Wall Street Whistleblower: The Vindication of Brooksley Born

There is no shortage of challenges facing Washington these days, so don’t be surprised if we have a series of high profile partisan battles raging on Capitol Hill similar in scope to that of the recently passed knock down drag our fight over health care reform. Queue the bell for round two – financial reform.

Reforming Wall Street is going to be just as intense as health care. Both have an army of lobbyists that will swoop into Washington to vigorously defend the financial interest of its shareholders. Both have CEO’s who are a washed in money, and like the health care system, a lack of regulation in the financial institutions leave the American economy (and to a greater extent with Wall Street – the global economy) vulnerable to its malfeasance.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd is introducing a financial regulatory bill this week. With that you are going to hear a lot of fancy exotic financial jargon flooding the airwaves and the Senate floor like commodities, credit default swaps, derivatives, etc. You’re going to hear a lot about past legislations like The Glass Steagle Act of 1933 , The Gramm Leach Bliley Act of 2000, etc. You’re also going to hear the names of regulatory agencies like Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Reserves, etc. And when it comes to actors, you’re going to hear names like Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, etc.

However if you don’t care to remember a single name out of all of this, remember the one: Brooksley Born. She is the former chairperson of the CFTC who in vain tried to regulate the multi-trillion dollar derivatives market. She was a whistleblower who tried to warn of the pending financial doom that was sure to come by not regulating this illusive and complex financial instrument. And like all Washington whistleblowers before her and ever since, she only gained some notoriety after her warnings were not heeded and her “I told you so” moment resulted in the greatest financial train wreck since the Great Depression.

If Alan Greenspan is Goliath, Brooksley Born is David, except in this epic battle Goliath won. Like most prophets screaming in the desert whose apocalyptic visions are ignored until it is too late, Brooksley Born is one name you can be sure opponents of financial reform, including the 1500 Wall Street lobbyists coming to Washington this week to block reform, will use all in their power to send back into obscurity so that greedy Wall Street executives and nefarious politicians can get back to their shenanigans of reaping short term gains to the peril of the American tax payers’ long term financial security. But as Congress takes up financial reform, proposing to regulate the derivatives market, many in an effort to cover their tracks pretending they had no clue that calamity would come our way as a result of leaving this part of the market unregulated, we would be remissed not to remind them of the warnings of Brooksley Born. She was muffled and pushed out of Washington because she was a Debbie Downer on Alan Greenspan and Wall Street’s free market party, and to allow any mention of over the counter derivative reform without crediting her for trying to do something about it even before the collapse will only be adding insult to both hers and the American tax payers’ injuries.

Watch the full PBS documentary online The Warning:

Is Michele Bachmann a Lightning Rod?

On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallas had the following exchange with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN):

WALLACE: We’ve got about a minute left. Why do you think you’re such a lightning rod both for your supporters, especially in the Tea Party movement, and for your many critics?

BACHMANN: Well, I think part of that may be because when I talk about what is happening in Washington, D.C., I use the actual statements or comments or the data that Nancy Pelosi or President Obama or Harry Reid refer to. I use their own statements on them. And usually they don’t like that very much. They don’t like to be quoted back with what they’ve said.

For the sake of argument let’s pretend she didn’t even make that really lame response to the question, and that her being reviled by the left has nothing to do with all the bizarre claims and statements she has made in the last year or so and get on to answering the question of whether or not she is a lightning rod.

For clarity the definition of a lightning rod according to Free Online Dictionary is “one that attracts and absorbs powerful, typically negative feelings and reactions, thereby diverting interest from other issues”. Think of a lightning rod as something you want to stay away from out of fear of getting yourself zapped.

I can think of a few people who are lightning rods, deservingly or not. For example, on the left Michael Moore was made out to be a lightning rod by the right in order to marginalize the effects of his wildly successful anti-Bush documentary Fareignheit 9/11. In the book “Top 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America”, a simple picture of Moore was placed as number one. As ridiculous as this right wing smear campaign against him may be, the effects of turning him into a lightning rod was very effective, forcing politicians to distance themselves from him. In an effort to paint then presidential nominee John Kerry as an over the top liberal, Bill O’Reilly even asked Kerry to justify why he had Moore in his skybox at the Democratic National Convention, as if he was hiding a wanted fugitive.

Other examples of lightning rods on the left are Bill Clinton during the 2000 presidential election. With the Monica Lewinsky scandal clearly in his rear view mirror, Al Gore was baited into distancing himself from the embattled president and in the process the accomplishments of the Clinton/Gore administration. Currently Rep. Charlie Rangal (D-NY) is a lightning rod. While the attention of the Democrats were on passing a major health care reform bill, Rangal, the chairman of the powerful tax law writing Ways and Means Committee was mired in a tax evasion scandal. As a result, he was pressured from the Democrats both on Capitol Hill and the liberal base to step down as chairman of the committee which he eventually did. And most notably on the right the most famous lightning rod was George W. Bush. Political campaigns were won or lost based on how far politicians could separate themselves from the legacy of the woefully unpopular president.

Bachmann is a favorite of the Tea Party movement, and they are being courted by the Republicans like the prettiest girl at the prom. Whenever there is a rally she’s given preferential treatment as a keynote speaker. She and Sarah Palin shared a stage at her Tea Party rally in Minneapolis. Because she is so admired by the right, it is impossible for the left to user her as a liability to turn off her base in order to gain political advantage.

So is Michele Bachmann a lightning rod? The answer is no. Polarizing maybe, but not a lightning rod.

We had eight years of Bush and Cheney. Now you get mad!?

It was only a matter of time before the irony of the overheated rhetoric of the Tea Party protestors and the anti-Obama crowd was finally called out for its blatant hypocrisy. Originally put together by the user Walldude on Democratic Underground, we finally have a bullet point list to reference as we scratch our heads wondering if the Tea Party protestors were living in a void during the Bush administration. While not completely comprehensive, it is a great starting point for showing the severe double standard of conservatives complaining passionately about acts of the Obama White House and the Democratic control of the 111th Congress, specifically while passing health care reform, that comes nowhere near bad as those committed by team Bush/Cheney. And now without further ado:

We had eight years of Bush and Cheney. Now you get mad!?

You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and
appointed a President.

You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate
energy policy.

You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.

You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.

You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans…oh hell no.

I have to admit after eight years of Bush and Cheney regardless of whichever Democratic candidate for the presidency was elected I didn’t think conservatives would be so outspoken so soon. Apparently, selective amnesia of the eight years when Republicans controlled the White House is a preexisting condition that severely affects most of those on the right.

Earth Hour 2010: Is it Easy Being Green?

This past Saturday March 27th at 8:30PM the five year old and I joined millions of others in turning off the lights for an hour. With the wife being at work two years ago and this year she was a judge at a beauty pageant, it has become a father son tradition (last year it slipped up on me and I was aware of it only when the moment had passed).

I learned of Earth Hour 2008 when the Google site was completely black to bring awareness to the event. The then three year old and I had a blast. He had no objections whatsoever, and he thoroughly enjoyed playing with flashlights. This year we also played with flashlights, had wood in the fireplace, and played with his multiple lightsabers.

This time though at age five he had questions.

“Why are we turning off the lights?”
“Uhmm…to save the planet,” I said.

“OK buddy ole pal let’s leave the lights off and play with our flashlights”.
“Uhmm maybe tomorrow.” he said.

Eventually, with a little finagling and an occasional playing of the “Just obey Daddy” card, I did manage to keep his attention and we did have a great time playing Hungry Hungry Hippo in the dark. But my ultimate goal of course will be that as he gets older, and the novelty of playing with lightsabers and flashlights wears thin, that just knowing that he is participating in a massive movement in which his contribution along with many others collectively makes a world of difference in saving the planet and making it healthier for generations to come will be more than enough to help him focus on greener habits. We’ll see next year.

82nd Annual Academy Awards

Award Show: THE 82nd ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
Airs On: ABC
Air Date & Time: March 7, 2010 8:00PM Eastern, 5:00PM Pacific

2010 NOMINEES (*Winners)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Matt Damon in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)*

Best animated feature film of the year
“Coraline” (Focus Features) Henry Selick
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
“The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
“The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
“Up” (Walt Disney) Pete Docter *

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ (Sony Pictures Classics) Music by Reinhardt Wagner
Lyric by Frank Thomas

“Take It All” from “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston

“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett *

Original screenplay
“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Written by Mark Boal *

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Quentin Tarantino

“The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman

“A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

“Up” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Best animated short film
“French Roast”
A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production Fabrice O. Joubert

“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Brown Bag Films)
A Brown Bag Films Production Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell

“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)”
A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production Javier Recio Gracia

“Logorama” (Autour de Minuit)
An Autour de Minuit Production Nicolas Schmerkin *

“A Matter of Loaf and Death” (Aardman Animations)
An Aardman Animations Production Nick Park

Best documentary short subject
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher

“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
A Community Media Production Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert

“Music by Prudence”
An iThemba Production Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
An MS Films Production Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra*

Best live action short film
“The Door” (Network Ireland Television)
An Octagon Films Production Juanita Wilson and James Flynn

“Instead of Abracadabra” (The Swedish Film Institute)
A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström

“Kavi”
A Gregg Helvey Production Gregg Helvey

“Miracle Fish” (Premium Films)
A Druid Films Production Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey

“The New Tenants”
A Park Pictures and M & M Production Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson *

Achievement in makeup
“Il Divo” (MPI Media Group through Music Box) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano

“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow *

“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Adapted screenplay
“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

“An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Nick Hornby

“In the Loop” (IFC Films) Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (The Weinstein Company)
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) *

Achievement in art direction
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg
Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair *

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro
Set Decoration: Caroline Smith

“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette
Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Achievement in costume design
“Bright Star” (Apparition) Janet Patterson

“Coco before Chanel” (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme

“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood

“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell *

Achievement in sound editing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson *

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman

“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin

“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Achievement in sound mixing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett *

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano

“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Achievement in cinematography
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore *

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson

“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Horner

“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders

“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer

“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino *

Achievement in visual effects
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones *

“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken

“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Best documentary feature
“Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
A Magic Hour Films Production Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller

“The Cove” (Roadside Attractions)
An Oceanic Preservation Society Production Nominees to be determined *

“Food, Inc.” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Robert Kenner Films Production Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein

“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
A Kovno Communications Production Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith

“Which Way Home”
A Mr. Mudd Production Rebecca Cammisa

Achievement in film editing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron

“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis *

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year
“Ajami”(Kino International)
An Inosan Production Israel

“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Haddock Films Production Argentina *

“The Milk of Sorrow”
A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production Peru

“Un Prophète” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production France

“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production Germany

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight) *
George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company)
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.) *
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Achievement in directing
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Cameron

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow *

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels

“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman

Best motion picture of the year
“Avatar” (20th Century Fox)
A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers

“The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
An Alcon Entertainment Production Nominees to be determined

“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers

“An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)
A Voltage Pictures Production Nominees to be determined *

“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)
A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer

“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers

“A Serious Man” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers

“Up” (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer

“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers