Think brussels sprouts and cauliflower are agricultural commodities? Think again.
While the financial bailouts tossed to automakers, banks and other groups during the recent economic crisis left a funny taste in the mouth of some Americans, one former U.S. regulator hopes efforts to prevent another panic doesn’t go rotten.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is immersed in drafting dozens of rules to assist it in increasing oversight of the once opaque over-the-counter derivatives market, widely blamed for exacerbating the recent financial crisis.
Among the rules it must craft is what the definition of an agricultural commodity is? Of course, corn, cotton, soybeans and livestock, among other items, fall into this realm.
But what about those “other foods” such as brussels sprouts, artichokes, cauliflower, or anything with curry? A former CFTC chairman says they are “abhorrent to American sensibilities” and should be banned.
“Like every U.S. citizen, there are certain agricultural commodities that are abhorrent to me,” said Philip McBride Johnson, who is now with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
In a comment letter to his former agency, he said there is a “natural link” between defining an agricultural commodity and a provision in a law that requires the regulator to protect the public by forbidding the listing of certain products that “are abhorrent to American sensibilities.”
Clearly banned under this act are financial products based on wars, terrorism, and assassinations. If Johnson has his way, regulators will be able to protect consumers from a dozen foods that don’t mesh with his palate.
Calm before the storm: Does silence on Warren signal decision soon?
An eerie calm has descended over the blogosphere after the feeding frenzy that broke out earlier this week on whether President Barack Obama was poised to name Elizabeth Warren to lead the new consumer financial agency.
The week started with an avalanche of stories and blogs speculating on the possibility of Obama naming Warren, a Harvard law professor, as an interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The move would have allowed Obama to avoid what would likely be a heated confirmation battle.
Senators Chris Dodd, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins expressed reservations about the temporary appointment on Tuesday, urging Obama not to bypass the Senate confirmation process.
But today, there has been little grist for the mill when it comes to public comments on Warren. Sometimes in Washington, silence means something is brewing.
Could this mean a decision is imminent?
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs seemed to signal the process was moving closer to a decision but gave no specifics on timing.
Lighting a fire off the campaign trail
Politicians rarely take a break from the campaign trail, but when they do they tend to choose mainstream R&R, unwinding on the golf course or tucked away on a private estate.
Not so John Mertens, a third-party candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democrat Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
The engineering professor turned candidate is off to Burning Man, a counterculture festival held each summer in the Nevada desert that ends with the burning of a 40-foot tall wooden sculpture. It will be his sixth time at the festival, which features extensive art exhibits but is also known for drug use and nudity.
“This year will be an abbreviated stay, because I don’t want to spend too much time away from the campaign. There’s no cell phone or Internet service. It’s going to be a nice break,” Mertens said in an e-mailed statement, adding that the trip to the festival — which in recent years has drawn more than 40,000 participants — fulfills a promise to his 22-year-old son.
Connecticut voters will have a choice of colorful candidates when they head to the ballot box in November. The Republican nominee is Linda McMahon, the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, who sometimes made appearances in the ring among the muscle-bound performers.
Mertens is a long-shot candidate in a state where wealthy hedge fund managers head for home after a day on Wall Street. The most recent Quinnipiac University poll showed McMahon narrowing the gap on Democratic state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who leads 50-40 percent.
That leaves Mertens with little ground to lose during his time off.
I’d like to share some information about my campaign. I’m a Professor of Engineering at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. I also teach courses in public policy and environmental science. I strongly believe that we need calm, intelligent, non-partisan problem-solving in government. I’m the only candidate in the race that is not a multi-millionaire, but I would argue I’m working harder than anyone, and doing a lot of things no one else is. Please take a look at our website that gives everyone a voice in the process:
http://www.Mertens2010.com
I present more than 30 detailed position statements and solutions. I urge everyone to visit all the candidates’ websites, and compare what we have to say.
One the things I’m doing differently is presenting my views and solutions in a monthly 30 minute TV show that is running in every home in Connecticut that has cable, on public access (I have sponsors in all 35 districts). No one has every done this before. I discuss a different issue in-depth each month. You can watch some of them on youtube by searching for my name.
We’re trying to raise the level of civic discourse, and talk about issues and solutions. We will build a process that will live on beyond November to increase participation and give everyone a voice.
Republicans savoring election prospects after Democrats drop out
Let the countdown begin.
The 2010 election year has officially started and Republicans can barely contain their glee after two senior Senate Democrats announced they would not run again and a House Democrat switched to the Republican Party.
Right out of the New Year’s gate, Senate Democrats Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said they would not seek re-election in November.
Democrats control the Senate 60-40 which is just enough to overcome procedural hurdles and pass legislation without a single Republican vote. Republicans are expected to pick up seats, but not enough to win back control.
In December, Democrat Congressman Parker Griffith switched to the Republican Party. That defection brought the Democrat control of the House of Representatives to 257-178 and they are expected to lose more seats this year.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele sought to tie it all to President Barack Obama’s policies and capped it with a zinger at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
“Whether these Democrats want to admit it or not, President Obama’s government-run liberal agenda and their foolish decision to wholeheartedly embrace it has increased Republicans chances of regaining the majority and we are working hard to ensure this happens,” Steele said in a statement.
Democrats savoring election prospects after Republicans drop out or self destruct is more like it.
Which party has more Senate retirements so far this campaign cycle, Democrats or Republicans? Which party has more House retirements so far this campaign cycle, Democrats or Republicans?
If Dems are “dropping like flies,” (the popular Republican media phrase) the answer should be obvious. But it’s not — in both chambers, Republican retirements outnumber Democratic retirements.
In the House, 14 GOP incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, while 10 Democratic incumbents have made the same announcement. Does this mean Republicans are “dropping like flies”?
In the Senate, six Republican incumbents have decided not to seek re-election, while only two Democratic incumbents have made the same announcement. Is this evidence of a mass Democratic collapse?
Among governors, several incumbents in both parties are term-limited and prevented from running again, but only three Democrats who can seek re-election — Parkinson in Kansas, Doyle in Wisconsin, and Ritter in Colorado — have chosen not to. For Republicans, the number is four — Douglas in Vermont, Rell in Connecticut, Crist in Florida, and Pawlenty in Minnesota. The GOP number is actually five if we include Palin in Alaska. Republican retirements outnumber Democratic retirements in the House, in the Senate, and among governors.
As usual, the Republican media talking point of the day doesn’t match up well against reality. In fact, in the case of Chris Dodd, it is a major setback for Republicans. Dodd is retiring specifically because he’s putting his constituents’ and the country’s interests above his own. The goal here is for Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a popular statewide official, to immediately fill the void.
Blumenthal will be a strong favorite against a weak Republican field, which includes a former wrestling executive and a former Republican congressman who lost in 2006. GOP leaders who crowed about Dodd’s retirement are no doubt disappointed to see a key opportunity suddenly appear far less likely.
Blumenthal has made no secret of the fact that he intended to challenge Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2012. If Blumenthal runs and wins this year, Rep. Chris Murphy is the most likely competitor, and would be well positioned as a strong Lieberman opponent. After voting against his constituents on healthcare, Lieberman is likely to lose his seat in the next election no matter who runs.
This is a scenario that isn’t very savory for Republicans at all. It’s interesting that the media portrays it as such.
Lieberman likely to back some Republicans in 2010 election
Senator Joe Lieberman, a former Democrat-turned-independent, is at it again — comforting Republicans and irritating Democrats.
This time Lieberman is doing it by saying, “I probably will support some Republican candidates” in next year’s congressional election – even though he’s still a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus.
“I’m going to call them as I see them,” he said in an interview with ABC News that the network posted on its web site on Friday.
Lieberman riled Democrats last year by campaigning for Republican presidential nominee John McCain. And he upset many of them again this week by saying he would help Republicans block their proposal to create a government-backed insurance program to compete with private insurers.
When it comes to elections, Lieberman said, he backs people on both sides of the political aisle who are more interested in getting things done rather than playing politics.
“There’s a hard core of partisan, passionate, hardcore Republicans,” he told ABC. “There’s a hard core of partisan Democrats on the other side.”
“And inbetween is the larger group, which is people who really want to see the right thing done, or want something good done for this country and them — and that means, sometimes, the better choice is somebody who’s not a Democrat,” Lieberman said.
I didn’t think there could be anything worse than a politician who supports all Democrats or Republicans, but I guess there is and it’s someone who supports both!!!!!
No matter what, one White House hopeful will return to the Senate
WASHINGTON – When all is said and done with the 2008 presidential election, one of the contenders will be returning to the U.S. Senate, a harsh reality after coming so close to the White House.
For the first time in 48 years a senator will capture the White House, either Republican Sen. John McCain or Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, while the other will go back to being one of 100 in the deliberative body.
But over 48 years, it has happened many times, most recently in 2004 when Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry lost to George W. Bush.
Kerry told Reuters in January 2005, after the inauguration where he watched his rival be sworn in again as president, that he did not dwell on losing as he resumed his job in the Senate. He quickly began working on legislation aimed at expanding health care for children.
“It would be a silly waste of time to just sit around. I’ve got a great job. Did I want a different job? You’re damn right I did. Would I have been happier with a win? Of course,” he told Reuters at the time.
Both McCain and Obama are up for re-election in 2010.
This year, a few Democrats returned to the Senate after losing their fights for the presidential nomination, Sens. Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, though Biden ended up as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
I got $5 that says McCain announces his retirement from the Senate within a year of today.
