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With anger over bank bailouts raging, credit agency Freddie Mac is coming back for more. As reported in the Wall Street Journal:

Freddie Mac reported a second-quarter net loss of $4.7 billion and asked the U.S. Treasury to provide a $1.8 billion infusion, raising the government’s tab for its rescue of the mortgage-finance company to $63.1 billion.

Mac’s sister company, Fannie Mae, also reported losses in the billions. Thus far the US government has spent almost $150 billion subsidizing the pair.

Posted by DarrenStaley as Business, News, Politics at 12:58 PM MDT

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(a1newspage.com) The unemployment rate remained at 9.5% but there were 159,000 job loses for the month of July according to the Household survey. Most focus on the payroll survey where there was a loss of near 130,000 jobs and a smaller than expected gain of only 71,000 jobs in the private sector. Jobs came to an end as census workers were dismissed after completing their work.

The stock market took a hit of well over 100 Dow points early but regained footing finishing down only 21 points. Most experts see unemployment remaining at elevated levels for at least the end of the year. The economy has slowed after a strong finish of 2009 and jobs have been hard to come by with many out of work for over a year and almost half of the unemployed out of work for over 6 months.

What is turning out to be a challenging year for Democrats in the upcoming November election, these very poor job numbers will make it more problematic for Democrats to run on jobs and the economy. Obama and VP Biden planned to campaign during the summer as the “summer of recovery” but the slowing economy and high unemployment make crowing about the economy a hard sell even with overwhelming Democrat audiences. Jobs and the economy are the top issues and concerns for voters.

Posted by admin as Business, News, Politics at 9:17 PM MDT

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From Fox News:

President Obama said Thursday he was confident Elena Kagan would make an “outstanding” Supreme Court justice, following the Senate’s vote to confirm her as the fourth woman ever to to a seat on the bench.

The final tally in the Senate was 63-37, with five Republicans voting in Kagan’s favor and just one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, voting no. A handful of mostly moderate Republicans broke with their party to back her: Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, retiring Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar.

Kagan’s appointment is not likely to swing the current court’s direction. However many will be closely watching her votes on hot button issues like health care, immigration, and gay marriage, all expected to make their way to the court in the coming years.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News, Politics at 6:49 PM MDT

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The Wall Street Journal reports:

Billionaire Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison will join film director George Lucas and 38 other mega-wealthy people in following a call by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to pledge to give the majority of their riches to charity.

On Wednesday, Mr. Buffett announced that 40 of America’s wealthiest individuals and families, from former Citigroup Inc. leader Sandy Weill to hotel mogul Barron Hilton, have signed the “Giving Pledge.”

Mr. Buffett and Mr. Gates in June had asked the individuals and families to publicly commit to give away at least half of their wealth within their lifetimes or after their deaths.

Because the pledge is non-binding and vague on total amounts donated, it remains to be seen what, if any, effects this will have on future government revenues through taxation, although the Journal seems interested in the possibility:

On a conference call with media, Messrs. Buffett and Bloomberg said that tax deductions weren’t a main motivator for people to join the pledge. Still, for a donor in the 35% income tax bracket, the highest U.S. bracket, the effective cost of a $100 donation while alive can be $65, subject to some limitations.

Posted by DarrenStaley as Business, News, Politics at 8:26 PM MDT

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In an election year there are few debates that the Democrats shy away from. These are usually hot-button items such as defense, immigration, and sundry social issues. What Democrats generally prefer to discuss are issues like Social Security, Medicare, and the economy.

Of course this is not a usual election year. Democrats are certain to face losses, perhaps drastic losses, and the economy is sluggish at best. And thanks to George W Bush, the Democrats are about to run into a a dangerous conversation.

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year. The Democratic leadership is ready to let them do just that, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is advocating expiration, aside from those affecting workers making less than $250,000, to anyone who will listen.

Republicans are lockstep against what is seen as a tax cut in the middle of recession. This puts Democrats, and especially President Obama in a very precarious position.

First, tax increases are never popular and most deficit hawks prefer spending cuts as the best way to battle the mounting debt.

Second, if no legislative agreement is reached, all of the tax cuts will expire. This would violate Obama’s campaign pledge to not raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 per year.

Third, if, as Republicans warn, the tax increase worsens the economy, the president may be in real trouble come 2012.

While the effects of action or inaction will take some time to dissect, the political aspect will be coming to a head in weeks rather than months as campaigning takes precedence over legislation in early October.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News, Politics at 7:57 PM MDT

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From The Washington Post:

A federal judge in California ruled Wednesday that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional right to equal protection, the first step in a legal struggle that is widely expected to end at the Supreme Court.

Judge Vaughn R. Walker wrote that Proposition 8, which voters approved as an amendment to the state constitution in 2008, “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.”

Justice Kennedy, who is voted in favor of gay rights in recent rulings, is likely to be the swing vote in a Supreme Court challenge. Should the high court uphold the ruling, it may open the Defense of Marriage Act to constitutional scrutiny.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News, Politics at 7:07 PM MDT

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Haaretz reports:

A semiofficial Iranian news agency says Iran has obtained four S-300 surface-to-air missiles despite Russia’s refusal to deliver them. The Fars news agency said Wednesday that Iran has obtained two missiles from Belarus and two others from another unspecified source.

Israel and the United States have asked Russia not to deliver the missile systems, which can shoot down several aircraft or missiles simultaneously and could potentially be used to protect nuclear facilities.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News, War on Terror at 11:59 AM MDT

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They tried the junk shot, the top kill, and the top hat. Now BP will attempt a maneuver known as ’static kill’ to stop the leaking Gulf oil well for good. According to the Washington Post:

The “static kill” is part of a double whammy of mud and cement that would hit the runaway Macondo well high and low in quick succession. The static kill starts at the top, firing the mud and possibly cement into the blowout preventer that sits on the wellhead. That effort, which would take a day or two, would be followed in another five to seven days by the start of the more laborious “bottom kill,” in which mud and cement will be injected into Macondo through a relief well that engineers began drilling at the beginning of May.

If all goes perfectly, the one-two mud punch will literally be overkill. The static kill will terminate Macondo, and the bottom kill will be more like a confirmation test, akin to poking the body to make sure it’s dead.

Previous efforts to stop the leak have raised and dashed hopes in the past, and this one may be no different:

But there could be complicating factors. Still unknown after all these months is which avenue from the reservoir the hydrocarbons have exploited. No one is sure if the oil and gas are flowing inside the pipe or outside the casing in what is called the annulus — the space between the pipe and the rock wall of the hole. Or the flow could be through both. Because of such uncertainties, officials plan to proceed with the relief well regardless of what happens with the static kill.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News at 1:29 PM MDT

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Speaking before a veteran’s group this afternoon, President Obama announced that combat operations in Iraq will end on August 31st. However, 50,000 US troops will remain on the ground until at least late 2011. Any regression or destabilization in the region would likely affect that deadline.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News, War on Terror at 1:19 PM MDT

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With his approval ratings dropping and the country ready for a different kind of change, Congressional Democrats are hesitant to have President Obama campaign on their behalf come November. As the New York Times reports, the president seems willing to oblige:

As lunch was served in the Roosevelt Room of the White House one day last week, President Obama assured the nine Democratic members of Congress sitting around the table that he would do anything he could to help them survive their fall elections. Even, he said, if it meant staying away.

“You may not even want me to come to your district,” Mr. Obama said, according to guests, nearly all of whom hold seats that Republicans are aggressively seeking.

It is a vivid shift from the last two elections, when Mr. Obama was the hottest draw for Democratic candidates in red and blue states alike.

With only around 20 percent of the country approving of this Congress, where Obama spends this fall may not be of any consequence regardless.

Posted by DarrenStaley as News, Politics at 6:22 PM MDT

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