Senator Dodd’s Denials An Insult To The Citizens

Most people refinancing their mortgage go to a bank and then get whatever  prevailing mortgage rate they qualify for.  When you are a Senator with vast powers over the financial industry, things are different - the bank comes to you and you get a special rate.

Does anyone really believe that Senator Dodd did not think he was being given special treatment?  If the Senator is really that naive, it must be extremely easy for special interests groups to take advantage of him at the expense of the American public.

Testimony: Sens. Conrad, Dodd Told They Were Getting VIP Loans

Washington (AP) - Two influential Senate committee chairmen were told they were getting special VIP deals when they applied for mortgages, an official who handled their loans told Congress in closed-door testimony.

Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad had denied knowing they were getting discounts when they negotiated their loan terms.

Robert Feinberg, who worked in the VIP section of Countrywide Financial Corp., testified about the loan terms before the Senate Ethics Committee, and provided the same information in an interview with Republican investigators of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He could be prosecuted for making false statements.

Both senators have said that at the time the mortgages were being written they didn’t know they were getting unique deals from Countrywide, a company that lost billions of dollars on bad loans and since has been purchased by Bank of America.

Dodd, D-Conn., who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, still maintains that he got no preferential treatment. Conrad, D-N.D., who leads the Senate Budget Committee, took that position initially, but later acknowledged he did get a special deal.

Senator Dodd, no reasonably intelligent person believes that you did not know you were getting very special treatment.   You have been dishonest with the public before when caught in special deals with special interest groups.  Your plea of ignorance defies common sense and is an insult to the people you represent.

Countrywide VIPs, Feinberg told the committees, received discounts on rates, fees and points. Dodd received a break when Countrywide counted both his Connecticut and Washington homes as primary owner-occupied residences — a fiction, according to Feinberg. Conrad received a type of commercial loan that he was told Countrywide didn’t offer.

“The simple fact that Angelo Mozilo and other high-ranking executives at Countrywide were personally making sure Mr. Feinberg handled their loans right is proof in itself that the senators knew they were getting sweetheart deals,” said Feinberg’s principal attorney, Anthony Salerno.

Conrad initially said in June 2008, “If they did me a favor, they did it without my knowledge and without my requesting it.”

The next day, Conrad changed course after reviewing documents showing he got special treatment and said he was donating $10,500 to charity and refinancing the loan on the apartment building with another lender. He also said then it appeared Countrywide had waived 1 point at closing on the beach house.

At least Senator Conrad had the courage (after being exposed) to admit accepting special favors that would never be available to the average borrower.

Disturbing Pattern of Lies, Corruption And Special Interests

Senator Dodd’s re-election campaign seems to be based on the following strategy:

“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it”.

Senator Dodd is running ads that try to portray him as Joe Six Pack, always ready to pitch in and help working class Connecticut citizens that he claims to have so much in common with.   The average Connecticut worker, of course, can only dream about leading the specially privileged and wealthy lifestyle that Mr Dodd enjoys.  Dodd has as much in common with the average Connecticut citizen as a $1 a day Chinese laborer has in common with the Chinese President.

Lobbyists Love Dodd

Senator Dodd publicly advertises himself as the man who stands up against the special interests while at the same time accepting large donations and special gifts from them.  Election campaigns are not cheap and the Senator has gladly accepted money from special interests and lobbyists.  The same parties enriching the Senator expect and have received special treatment in return.

In return for contributions from AIG, Senator Dodd tried to exempt AIG executives from receiving bonuses.  His first reaction as a politician when exposed by the press, was to deny the truth and later blame it on “his staff”.

Wealthy Senator Needs More

The Senator, a very wealthy man, saw fit to take a special low cost low rate mortgage from none other than Countrywide Mortgage, a company responsible for ruining millions of lives.  When exposed by the press, he offered the usual denial and ignorance of his special treatment.  How exactly, Senator, do you define someone accepting a special financial favor based on a position of power?

While denying ties  special interests in the health care industry, Mr Dodd’s wife is paid $80,000 a year as a member of the board of directors at Cardiome Pharma.  Board members usually work a few days a year and are typically appointed  based on their connections to powerful members of government.   The typical Connecticut working person can only dream about a no nothing board position paying $80,000 per year.

The Senator may say that he has been working hard for the citizens during his 28 years in office, but he seems to be working even harder for himself.    Connecticut deserves better than Dodd.

Dodd’s Uneasy Dance With Drug Lobbyists

For Mr. Dodd, the support provided by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, the industry’s lobbying arm, comes at a politically sensitive, if not awkward, time. He is trying to combat a perception that he has become too close to powerful interest groups in Washington after 28 years in the Senate.

But even as Mr. Dodd attempts to distance himself from these special interests, he is clearly relying on their help as he prepares for his re-election, a reality seized upon by his Republican critics.

He has not only benefited from the hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertisement courtesy of the pharmaceutical industry and Families U.S.A., a health-care advocacy group the industry teamed up with. But a few weeks ago, Mr. Dodd attended a $1,500-a-plate campaign fund-raiser sponsored by lobbyists representing U.S. Oncology, a provider of cancer drugs and services.

The support Mr. Dodd has received from PhRMA comes at a crucial time politically for him, with polls showing voters in his home state disapproving of his performance.

Mr. Dodd’s problems stem in part from the view among some voters that he has developed cozy ties with the corporations he is supposed to oversee in his capacity as a senior member of several committees with jurisdiction over the financial, health care and other industries.

In some ways, he is to blame for this perception.

In March he faced a firestorm over his support for a measure that would serve to exempt American International Group, a big campaign contributor of his, from Congressional efforts to limit some executive compensation packages to Wall Street firms that received federal bailout money. After initially denying that he was behind the measure, he acknowledged that his staff introduced it at the urging of the Obama administration.

That came only months after he was accused of receiving preferential treatment from Countrywide Financial Corporation, which assigned him to a V.I.P. program in 2003 when he refinanced mortgages on his homes in Connecticut and Washington. Mr. Dodd said that he did not believe that he received preferential rates, however.

Over his decades in Congress Mr. Dodd has raised more than $550,000 from drug company representatives, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

In addition, Mr. Dodd’s wife, Jackie Clegg, was paid nearly $80,000 as a member of the board of Cardiome Pharma Corporation, according to the documents most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Clegg also holds more than 200,000 shares in Javelin Pharmaceuticals, where she is also a board member.

Lost American Initiative

Whatever happened to the “can do” attitude that allowed this country to put a man on the moon when such a feat was perceived possible only in science fiction movies?   Essential and long overdue improvements to US infrastructure now take decades as work is delayed by bickering special interest groups, mindless bureaucrats and endless state and federal regulations.

The recent opening of 3 new runways at 3 major airports is cause for celebration, but the amount of time required to complete these long overdue expansions is appalling.  Hundreds of billions of dollars a year in energy and human resources are dissipated each year as we still rely on unexpanded and unimproved infrastructure built decades ago.

Consider the time required to reap the benefits of 3 new airport runways.

In the eight months since a new runway opened at the U.S.’s second-busiest airport, plagued for decades with lengthy flight delays, O’Hare has operated with above-average on-time arrivals—better than Dallas, Atlanta and Denver in 2009, according to FlightStats.com. O’Hare’s on-time arrival rate improved by 27% so far this year compared with the same period of 2008. That was twice the improvement of any other big U.S. airport.

The new runway, opened last Nov. 21, gets much of the credit. While airline reductions in flight schedules have eased congestion and reduced flight delays, the ability to now land three planes simultaneously in most weather conditions instead of two jets at a time has turned O’Hare from a choke point into a reliable airport.

Because of the enormous cost and heated legal battles with neighbors and environmentalists, building runways at big airports is a rarity—and a major reason air travel has been bogged down in the past 10 years. Last fall, three major runways opened with much fanfare on the same day in Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Seattle’s new runway took two decades of planning, approval, court fights and construction. O’Hare’s new runway was the first at that airport in 37 years.

Economic growth relies on an efficient transportation system.  The fact that the second busiest airport in the US could not be expanded for 37 years speaks volumes for the inability of government to “get things done that need to be done”.  Think about this the next time you are wasting 8 hours of your life due to a flight delay.

According to the FAA, 30,000 flights at O’Hare were delayed because of weather in the first five months of 2008. This year through May, only 8,800 weather-delayed flights were recorded “and we had a crazy winter this year with all kinds of snow,” says Ms. Drouet.

Consider the similar multi decades delay for Seattle to add an additional runway:

At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, delays typically stacked up in the frequent fog and rain because the two existing runways were too close together to have planes landing side-by-side in poor visibility. So the airport wanted a third runway far enough from the existing runways so planes could land two at a time in any weather.

The project took more than 20 years and cost more than $1 billion. Heavy construction started in 2004.

Stimulus Spending Largely Wasted

A significant amount of the country’s infrastructure was built during the depression.  The interstate highway system was built during the Eisenhower administration before many of us were born.   How much better off would all of us and our children be if necessary improvements  to the country’s infrastructure was addressed in a comprehensive, time sensitive manner?

“Stimulus spending” of almost a trillion dollars was deployed to reduce taxes, enhance special interest spending and pass out funds to those who would most quickly spend it at Walmarts on Chinese imported goods.  This type of foolish spending leaves us another trillion in debt while keeping Chinese factories busy - it does not leave the country with anything of lasting value.

Vacuous Leadership

Of course, even if every dollar of stimulus spending had been directed exclusively to infrastructure enhancements, it would not be spend for 15 years if the airport runway example applies.    Therein lies the pitfalls of democracy - those making the spending decisions are more focused on the next election rather than the strategic long term needs of the Country.

The Truth Hurts

Some devastating criticism of Hillary by Nile Gardiner at the Telegraph UK.

If President Obama’s goal in appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State was to neutralize his biggest rival, he has certainly succeeded. Clinton looks a shadow of her former self, and has been the most low-key Secretary of State in recent times. Her immediate predecessors Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell were far more prominent figures on the world stage during their first six months in office. Clinton, in contrast, looks tired, disinterested, and largely going through the motions.

Her flagship speech last week at the Council on Foreign Relations was not only exceedingly dull, but devoid of any clear foreign policy strategy that actually advances the US national interest.

There is little doubt that Hillary Clinton’s star has significantly waned since January. Hugely overshadowed by a White House that dominates US foreign policy, the former first lady rarely makes headlines on policy questions. She has gone from fiery senator and presidential contender to increasingly marginalized run of the mill bureaucrat.

Clinton’s own standing has being damaged by both a clear lack of leadership and independent thought, as well as a humiliating association with a weak-kneed foreign policy that is undermining American global power, undercutting alliances with traditional allies (including Britain and Israel), gutting defence spending, and extending the hand of friendship to some of the most odious regimes in the world. That’s quite a fall for a hugely ambitious political figure who all her life has aspired to greatness.

What Nile does not take into account is that at least Hillary is obeying the first law of common sense - “do no harm”.  The world does not need to have a bombastic Secretary of State running around, trying to micro manage and direct other countries.   Silence or behind the scenes diplomacy is oft times the better option.   A subdued, tired “marginalized run of the mill bureaucrat” as Secretary of State may be the best option at this point - perhaps Hillary is smarter than Nile gives her credit for.

Biden Lectures Ukraine On How To Do Things “Right”

In another display of American arrogance, Vice President Biden had the gall to lecture Ukrainian leaders for their lack of progress in emulating the United States’ perfect culture and political system.

Mr Biden, well known for verbose speeches with little substance, lectured Ukraine’s political leaders for their slow progress in democratic reforms.  Consider the irony of Mr Biden words:

Mr. Biden cited 19th century Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, whose literary support for Ukrainian independence prompted a Cold War-era monument in his honor in Washington, D.C., arguing Mr. Shevchenko would today be proud of Ukrainian newfound freedoms, but not its political leadership.

“I think he would also be wondering why the government is not exhibiting the same political maturity as the people, why communications among leaders has broken down to such an extent that political posturing appears to prevent progress, especially now, especially in difficult economic times,” Mr. Biden said in a speech billed as an address to the Ukrainian people.

Excuse me Mr Biden, but your very words of criticism for Ukraine could easily be used by many others to describe the situation in the United States.

“The time for inertia and neglect has long passed,” Mr. Biden said in the 20 minute speech at the Soviet-era Ukraine House. “The leaders of this country came together once in 2004 because they knew a free and prosperous Ukraine was more important than any one politician and any one political party. I have no doubt Ukrainians will come together again.”

“The time for inertia has passed, the leaders of this country must come together”??  Plenty of cliches and platitudes here, but the good news for the Ukraine was that the speech lasted only 20 minutes.

Saving it for last, Mr Biden’s most idiotic irony came at the conclusion of his speech when he stated:

“Your economic freedom depends more, I suspect in this country, on your energy freedom than on any other single factor,” Mr. Biden said, urging conservation as well as reform. “That will be a boon to your economy and an immeasurable benefit, I respectfully suggest, to your national security.”

Please Mr Biden!  Lecturing the Ukraine on energy policies???  This from the VP of a country that has 5% of the world’s population and uses 25% of the world’s oil, (most of it imported from abroad) and has none nothing in the past 40 years to increase energy reserves or implement sound policies for enhanced use of non fossil fuels.

The Real News

The real news about Biden’s trip is the incredible patience and graciousness displayed by his Ukrainian hosts.  Ukraine’s leaders should have told Biden the old story about “people may think you are a fool, but when you speak, all doubt is erased”.    Then they should have tossed him out of the country.