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January 19, 2010The Honorable Senator Christopher Dodd Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 448 Russell Building Washington, DC 20510Dear Senator Dodd:The Washington Post and several other newspapers report that you are considering dropping the proposal to create an independent and free-standing Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Making this kind of deal with the Republicans and…
Whenever Frank Anderson speaks the way he did at a recent public forum in Washington, D.C. about “essential state functions performed by businesses,” people better listen. Mr. Anderson is the president of the Middle East Policy Council, but previously he was the chief of the Near East and South Asia Division of the CIA. A…
The retiring of veteran Democratic Senators, Christopher Dodd, age 65, of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan, age 67, of North Dakota, have some short and long term consequences for the Democratic Party and its members. Senator Dodd’s announcement that he was finished did not surprise me. He was going through difficult times with this health, the…
Those long-hoping, long-enduring members of the liberal intelligentsia are starting to break away from the least-worst mindset that muted their criticisms of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign. They still believe that the President is far better than his Republican counterpart would have been. Some still believe that sometime, somewhere, Obama will show his…
This is the golden age of muckraking books and documentaries but some of them may have escaped your attention because reviews and promotions cannot keep up with the sheer volume of material. Here are my recommendations for your Holiday and later reading time: 1. Achieving the Impossible by Lois Marie Gibbs; Published by the Center…
The ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus (535-475 BC) said that “character is destiny.” He might have added that “personality is decisive.” Where is Barack Obama in this framework? The venerable historian, James MacGregor Burns, in his book “Transforming Leadership,” drew an important distinction between “transforming and transactional leadership,” and calling Franklin Delano Roosevelt a reflection of…
Before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, December 16, 2009 Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you very much for inviting us to testify today. Today’s topic is welcome and vital. Perhaps the most astounding feature of the trillions of dollars in public supports conferred on the…
Sol Price, founder of the Price Clubs, was often seen as a moderately gruff man but with a heart of gold. He gave large sums of money to job training and other needs of inner city youth and child advocacy groups. He sought to alleviate poverty no matter who were the victims, including afflicted Palestinians.…
President Obama, the Afghan war escalator, received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, and proceeded to deliver his acceptance speech outlining the three criteria for a “just war” which he himself is violating. The criteria are in his words: “If it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used…
The House bill too weakly regulates the huge derivatives market, the too-big-to-fail hazard, the executive compensation heist and fails to either provide greater power for shareholders or financial consumers. Reigning in the private credit rating agencies is so weak as to permit substantial continuations of these Wall Street rubber stamps of securities. Moreover the legislation…