Sanity In California

In a small way, sanity is returning to California. The new governor ordered 1/2 of the government cell phones to be returned.

New Gov. Jerry Brown today ordered the collection and return of 48,000 state government-paid cell phones - half of those now in use - by June 1.

The Democratic governor estimated that cutting the use of cellphones by state employees in half will save the state $20 million a year.

SEC Criminals

The Security and Exchange Commission is a government agency with financial regulatory responsibility. Unfortunately, the SEC is filled with crooks who conspire with fraudsters to cover up financial crimes.

Robert Khuzami, the agency’s top enforcement official, gave preferential treatment to Citigroup Inc. executives in the agency’s $75 million settlement with the firm in July.

The SEC is filled with crooks like Robert Khuzami who through malfeasance shield their banker friends from criminal prosecution.

Suspicious Bagel Leads To Arrest

We have become a nation of sniveling scared snitches. Now everyone is a suspect. The terrorists have won by encouraging us to give up our freedoms.

Florida Professor Arrested for Having a "Suspicious" Bagel on a Plane

A Florida professor was arrested and removed from a plane Monday after his fellow passengers alerted crew members they thought he had a suspicious package in the overhead compartment.

That "suspicious package" turned out to be keys, a bagel with cream cheese and a hat.

Recently, passenger complaints have resulted authorities taking action against innocent passengers who went to the bathroom too often on a flight and who were just being annoying.

In the hyper-sensitive world of flying, sneezing too often could get you kicked off a flight and questioned by the FBI.

Bank of America Skates Away

While the dying old press such as the Wall Street Journal whitewashes the scam being played on the taxpayers a new media blogger tells the truth that BofA paid just a cent on the dollar:

Bank of America settled numerous claims with Fannie Mae for an astonishingly cheap rate, according to a Bloomberg report.

A premium of $1.28 billion was paid to Freddie Mac to resolve $1 billion in claims currently outstanding. But the kicker is that the deal also covers potential future claims on $127 billion in loans sold by Countrywide through 2008. That amounts to 1 cent on the dollar to Freddie Mac.

The American taxpayers are left holding the bag while the bankers keep getting their bonuses.