any other endeavor.



Every disease has champions, most are non-profit groups fighting for the health of the public. Yet many are financed by the very pharmaceutical company who makes the drugs to control the disease. Clearly many of them want to prolong your treatment, in other words make you feel good while remaining sick, for the rest of your life, because curing you would be of no benefit to the drug company.

Did you ever notice those brainwashing commercials everywhere on television saying you can get rid of those pains if you just take a pill every day, or month, forever? You feel depressed, take a drug. It may not solve your depression but you will sure enjoy being depressed when you are legally stoned. No one seems to talk about curing you of your ailment. There is no profit in cures.



Yet not just the pharmaceutical companies are guilty of it. The alternative health care people, the ones who are supposed to keep you from getting hooked on all those pharmaceuticals, have their own addiction to pitch saying if you take certain vitamins or herbs forever you will stay well. How can you be well if you are addicted to the cure whether it is drugs, vitamins or herbs?



There is medicine, vitamins and herbs for heart burn, digestion problems, constipation and diarrhea, but none of them cure the problem, they only trick your intestines into thinking all is well. I have a sure cure that does not require addictions, stop eating the crap that made you sick in the first place.

American's over age 60 take an average of 8 drug prescriptions a day. That does not count the psychologically fragile who need drugs to sleep, wake up, get motivated and relax. I once knew a successful television producer who took two briefcases to work, one with scripts and one with legal drugs in order to face whatever came up that day. It is amazing there are not Michael Jackson cases every day, where people are killed from legal overdoses or lethal mixes of different prescriptions.



So one must wonder if the legions of special interests in America today are more interested in their own interest than the good of the people. Personally I think any special interest that has a lobbying arm of some type should not be tax exempt. Such exemptions should be limited to those benefitting all people and should be charitable in nature.



They should also not be allowed any tax benefit if their affiliated groups include a PAC, political action committee that gives money to candidates for office. This is another loophole in the federal campaign laws that helps make the whole campaign law a joke. Congress has legalized bribes in the forms of campaign contributions from PACs, corporate and union people, and special interests. It is time to bring this to an end.

My agenda, like Obama's agenda, is aggressive and given little chance to get approved. There is a big difference however between mine and Obama's. His costs trillions of dollars while mine will reduce the cost of government.



Finally, if special interest groups do not pursue in a real way solving the problem they were formed to solve, they should be abolished. We are sick and tired of all the foolish claims on TV about how we have to have this or that reform. Tell us how to get well and you might be taken serious.


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