An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Morning Coffee 05/06/08
Legislature has major issues to decide in closing days
In what quickly became a tight budget year, major legislative accomplishments have been few, and some of the most closely watched issues — such as eligibility for keeping lottery scholarships — are pending.
On Monday, the governor will present slimmed-down budgets to the House and Senate, a crash diet that would shed as much as $384 million from this year’s spending and up to $585 million from next year’s.
I bet they could trim it down even more, if they really wanted to.
Indiana, N.C. voters settling largest remaining contests
Voters in Indiana and North Carolina crowded polling places Tuesday as they sought to settle the largest remaining contests in the Democratic presidential nomination struggle between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton that has dragged improbably into spring.
Oh crap! That is today, isn’t it! Are they going to mess up my TV viewing tonight? I’ve got B and H burnout!
Fannie Mae loses $2.2B in 1Q, warns of severe weakness
Home prices fell faster in the first quarter than Fannie Mae had expected, the government-sponsored company said, and it will open a $4 billion share offering immediately, with the remainder being offered in the “very near future.”
Following the stock sale, Fannie Mae’s federal regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, will cut the capital surplus cushion the company has to maintain by 5 percentage points to 15 percent, with another five-point cut in September, provided there is “no material adverse change” in the company’s regulatory compliance.
Was this a federally funded venture to begin with, or did the feds see this companies sucked, and decided it needed a serious babysitter? I’ve heard horror stories about them from individuals, and honestly don’t know.
‘No significant benefit’ from open mail market
Opening up the postal market to competition has seen “no significant benefit” for consumers and smaller businesses, according to an official report today.
A review of liberalisation also found there was a “substantial threat” to the financial stability of the Royal Mail and the universal postal service.
“We have come to the conclusion, based on evidence submitted so far, that the status quo is not tenable. It will not deliver our shared vision for the postal sector,” said the report.
Are they talking about the “Mailboxes, Etc” type places or a totally separate mail system? I never could figure that out. With the Mailboxes, Etc. I’d say go for it. If a separate system, too confusing. Hey, stamps are stamps. One thing I found annoying over there was the lack of places that sold stamps. It would be a “significant” benefit to stupid American tourists to be able to find stamps.
Shelby County Commissioners advanced some charter amendments Monday, but killed extended terms for elected officials, including mayor.
Commissioners also voted against allowing lawmakers to change the duties of elected county officials without the people’s vote.
On the second of three readings, commissioners approved 11-0 an ordinance specifying the duties of sheriff, trustee, register, assessor and county clerk, keeping all elected. It limits those officials to two four-year terms.
Sometimes, the Memphis actually DO impress me.
Bush Calls on Myanmar to Allow U.S. Cyclone Aid
“The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more,” Bush told reporters gathered in the Oval Office as he signed a bill to give a Burmese activist the nation’s highest civilian honor.
“We’re prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to stabilize the situation. But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country,” Bush said.
You know, my heart goes out to those who are now homeless, and have lost loved ones. It really does, and I pray for them. However, we have a Congress who can’t balance a freakin’ checkbook, that spends our money like drunken sailors, and a POTUS who can’t say no to them. I think it’s time we get our own house in order before we start “saving the world”. Allow individuals to make donations, not governments!
Neenah mother in custody after 2-year-old’s death
The death of a toddler, and the taking of his mother into custody, surprised neighbors Monday in the usually quiet 900 block of Adams Street.
Neenah police were called to the home at 941 Adams St. just after 6:30 a.m., and said later that they were investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy as a homicide.
Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. Rest in peace little one.
Kuwait envoy’s son charged in abduction
Polish authorities charged the Kuwaiti ambassador’s son with briefly abducting three Jewish teenagers at a hotel and claiming he had a bomb, police said Tuesday.
The 23-year-old son of Ambassador Khaled Al-Shaibani, identified only as Mohammad A., was charged with holding the teenagers against their will, Warsaw police spokesman Anna Kedzierzowska said
What? He can’t claim diplomatic immunity? (sarcasm) Wait a minute, the previous report said he was drunk. I thought Muslims didn’t drink. Hmmm….
Bernanke urges more action to stem home foreclosure crisis
A rising tide of late mortgage payments and home foreclosures poses considerable dangers to the national economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned anew as he urged Congress to take additional steps to alleviate the problems.
“High rates of delinquency and foreclosure can have substantial spillover effects on the housing market, the financial markets and the broader economy,” Bernanke said Monday in a dinner speech to Columbia Business School in New York. “Therefore, doing what we can to avoid preventable foreclosures is not just in the interest of lenders and borrowers. It’s in everybody’s interest,” he said.
What does he want? Every working family, paying their bills, staying within their budget, to pay for someone else’s stupidity? Aren’t we doing that already? It’s called tax dollars squandered by Congress.
