So, He's Either a Bigot or a Political Opportunist

It turns out that signed off regarding the publication of the racist screeds in his newsletter:

Ron Paul, well known as a physician, congressman and libertarian , has also been a businessman who pursued a marketing strategy that included publishing provocative, racially charged newsletters to make money and spread his ideas, according to three people with direct knowledge of Paul’s businesses.

The Republican presidential candidate has denied writing inflammatory passages in the pamphlets from the 1990s and said recently that he did not read them at the time or for years afterward. Numerous colleagues said he does not hold racist views.

But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day.

“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product. . . . He would proof it,’’ said Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul’s company and a supporter of the Texas congressman.

The newsletters point to a rarely seen and somewhat opaque side of Paul, who has surprised the political community by becoming an important factor in the Republican race. The candidate, who has presented himself as a kindly doctor and political truth-teller, declined in a recent debate to release his tax returns, joking that he would be “embarrassed” about his income compared with that of his richer GOP rivals.

Well, if he was just cashing in on bigoted rubes, this actually is consistent with the basic principle(s) of  Libertarians, "F%$# you, I've got mine."

Your Economic Data Points of the Week

The GDP numbers came out, and the word is "meh", with the economy growing at a 2.8% annual rate in the 4^th quarter,  under performing the forecast of 3%, and giving a 1.7% increase for the year.

We need to top 3% for a while to really improve our situation.

Yesterday,initial unemployment claims rose, to 377,000, as did continuing claims, though the 4-week moving average, and extended claims fell.

That being said, Consumer sentiment rose in January, which is good news.

What Atrios Said

The basic thinking seems to have been that it was wonderful for university to be free back when most people who attended were quite wealthy, but once the masses started getting ideas about going it was time to force them to pay. And there again is your generational divide.

—Atrios, on the institution of penury inducing tuitions at British colleges

It's actually a bit more contemptible than that.

The skyrocketing college costs began with two things:

• Collusion by the Ivies and similar elite institutions on tuition and financial aid.
• It started in the 1960s, when the alternative to going to college was getting drafted, and playing hide and seek with a really angry guy with an AK-47 in rice paddies.

Twitter Goes Evil

So now Twitter has decided to do the dirty-work of every despotic regime on the face of the planet earth:

Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

It was a stunning role reversal for a youthful company that prides itself in promoting unfettered expression, 140 characters at a time. Twitter insisted its commitment to free speech remains firm, and sought to explain the nuances of its policy, while critics — in a barrage of tweets — proposed a Twitter boycott and demanded that the censorship initiative be scrapped.

“This is very bad news,” tweeted Egyptian activist Mahmoud Salem. Later, he wrote, “Is it safe to say that #Twitter is selling us out?”

Yes.

This has been another episode of simple answers to simple questions.

They are claiming that this has nothing to do with China, but is has everything to do with China.

Duke, Meet Newt

In the middle of the Republican establishment's heads exploding over the possibility of a Newt candidacy, Gingrich has been endorsed by former Congressman, and convicted felon, Randall "Duke" Cunningham:

Jailed ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham wants Newt Gingrich to know he's got the Republican presidential candidate's back.

Cunningham apparently has been watching the Republican presidential primary debates while spending 100 months in a Tucson, Ariz. federal prison. Cunningham, a Republican who represented northern San Diego, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion in 2005 in one of the biggest federal bribery scandals in recent memory.

Cunningham tells Gingrich in an electronic message he says he sent to the candidate last month that his fellow prisoners, and their families, support Gingrich

Heh.

Since When Were Swiss Bank Acounts Acceptable?

On NPR this morning, one of their bankster apologists was noting that Romney closed his Swiss bank account because recent US crack-downs on tax evaders using these accounts made them politically suspect.

What fairy tale land have these folks been living in?

I'm 49 years old, and for as long as I can remember, "Swiss Bank Account" has been synonymous with  tax evasion and concealing the proceeds of illegal activities.

My conclusion is that these guys must have the political and financial acumen of Little Orphan Annie.

Well, I Was Wrong on My Assessment of His SOTU Statement

The one thing that I liked, a task force to investigate bank/mortgage fraud appears to be an attempt to undermine any meaningful review of bank and mortgage practices:

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been celebrated as the progressive Great White Hope. But the danger of assuming leadership is that that individual becomes a target both of attacks and of seduction. And while I’d like to think better of Schneiderman, an announcement earlier this evening has strong hallmarks of Schneiderman falling prey to the combined pressures and blandishments of the Administration and its allies.

………

So get this: this is a committee that will “investigate.” The co-chair, Lanny Breuer, along with DoJ chief Eric Holder, hail from white shoe Washington law firm Covington & Burling, which has deep ties to the financial services industry. Even if they did not work directly for clients in the mortgage business, they come from a firm known for its deep political and regulatory connections (for instance: Gene Ludwig, the Covington partner I engaged for some complicated regulatory work when I was at Sumitomo Bank, later became head of the OCC). We’ve written at length on how the OCC is such a shameless tout for the banking industry that it cannot properly be called a regulator. Similarly, the SEC has been virtually absent from the mortgage beat, no doubt because its enforcement chief, Robert Khuzami, was general counsel to the fixed income department at Deutsche Bank. That area included the trading operation under Greg Lippmann who we have described as Patient Zero of so called mezz CDOs, or to the layperson, toxic mortgage paper that kept the subprime bubble going well beyond its sell date. And we don’t need to say much about the DoJ. It has been missing in action during this entire Administration.

………

It’s clear what the Administration is getting from getting Schneiderman aligned with them. It is much less clear why Schneiderman is signing up. He can investigate and prosecute NOW. He has subpoena powers, staff, and the Martin Act. He doesn’t need to join a Federal committee to get permission to do his job. And this is true for ALL the others agencies represented on this committee. They have investigative and enforcement powers they have chosen not to use. So we are supposed to believe that a group, ex Schneiderman, that has been remarkably complacent, will suddenly get religion on the mortgage front because they are all in a room and Schneiderman is a co-chair?

See also here.

So, this isn't an attempt to stop law breaking, it's yet another attempt to cover up law breaking by co-opting people who do want to pursue corruption and law breaking.

It's like his appointment of Elizabeth Warren to set up the CFPB all over again.