Naomi Klein, William Greider and Elizabeth Warren on Charlie Rose

Last night I was in a bad mood and didn't want to go to bed. Should I watch the Mavericks try and gain some respect after the Refs screwed them? Eh. I don't feel like it. A movie? Nothing on...should I read Che? Naaah. Then, I saw Charlie Rose who always has a good conversation with whoever he has on. Who he had on is Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law Professor, head of the TARP program and all around wonderful. She explains everything and makes it easily understandable. It is almost like Denzel Washington is sitting in front of her saying "talk to me like a four year old." She explains why market regulation is good and is Obama going to do it? She isn't sure.

Then, William Greider and Naomi Klein together discuss where we are, where we are going and if Obama is making it work. Greider is an optimistic fellow, but says Obama, who is doing some things well and is a brilliant politician is propping up the old system for the Oligarchs, which he doesn't think will work. And Naomi says this period will go down as the greatest heist in monetary history. $12 trillion dollars transferred from public coffers to private ones. Wow. Watch it it is worth your 45 minutes. It begins around 2:00 minutes after the blinking.

Elizabeth Warren of TARP Oversight Speaks to John Stewart

Ok, so Elizabeth Warren is one of the brightest financial people working today. A Harvard Law Professor and if anyone saw the movie "Maxed Out" she was the star. She is brilliant and in the first segment shows why this is so bad, but in the second segment she explains what happened, why it happened and how we go forward and why in two minutes. It is worth the watch.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 1
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Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Part II

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Elizabeth Warren Pt. 2
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Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Overseers of TARP "Bewildered"

A new report released yesterday charges the $700 billion dollar bail-out is almost unmanageable and unaccountable. Surprise, surprise. The report looks into how the Department of the Treasury is spending the money. U.S. stocks have declined 40 percent this year, 12 of the nation's largest financial institutions are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and 171 banks are on the Treasury's "problem list." Since Congress approved the bailout in October, the Treasury has allocated some $335 billion, but some of the most fundamental questions about where that money went remain unanswered.

"It is unclear" the report -- written by a panel led by Harvard Law professor and bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren (many might know her from the film "Maxed Out")-- says at one point, and it continues that way for some time, wondering "What is Treasury's Strategy?" "Is the Strategy Working?" What Have Financial Institutions Done with the Taxpayers' Money?"

The most strongly worded section appears on page 20, when the panel charges Treasury with administering "the TARP program without seeking to monitor the use of funds provided to specific financial institutions." It adds: "Treasury cannot simply trust that the financial institutions will act in the desired ways; it must verify."

This is how it works? The Big Three get grilled about a $15 billion dollar loan, (which it is clear the opposition is against the UAW, not the big three because of the "average hourly wage of workers) and the financial institutions are given $700 billion to do as they please with no oversight. Unbelievable. The people who have destroyed our economy and have shot-up jobless claims rise to a new 26 year high of 573 thousand are given money with no oversight to pump their bad loans and bad product so we spend money that is ever losing its value. Yet, car companies who admittedly need to change their whole structure, but need a boost to save at least three million jobs and restructure to compete in the 21st century economy are left out on a limb. The House passed the bail-out bill, but passage in the Senate is not assured.

I hope Obama is watching because the Democratic Congress passed this. Yes, we still have a President that is a bonified moron, but the Democrats passed this with no oversight and gave a gift to the financial institutions who need a swift kick in the ass. Talk about corporate welfare.