House Members Score ‘Abnormal’ Stock Profits

You know how corporate executives are banned from trading stocks based on inside knowledge? Even Martha Steward went to jail for it. Well, it seems that there are some Democrats in Congress operate under no such restriction. In fact, I thought this was an Onion article at first - mostly because it's such a Duh.

An extensive study released Wednesday in the journal Business and Politics found that the investments of members of the House of Representatives outperformed those of the average investor by 55 basis points per month, or 6 percent annually, suggesting that lawmakers are taking advantage of inside information to fatten their stock portfolios.

…Despite the GOP’s reputation as the party of the rich, House Republicans fared worse than their Democratic colleagues when it comes to investing, according to the study. The Democratic subsample of lawmakers beat the market by 73 basis points per month, or 9 percent annually, versus 18 basis points per month, or 2 percent annually, for the Republican sample…

…Strict laws ban corporate executives from trading on their insider knowledge, but no restrictions exist for members of Congress. Lawmakers are permitted to keep their holdings and trade shares on the market, as well as vote on legislation that could affect their portfolio values…

It's the government that is the most powerful, unaccountable and monopolistic “corporation” of all. Which is why the Framers created the Constitution the way they did: to constrain government, not us.

Consider the Democrat swamp un-drained. Maybe it's not a bribe if some stock tip is just left on the desk? Oops I've misplaced some vital information somewhere? I'll look around for it in the other room. Let me know if you find it. On your desk. On top of all your papers there, Congressman.

Related: The Secret Garden (and Mansion) of Christopher Dodd

Well, Bayh

Now Evan Bayh is retiring from the Senate for thoroughly nonsense reasons -- the EXACT kind of thing that drew laughter and ridicule when Sarah Palin made the same resignation from her Alaska governor's seat. [you know, cash]

This isn't really all that interesting; the Democrats have been dropping like flies lately. What's worth noting, though, is the predictably self-defeating response of many on the left to the news that an admittedly centrist Democrat is quitting Congress.

The left is jumping for joy -- tweeting unmitigated crap like "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Evan!" If there's a better example of how the left has been running to self extinction, I can't find it. Bayh may have been a gutless little dog mess and occasionally an obstructionist of the highest order, but he was a Democrat, which means that he was ostensibly on the same side as those who are now gleefully jumping on his political grave. Who does the left think is going to replace Bayh in Indiana? A more liberal Democrat? Not likely.

This all-or-nothing, Utopia-or-bust stance that my friends on the left continue to adhere to will be the death of the progressive agenda. Hell, it probably already is. The funniest part is, they're completely oblivious to it.

Also of note, Bayh was considered top of the list for Kerry and Obama as a running mate. What is it with Democrats and their VP choices? A couple years later they're treated worse than Republicans?

Poor Janeane

I've gotten a couple of letters about this from readers... they're very upset for some reason.

"Liberal actress and political activist Janeane Garofalo, in all seriousness, said activists who attended tea parties are racists with dysfunctional brains in a recent cable news television appearance.

"Let's be very honest about what this is about. This is not about bashing Democrats. It's not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston Tea party was about. They don't know their history at all. It's about hating a black man in the White House," she said on MSNBC's "The Countdown" with Keith Olbermann Thursday evening. "This is racism straight up and is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. There is no way around that."

Their synapses are misfiring. ... It is a neurological problem we are dealing with," she said.

This isn't the first time she's offered this analysis, either. Ms. Garofalo said similar things about Alaskan GOP Governor Sarah Palin's brain last February in an interview with an environmental blog.

Olbermann did not once try to challenge her on those assertions. (original link)"

Of course they are, Janeane.

In a profile entitled “Don’t Tread On Janeane” written by Trish Deitch, Garofalo, the failed comedian, bad actress, failed radio personality on Air America, and I'll assume poor waitress, regurgitated the following,

“Our country is founded on a sham: our forefathers were slave-owning rich white guys who wanted it their way. So when I see the American flag, I go, ‘Oh my God, you’re insulting me.’ That you can have a gay parade on Christopher Street in New York, with naked men and women on a float cheering, ‘We’re here, we’re queer!’ — that’s what makes my heart swell. Not the flag, but a gay naked man or woman burning the flag. I get choked up with pride.”

They weren't ALL slave owners, Janeane. Please, do some research.

Look, first, I don't understand why anyone listens to Janeane Garofalo's qweef's let alone the air that comes out of her head. Second, who the hell is watching MSNBC anyway?

It seems to me that Janeane had a promising career path that should have been as big as Ben Stiller. She was even on his original FOX show 'The Ben Stiller Show." That lasted six episodes. Garofalo appeared in several dozen movies including "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" and "Reality Bites." She did six months on "Saturday Night Live" and several seasons as a sardonic booker on "The Larry Sanders Show." Playing herself was always her best work.

A decade or so later,

"that started ebbing," Ms. Garofalo said, sounding unsurprised. "As a female, how many roles are out there anyway? And for women over 40 who don't go to the gym, like myself? C'mon." Besides, she pointed out, "I was never a money-maker, as they say."

It didn't work out. She wanted to focus on "her art." Which is another way of saying she wouldn't compromise. Or, she was just a pain in the ass to work with.

So then she went on Air America. Another complete and total failure. Obviously Bush's fault.

One can imagine, as Andy Dick, Margret Cho, Ben Stiller and the rest of her 'Posse' of Hollywood outsiders made truckloads of money, Jeanene has always been at the edge of the curtain. But it seems she keeps putting herself there.

But why is she now on "24?" Perhaps she needed the bread? Her current lashing out at the Tea Baggers? She's torpedoing her minor success with the Conservative crowd who watches 24. Just like every other success she has had.

Why is she so bitter? Why does she wreck her career every time there's a glimmer of success?

I don't know. Maybe her successful Republican father wanted her to try hard - and she's rebelling against that 'conformist lifestyle' - well into her 40's? 

Well, according to her bio, [I did a little scratching at that research thing] she's the daughter of Joan, a secretary in the petrochemical industry who died of cancer when Janeane was 24, and Carmine Garofalo, a former executive at Exxon... 

Wow, how far off was I here?

There's some demons there, and I hope that she finds a psychiatrist to help her -- except that she's apparently a Scientologist.  

Serious issues. Poor Janeane.

I work for the most hated company in America...

Just got this in the mail, folks:

I am an employee of AIG. Well, actually, now I am an employee of AIU Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG. To answer questions that I am repeatedly asked by everyone, I work 9 to 5 everyday, I am not in the Financial Products division, and no, I didn't get a bonus.

From the very beginning of the initial bailout, we, as employees, really questioned the future of the company. There was talk of bankruptcy along with talk of being purchased by a company headed by our former CEO, Hank Greenberg. We were glued to the television and Internet like everyone else. Communication was poor within the company.

We looked in disbelief as our stock — which was as high as almost $60 in the last few years — tumbled below $2. We were all in shock. The phones became silent as many of our clients refrained from contacting us, either out of respect, or out of fear that they would be told something awful.

One day in late September, I was on my way home and two people were discussing what they would do if they ever saw "an AIG employee." I couldn't believe that two civil-looking men in suits could talk with such disdain and vulgarity toward people they didn't know.

Over the past couple weeks and after the bonuses became an issue, it's been reported that several threats were being made directly against the company and its employees. I even overheard talk of someone getting spit on while leaving work. We received a memo advising us that we should refrain from wearing anything with an AIG logo, and we should keep our AIG ID concealed. This is getting out of hand. How come I, a regular employee of AIG, underpaid by industry standards, who works 9-5, did not work for the Financial Products division and did not get a bonus, have to be on the lookout for threatening figures outside our building?

Employed, but embarrassed
Every Sunday I wake up, eat breakfast, and watch the Sunday morning news programs. Listening to those discussions used to be tolerable, but it now has begun to take its toll. The majority of us regular employees have either left for better job security or involuntarily separated from the company. Others continue to be employed with the embarrassment that they probably work for the most hated company in America. It's definitely been a challenge, to say the least.

Today we're the same department we were before September 2008 (except now we are allowed casual Fridays to boost morale). The phone rings, we answer, and we continue to work on behalf of our clients.

We watch the stock go up and down on a daily basis. We changed the signage on our building and switched the logo on our ID cards from AIG to AIU Holdings.

Most importantly, however, we are hard-working employees who take the same trains and buses you do. We work 9-5, we don't work in the Financial Products division, and no, we did not get a bonus.

Hug it out, Bitch

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan hugged each other Wednesday in the name of unity at the Democratic National Convention.

The two have barely spoken the last couple of years. Blagojevich has repeatedly attacked Madigan over a long list of issues, and Madigan won't attend meetings with the governor.

But the two were at the front table of the Illinois delegation's morning breakfast meeting. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. was talking about Democrats putting aside differences and insisted that the two men hug.

The two men laughed and embraced, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd. I can't believe they both didn't shivving each other.


If you don't follow Illinois politics the way I do - as it's the most entertaining local politics of the 50 states - these two men HATE each other -- HATE... HATE... like, who needs Republicans - I'm not working with this guy... kind of hate.

That's why this is funny. I lol'ed when I saw it - er - heard about it. Yeah. Heard about it.

Following up again

Following up on the most disturbing "Father's Day" story I ran a week ago... Axel Casian was the 2 year old boy who was stomped to death by his father on a quiet country road.

The California Department of Justice lab in Richmond also confirmed his attacker Sergio Aguiar was the child's biological father. Aguiar, 27, was killed by a gunshot wound from a Modesto police officer who tried to stop the man's attack.

Stanislaus County sheriff's spokesman Raj Singh said Aguiar had no previous criminal record (other than that he may have been illegally in the country... which I can only confirm on the internet, so it's only conjecture and totally unsubstantiated - but he had no official criminal record, which means he was never picked up for anything) and it is still unclear what triggered the attack. Other than demons.

Stand by for the toxicology results. That ought to take up to four weeks. By then everyone will have probably moved on to something stupid Amy Winehouse did.

There's also an unsubstantiated report that the baby's mom is a kindergartner teacher. I'm not sure if that has any relevance to the overall story.