Friday, December 23, 2011
The absolutely terrifying first amendment
The former police target to their cities
The new biggest threat to the city
What rights the old biggest threat to a city receive
What peaceful protesters receive
It is obvious that the first amendment is terrifying
Federal Judge Pimp-Slaps the SEC Over Citigroup Settlement | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
Federal Judge Pimp-Slaps the SEC Over Citigroup Settlement Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone
Rakoff’s 15-page final ruling read like a political document, serving not
just as a rejection of this one deal but as a broad and unequivocal indictment
of the regulatory system as a whole. He particularly targeted the SEC’s
longstanding practice of greenlighting relatively minor fines and financial
settlements alongside de facto waivers of civil liability for the
guilty – banks commit fraud and pay small fines, but in the end the SEC allows
them to walk away without admitting to criminal wrongdoing.
This practice is a legal absurdity for several reasons. By accepting
hundred-million-dollar fines without a full public venting of the facts, the SEC
is leveling seemingly significant punishments without telling the public what
the defendant is being punished for. This has essentially created a parallel or
secret criminal justice system, in which both crime and punishment are
adjudicated behind closed doors.
This system allows for ugly consequences in both directions. Imagine if
normal criminal defendants were treated this way. Say a prosecutor and street
criminal combe into a judge’s chamber and explain they’ve cooked up a deal, that
the criminal doesn’t have to admit to anything or plead to any crime, but has to
spend 18 months in house arrest nonetheless.
What sane judge would sign off on a deal like that without knowing exactly
what the facts are? Did the criminal shoot up a nightclub and paralyze someone,
or did he just sell a dimebag on the street? Is 18 months a tough sentence or a
slap on the wrist? And how is it legally possible for someone to deserve an
18-month sentence without being guilty of anything?
Such deals are logical and legal absurdities, but judges have been signing
off on settlements like this with Wall Street defendants for
years.Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/federal-judge-pimp-slaps-the-sec-over-citigroup-settlement-20111129#ixzz1hLv7XgIG
Rakoff’s 15-page final ruling read like a political document, serving not
just as a rejection of this one deal but as a broad and unequivocal indictment
of the regulatory system as a whole. He particularly targeted the SEC’s
longstanding practice of greenlighting relatively minor fines and financial
settlements alongside de facto waivers of civil liability for the
guilty – banks commit fraud and pay small fines, but in the end the SEC allows
them to walk away without admitting to criminal wrongdoing.
This practice is a legal absurdity for several reasons. By accepting
hundred-million-dollar fines without a full public venting of the facts, the SEC
is leveling seemingly significant punishments without telling the public what
the defendant is being punished for. This has essentially created a parallel or
secret criminal justice system, in which both crime and punishment are
adjudicated behind closed doors.
This system allows for ugly consequences in both directions. Imagine if
normal criminal defendants were treated this way. Say a prosecutor and street
criminal combe into a judge’s chamber and explain they’ve cooked up a deal, that
the criminal doesn’t have to admit to anything or plead to any crime, but has to
spend 18 months in house arrest nonetheless.
What sane judge would sign off on a deal like that without knowing exactly
what the facts are? Did the criminal shoot up a nightclub and paralyze someone,
or did he just sell a dimebag on the street? Is 18 months a tough sentence or a
slap on the wrist? And how is it legally possible for someone to deserve an
18-month sentence without being guilty of anything?
Such deals are logical and legal absurdities, but judges have been signing
off on settlements like this with Wall Street defendants for
years.Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/federal-judge-pimp-slaps-the-sec-over-citigroup-settlement-20111129#ixzz1hLv7XgIG
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Larry Craig Lobbies On Mine Safety As Reform Slowly Dies
Larry Craig Lobbies On Mine Safety As Reform Slowly Dies
WASHINGTON -- Having left Congress after an embarrassing 2007 arrest, former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has quietly reemerged in Washington as a lobbyist working on behalf of the coal industry. According to his federal filings, Craig has registered to wheedle his former Capitol colleagues on the obscure but critical issue of mine safety.
It's an issue that Craig's new client, Murray Energy, knows all too well. The largest privately held coal company in the nation, Murray Energy owned a subsidiary that ran the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, the site of a tragic cave-in incident that took the lives of six miners and later three rescuers. The cave-in occurred in August 2007, just weeks after Craig was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex in an airport bathroom.
Just another example of how being in congress is like hitting the lottery. Larry "wide stance" Craig shows you can never be so discredited that you can't have a high paying job.
WASHINGTON -- Having left Congress after an embarrassing 2007 arrest, former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has quietly reemerged in Washington as a lobbyist working on behalf of the coal industry. According to his federal filings, Craig has registered to wheedle his former Capitol colleagues on the obscure but critical issue of mine safety.
It's an issue that Craig's new client, Murray Energy, knows all too well. The largest privately held coal company in the nation, Murray Energy owned a subsidiary that ran the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, the site of a tragic cave-in incident that took the lives of six miners and later three rescuers. The cave-in occurred in August 2007, just weeks after Craig was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex in an airport bathroom.
Just another example of how being in congress is like hitting the lottery. Larry "wide stance" Craig shows you can never be so discredited that you can't have a high paying job.
Dear Jamie Dimon, | The Big Picture
Dear Jamie Dimon, The Big Picture
So, no, we don’t hate the rich. What we hate are the predators.
What we hate are the people who we view as having found their success as a consequence of the damage their activities have done to our country. What we hate are those who take and give nothing back in the form of innovation, convenience, entertainment or scientific progress. We hate those who’ve exploited political relationships and stupidity to rake in even more of the nation’s wealth while simultaneously driving the potential for success further away from the grasp of everyone else.
Here in New York, we hated watching real estate and financial services elitists drive up the prices of everything from affordable apartments to martinis in midtown with the reckless speculation that would eventually lead to mass layoffs, rampant joblessness and the wreckage of so many retirement dreams. No one ever asked the rest of us if we minded, it just happened. I’m sure people across the country can tell similar stories.
So, no, we don’t hate the rich. What we hate are the predators.
What we hate are the people who we view as having found their success as a consequence of the damage their activities have done to our country. What we hate are those who take and give nothing back in the form of innovation, convenience, entertainment or scientific progress. We hate those who’ve exploited political relationships and stupidity to rake in even more of the nation’s wealth while simultaneously driving the potential for success further away from the grasp of everyone else.
Here in New York, we hated watching real estate and financial services elitists drive up the prices of everything from affordable apartments to martinis in midtown with the reckless speculation that would eventually lead to mass layoffs, rampant joblessness and the wreckage of so many retirement dreams. No one ever asked the rest of us if we minded, it just happened. I’m sure people across the country can tell similar stories.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)