Seven companies that received bailout money will have their top 25 executives pay cut by about 90% on average.

The treasury Department will announce this in the next few days, according to Yahoo! Finance.

The companies are Bank by America, Citi, AIG, Government Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial.

Read–Yahoo!

I told you this would happen…

UPDATE:  CNBC is reporting that the overall pay–including benefits, bonuses, and crap will drop about 50%.

Also, check this out:

“And at all of the companies, any executive seeking more than $25,000 in special perks — such as country club memberships, private planes, limousines or company issued cars — will have to apply to the government for permission.”

I told you.

I goddamn told you!

This is corporate fascism at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.

Kenneth Feinberg is running the show.

Read–CNBC

Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services has been very busy lately, going around desperately attempting to convince the public that swine flu is a big deal and that everyone should be vaccinated.

Fair enough. except for one giant problem– Ms. Sebelius goes so far as to say “We know it’s safe and secure. … This is definitely is a safe vaccine for people to get.” Well that is all well and good except that if the government says that it is safe and encourages everyone to take it, theres probably something wrong with it.

When has the government ever done anything 100% right?

Or even 50% right?

I think never.

Ms. Sebelius is also especially encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated against the swine, saying on NBC’s “Today” show: ”This flu is a younger person’s flu, kids have no immunity to the flu… children are great carriers of bugs and viruses.”

Some parents however have proven to be exceptionally wary of the new vaccine, concerned that the vaccine was too rapidly prepared, inadequately tested and potentially unsafe to give to their children. When asked on CNN about studies reflecting these concerns, Sebelius responded by giving assurances that the vaccine was specifially targeted to combat the hamthrax and it is “right on target with an immune response.”

Well thats reassuring.

Sebelius mentioned on another morning show that an injectable form–in addition to the nasal mist–would be available by the end of the month and as soon as it was available the vaccine for the oink oink achoo would be distributed to 90,000 sites across the country.

So, whose getting vaccinated? The government says its cool…

Read — MyWay
Read — FoxNews

The economy lost 263,000 jobs in September, according to an article by the New York Times.  This increases the current jobess rate to 9.8%.

I’m glad to see that President Obama’s stimulus is creating jobs.

Read–NY Times

Folks, while this is a big victory, we still must keep a watchful eye.

Barack Obama has said the healthcare bill does not require a public option for his approval.  Obama’s senior advisor David Axelrod said,

“It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done. We’re confident that we can do that. But obviously it is a different phase. We’re going to approach it in a different way. The president is going to be very active.”

The Politico reports, “‘We have been saying all along that the most important part of this debate is not the public option, but rather ensuring choice and competition,” an aide said. “There are lots of different ways to get there.’”

Now, folks, they may not have a public option now, but if we let up, they will slowly bring about a fascist, socialized health care system.

Read–Politico

A highly reputable source close to the Harrington Report has just informed me that the highly popular “Cash for Clunker” –or the C.A.R.S. program– is going to be shut down in the next 24 to 48 hours in an effort to protect the nations new car dealers from being hung out to dry financially as the funds allocated by the government for the program dry up.

You may remember our report about the first time they suspended the program…we believe that this suspension of the plagued program will be for good.

Check back here for more information as the announcement becomes official.

UPDATE from Mr. Harrington: So the National Automobile Dealers Association polled dealerships and handed the results over to the federal government.

The results are staggering.

“U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood announced that, within the next 48 hours, guidance will be issued regarding the process by which the program will be brought to a close.”

After the jump, check out the Memo Sent to Dealerships around the country and updates to the post…

Continue Reading

Folks, this video includes Barack Obama saying he is for a “single payer system.”  He also says that the government run “public option” will eliminate private insurance.  The video also shows Jan Schakowsky bragging about tearing down the health insurance system–you may remember my post on that earlier this year…

Watch the explosive video here:

Click here to read all my posts on health care.

UPDATE:  August 4, 2009:

The White House goes to the web to attack the Drudge Report.

Apparently the above video just cherry picked certain statements…but its pretty damning that he said that it will eliminate private insurance…

They’re in damage control here, folks.

Also, I think it is wrong that they are attacking the Drudge Report…calling it “misinformation.”

Oh, and, Happy Birthday, Barry!

California seems determined to take more steps backward than it does forward.

Today, California’s largest state employee union, the SEIU–Service Employee International Union–which represents about 95,000 employees voted on and approved a strike authorization measure in protest of the Governor’s furloughs and to increase pressure on the state to ratify its contracts with SEIU.

Earlier this week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made forward progress by signing a bill that would begin closing the state’s 24 billion budget gap, part of that bill includes maintaining the 3 monthly furlough days on state workers, resulting in a 15% decrease in their pay and considerable savings for a government that is strapped for cash. Now, the SEIU is making preparations to strike because “We feel that he (Schwarzenegger) really undermined any kind of a contract deal by pushing these furloughs on folks,” Union representative Jim Zamora said.

Someone ought to tell the SEIU that they can’t have their cake and eat it too: the state can’t close it’s budget gap and continue to irresponsibly overpay state workers. Idiots.

Dan Rather wants Barry to form a White House commission in order to save media.

Rather:

“A truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom. This is not something just for journalists to be concerned about, and the loss of jobs and the loss of newspapers, and the diminution of the American press’ traditional role of being the watchdog on power. This is something every citizen should be concerned about.”

Here is a quote from the Aspen Daily News:

“Corporate and political influence on newsrooms, along with the conflation of news and entertainment, has created what Rather called ‘the dumbing down and sleazing up of what we see on the news.’”

Folks, Mr. Rather is willing to let some democratic principals die away in order to save democracy. His argument is patently false. If there is a White House commission, there will be political influence on newsrooms. This sort of commission could make the media an agent of a federal government.

From the Aspen Daily News:

“The free press, as established by the First Amendment to the Constitution, ought to operate as a public trust, not solely as a money-making endeavor, Rather argued, and it’s time the government make an effort to ensure the survival of the free press. If not the government, he suggested, then an organization like the Carnegie Foundation should take it on. Without action, he predicted, America will lose its independent media.”

Yes, I agree, but, as someone who wants to break into Journalism, I don’t want my news outlet to be run by the government. While journalism is a public trust–which many outlets have lost, it needs to be independent from the government. How can the media be an agent of the government while still being an independent media?

Read

Folks, this is deception if I’ve ever seen it.  The AP is reporting that, in Oregon, lawmakers have spent $176 million to create jobs.

They created 3,236 jobs.  Most of which lasted only 35 hours.  One work week…

From the AP:

“The White House requires states to report numbers in terms of full-time, yearlong jobs. That means a part-time mechanic counts as half a job. A full-time construction worker who has a three-month paving contract counts as one-fourth of a job.

Using that method, the AP’s analysis of figures in Oregon shows the program so far has created the equivalent of 215 full-time jobs that will last three months.”

More from the AP:

“If Oregon’s dollars-to-jobs ratio remains steady, the program will create about 688 full-time, yearlong jobs. So far, it’s generated only enough hours to employ 54 people full-time for a year.”

Is this what is happening nationwide?

Read

UPDATE:  California has passed a budget…check back for more updates…

Here is the previous post…:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen of California, Governor Arnie said today that he and lawmakers had reached a “basic agreement” on a budget…

Just days ago, I reported that California was getting close to a deal…

But will it last?  If it does…we can pay our bills…and maybe no more furloughs…

All Democrats and several Republicans must vote in it’s favor for it to pass.

California socialite, Karen Bass, spoke of the deal, saying “We have closed the deficit. … We have protected the safety net.”

However, the plan includes $15 Billion in budget cuts…

There is also a plan to allow drilling off of the California coast…

However, several state parks will have to close.

All with no tax increases…

Now, keep in mind, this plan isn’t great…it works…and slows the free-fall we were in just days ago…

If they can pass it…

Read–CBS 13-Sacramento

Read–CNN