From CNBC:

The Center for Responsive Politics recently analyzed the financial disclosures of Members of Congress.  They found there are 237 Millionaires in Congress.  The financial holdings for the top 17 are listed:

Assets, for instance, include non-government income, asset transactions, spouse's income, gifts and more. Listing of Non-income generating property (including a primary residence) is not required under disclosure rules. Assets listed were held by members of Congress in 2008. 

 

Jared Polis (D-CO) surprised me; the assets, plus where his money is parked.

We beseech thee; please telleth us why the Cafe Guest Bloggers and Recommended Reader Posts are no longer on the front page of TPM?

Are we but the Bastard Children of TPM now?  Have we offended thee?  We are SO waiting to hear form you or Josh!

The New York Times states that the White House internal figures use the One Million per Year per Soldier as a working number.  The 40,000 troops General McChrystal is asking for would cost $40-56 billion per year.  'Beefing up' Afghan Security Forces would assumedly cost plenty more. 

It could mean that the overall military budget couse rise to $734 billion, or 10% higher than the peak Bush White House budget of $667 billion.  How would this play with Congressional Appropriations committees? 

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(Just joshin' about the Beach-fronts...) But:

An Indian company called Lunar Embassy has been selling Lunar property for the past 29 years.  The company's website details its right to do so:  Its owner, Dennis M. Hope filed for the rights with the U.N., the Russian and US governments to declare ownership of Lunar property.  None have disputed his claims, ergo:  Hope's company is entitled to sell the plots on the Moon and Mars.  Prices range from $4 to $20 per acre; the company claims to have about 3 and a half million members. 

While the International Moon Treaty, written in 1979, and in force since 1984 (ratified by only twelve nations) prohibits nations from owning the Moon, it is silent on individuals being able to own parcels.  None of the twelve signatory nations has so far contested Lunar Embassy's claims or sales.

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A recent investigative piece by Aram Roston in The Nation magazine digs into the story of  US contractors, paid by the US Military, funnel money to the Taliban for protecting US convoys transporting everything they need:  their toilet paper, fuel, water, guns, everything they need, from Bagram Air Base, an hour north of Kabul, to the rest of the country.  They protect them from insurgent attacks.

And it has all become an acceptable fact of life to the military, just a practical solution to the logistical problems of protecting their convoys.  It does, however, seem that some are uncomfortable with the fact that they know that much of the contract money goes to the Taliban to make war on the US soldiers. 

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Yesterday (Oct. 28) on Morning Meeting,  Dylan Ratigan had on Eliot Spitzer and Glenn Greenwald to discuss Banking Reform the lack of any meaningful Banking Reform  Spitzer was  on fire!

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During this rather grim political period, I thought I would offer a brief interlude from my corner the natural world.   I put these and some others up on Flickr.com, but I have no idea how you access them, unless it's by using my name.

Most of the more colorful birds make stopovers here on their way to and from Central America and Canada.  They knock me out in terms of their colors, design, songs, variety, and different behaviors. 

I hope you enjoy them, and they brighten your day.

The photos look a bit blurry; I even tried some tiffs, but they weren't any better.

In order they are: evening grosbeak, male
Lewis's woodpecker
sharp-shinned hawk
black-headed grosbeak
cedar waxwing
western tanager, immature male
mourning dove
western tanager, breeding male
black-headed grosbeak, male
Steller's jay
rufous hummingbird
big buck resting
red-shafted flicker,
male triplet fawns (no, really)
Bullock's oriole, male
Gracie the racoon

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I ran into the queerest teevee program last night; a neighbor had told me about it:  'Out There TV'.  He had said they cover paranormal stories, and described (lurid) stories that 'mainstream media doesn't cover.'  Mmmm...maybe for good reason.

http://restoretherepublic.com/

 I was switching back and forth with a PBS Masterpiece Contemporary, so I just got parts of various stories.  The one I stuck with was about H1N1 flu; their claims, and the claims of visiting Gary Franchi of Freedom TV:

 There will be forced Swine flu vaccinations; mandatory quarantines of citizens; large cadres of people will refuse the vaccines; Fema incarceration camps are being set up to aid in the detentions; polls show over 50% of 'mothers' will refuse the vaccine for their kids; Canadians en masse are refusing it; legions of health care professionals are speaking out against it; and quote doctors, such as this one:

Canadian Doctor: H1N1 Vaccination a Eugenics Weapon for Mass Extermination

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For all you Guys and Gals out there who just LOVE to twist Dick Cheney's knickers, I present you with an OPEN THREAD to have at it.  It will be tagged as "SPORT."

PUT YOURSELVES ON IRONY ALERT!

I can't be the only one who believes that all this is about Mary running for office, can I?

So have some fun here; take your best shots!  (sorry, pun intended)

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I took this down too early; my apologies.  I thought I was just gettin it out of the way for other, more universal blogs.  It was requested that I re-publish it and the comments.  If they don't appear, I can cut and paste them into comments, I'd guess.  Here goes.

Some of you have been kind enough to help me, and thank you again.  Some of your help got through to me.  I spent about 4 hours yesterday trying to get a picture into my blog, but failed.

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 This photo shows Paul Volcker at the White House Economic Advisory Board, head in one hand, looking away from the President beside whom he is seated.  He looks frustrated and dejected.  He has a right to be.

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From TPM LiveWire:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) threw down the gauntlet on the public option for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) last night. Appearing on The Rachel Maddow Show, Schumer essentially put the fate of the public option in Reid's hands -- saying that while the bill passed Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee doesn't include a public health insurance option, it's up to Reid to decide whether to include a public option in the bill that merges the Senate Finance Committee bill with the bills passed by others committees -- all of which do include a public option.

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This week on Bill Moyers Journal Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), who is on the House Budget and Oversight, Appropriations, and Government Reform Committees, and Simon Johnson, a former Chief Economist of the IMF were  on to talk about the lack of progress on Banking Reform, and what that means for us.  It is a must-see interview; they are both sounding the alarms for the dire need for true reform, not the "nibbling around the edges" that is being considered currently.  Johnson said that the window of opportunity for re-regulation may have already closed.

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The New York Times is reporting that lobbyists have been paid at least $400,000 so far to lobby Congress on behalf of the defacto Micheletti government after Manuel Zelaya was deposed.  Cold War warriors Otto Reich, Roger Noriega, and Daniel Fisk, who served under Bush and Reagan and authored much of the US policy toward Central America, have signed on to support Micheletti.  They apparently view the struggle as crucial to striking a blow against Hugo Chavez, whose influence they equate with that of the former Soviet Union.

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Language in the 2002 Homeland Security Act prohibited federal contracts for companies that put most of their operations offshore to limit their tax liabilities.  You may remember that the Obama White House has been trying to find some of those accounts in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, etc.  They have been negotiating with Swiss Banks to get their lists.

 This week the Senate financial services bill is including language that would ease the ban.  The US Chamber of Commerce, that bastion of free and unfettered enterprise has been lobbying heavily for it, along with other groups.  Some think it is answer to President Obama slapping a tariff on Chinese tires; I don't think they need a reason.

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