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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (417512)	9/16/2008 8:37:42 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577951

Anti-Americanism in Europe Fueled by Ignorance Those who know the least about America seem to hate it the most. September 15, 2008 - by Soeren Kern Another great post -- and a lot of interesting facts. While Bush has been criticized for almost everything imaginable, a valid criticism of him is that he hasn't made the slightest effort to "promote" the United States in the eyes of other nations. We often hear about how the war has done so much damage to the reputation of the US in the world community, but the kinds of things mentioned here do at least as much damage. Bush has also failed to explain WHY the war was necessary, of course -- but most of the "damage" amongst other nations could be easily repaired by a president who would speak frequently and clearly about the virtues of the United States. Which to me, is about all the effort it is worth. I just absolutely don't care what other countries think. When it comes down to it they all know which side their bread is buttered on. When some other country gets out of hand, Old Europe knows who will take care of them.

To: TimF who wrote (417512)	9/16/2008 11:01:44 PM
From: tejek	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577951

"That's Phil Gramm. The man who believes America to be a "nation of whiners." The man who introduced the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to the Republican-dominated US Senate, and enabled its passage in the Senate, on the 6th of May, 1999. Remember that date. Today, Harry Reid tore a strip out of Gramm and that radioactive bill, blaming it for the current market crisis: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) picked up on that line during a scathing floor speech Tuesday morning that compared Sen. McCain's (R-Ariz.) approach to the economy with that of the Hoover administration. In his speech, Reid blasted the Republican candidate's decision to choose Gramm as a top economic adviser. "The same Phil Gramm who, as a senator, was responsible for deregulation in the financial services industries that paved the way for much of this crisis to occur," Reid said. "It was Phil Gramm who pushed legislation through a Republican Senate that allowed firms like Enron to avoid regulation and destroy the life savings of its employees, and it was Phil Gramm’s legislation that now allows Wall Street traders to bid up the price of oil, leaving us to pay the bill." Reid is correct. Gramm-Leach-Bliley effectively repealed the second Glass-Steagall Act which, among other things, barred investment banks and retail banks from merging. Gramm-Leach-Bliley effectively removed this restriction, allowing a single institution to both create a debt-based investment, and then facilitate its sale. Previously, with two institutions involved in that process (Three if you count the investment rating company - Moody's for example), there would have to be a high degree of clarity involved. One institution (Investment bank) wouldn't just buy, repackage, and re-sell another institution's (Retail bank) products without first understanding exactly what it was. It would also be far less likely to hold those assets and count them as capital. With a single institution operating on both the commercial and investment banking fronts, the motive for clarity was eliminated. Well, given that Reid is the Republican Party's favourite piñata, given that he squeals so well when the phrase "Do Nothing Congress" is tied to his name, one would naturally expect some blowback for that statement. James Taranto, of the Wall Street Journal, wasted no time: Given those highly impolitic remarks, you can hardly blame Democrats for wanting to remind people about Gramm. But this particular line of attack is a bit problematic. As an unnamed McCain aide points out to the Hill, the chief House co-sponsor of the bill, then-Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, is a co-founder of Republicans for Obama. If he has had second thoughts about banking deregulation, he did not mention them in his Democratic Convention speech. In the Senate, Gramm-Leach-Bliley passed by a vote of 90-8 before being signed into law by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Among those voting "aye" were Scathing Sen. Harry Reid and Sen. Joe Biden, Barack Obama's running mate. John McCain was absent, off campaigning for the 2000 New Hampshire primary. Two items of note. This is the page that Taranto linked to in that first bold quote (90-8) as evidence of who did and did not vote for passage of the bill. Using the roll call from that linked page, he says "John McCain was absent" Problem is, that page is not a transcript of the roll call vote for the bill. This is. It took place on May 6, 1999. The page that Taranto linked to was a vote on the conference report, which took place 6 months after the bill had already passed in the senate, and just over a week before it was signed into law. The bill was not passed 90-8; it was passed 54-44, almost strictly down party lines (The lone Democrat to vote for the bill was Ernest Hollings of South Carolina). This is the roll call from the actual Senate vote:" read more............. dailykos.com