New General Motors CEO Willing to Consider Bankruptcy: Malleability is Second to Godliness

April 1, 2009

Frederick “Fritz” Henderson sits down for an interview with the WSJ after being tapped as CEO after POTUS boots Rick Wagoner, who had resisted any bankruptcy. “Mr. Henderson made clear that he will use the full force of government backing to extract more painful changes from GM’s union and its unsecured bondholders.” Good luck.

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Out of Touch: Why Does Time Magazine Think This Crisis is Good for America?

April 1, 2009

Sean Collins opines: “When even Time hopes the downturn will teach ‘childish, irresponsible, fat’ Americans a lesson, it’s clear recession porn has gone mainstream.” The more the media accepts this idea, the more we’ll have to deal with invocations to sacrifice livestock, firstborn, etc. to the almighty market to bring the economy back.

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Senator Franken Incoming: Coleman's Hopes Dashed by MN Ruling

April 1, 2009

The total absentee ballots counted in Minnesota will be a much smaller number than Norm Coleman’s campaign had sought in court. “Norm Coleman’s lawyers all but conceded defeat Tuesday and promised to appeal after a panel of three judges ordered no more than 400 new absentee ballots opened and counted.” Get ready, SCOTUS.

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The Next Osama? Pakistani Terrorist Commits to Launching Attack on DC

April 1, 2009

Pakistan terrorist leader Baitullah Mehsud, feeling cocky after several successes, threatens to launch an attack on United States. “Very soon we will take revenge from America, not in Afghanistan but in Washington, which will amaze the entire world.” Chasing the young terrorist is proving difficult. Did President Obama really sign on for this?

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Obama is America's CEO

March 31, 2009

President Obama, with seven days of unprecedented market intervention capped by Monday’s ultimatum to U.S. automakers, has made one thing emphatically clear: He is the most powerful player in American business today.

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Financial Rescue Approaches GDP as U.S. Pledges $12.8 Trillion

March 31, 2009

March 31 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have spent, lent or guaranteed $12.8 trillion, an amount that approaches the value of everything produced in the country last year, to stem the longest recession since the 1930s.

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How the White House Kicked Wagoner: GM Ouster "Wasn't the Hardest Decision"

March 31, 2009

Rattner, Summers, and Geithner sit down at a table last Thursday. By the time they stand up, it’s decided: GM’s CEO must go. “The car team wanted an executive who could accelerate the changes it desired. Mr. Wagoner didn’t have any support within the group. ‘This is Obama, and symbols of change are important.’”

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France's Sarkozy Threatens to Walk Out of G20 Summit

March 31, 2009

French demands for a global financial regulator are unceasing, and now come with a threat. “France will not accept a G20 that produces a ‘false success with language that sounds good but contains no commitments’, [Sarkozy’s] advisers said.” But the push for global regulation is expected to be strongly opposed by President Obama.

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Christopher Hitchens on Lebanon, Syria, and Getting Beat Up by "Fascist Bullies"

March 31, 2009

“My shirt is spattered with blood, but I’m in no pain yet: the nastiest moment is just ahead of me.” The long-anticipated account of Hitch’s smackdown with Syrian Social Nationalist Party goons is entertaining, yes – but there’s a point about the overuse of the term “Arab Street” and the way its meanings differ.

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My Manhattan Project: Financial Crisis Enabler Spills the Beans

March 31, 2009

Wall Streeter Michael Osinski bares all: “It’s been eight years since I compiled a program, but the last one lived on, becoming the industry standard that seeded itself into every investment bank in the world. I wrote the software that turned mortgages into bonds.” It’s easy to forget this wasn’t a bunch of fatcats.

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