fuck!

yikes!

First to increase spending!

DJIA to 500?

Welcome to your third world country. Ugh.

oh noez...back to school for me!!!

Yeeeeeaaaaayyyyy!!!!

The people have finally been heard!

This Bailout is making me FIFTHSTY...

BUY GUNS AND FOOD
DO IT NOW

People, this is no laughing matter. It is some scary s***.

BUY GUNS AND RELIGION

Let it fail! The sooner the system collapses, the sooner we can start to put the pieces back together.

GOOD. The sooner we hit bottom, the sooner things turn around.

Guys at my high school used to vote down badly needed bailouts of the entire financial sector all the time. It was no big deal.

Well, at least McCain suspended his campaign and is working all out to make a deal happen.

Guys at my high school used to vote down badly needed bailouts of the entire financial sector all the time. It was no big deal.

JESUS will save us...this is ARE country!

Luckily, I don't have any money.

House of Reps voted down the bailout! Thanks house Republicans!!!

Thanks a lot, Texas.

Sincerely,

The United States of America.

PS. Houston = Dallas's TTToilet

Wachovia to TTT?

Wachovia to TTT?

Didn't McCain fix this already? I saw him at the debate.

Can someone offer a law-and-economics analysis of the bailout?

Politics aside, is it a good or bad idea, from the POV of a Chicago School type?

USA, USA, USA, USA....

it was stupid anyway. why can't the u.s. even get as good a deal as buffett got? i want EQUITY for my fucking $2k per u.s. citizen.

Thanks Republicans!!

Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

I guess today was not the day for he Bolshevick Revolution in the US.

the bailout sucks. why can't the u.s. get even the same deal as buffett got?

i want EQUITY for my fucking $2k per u.s. citizen

More important, did Congress decide to mint the new Lincoln pennies???!!!

I guess today was not the day for the Bolshevick Revolution in the US.

ALERT THE INTERNET

Luckily, I don't have any money.

Republicans refuse to sign bill; send country into the next great depression!!! Why do Republicans hate America??

Where does one get 700B while already Billions in debt?

Who is John Gault?

START EXCHANGING DOLLARS FOR FOREIGN CURRENCIES.

I'M GLAD THE BAILOUT FAILED, NO GOV'T CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO, I'M NO SOCIALIST!!!!

*shuffles back into bread line*

Actually #28, over 90 Dems voted against the bailout. Pelosi could not keep her house in order. Partisan bullshi**, as evidenced by your ignorant comment, is what led us to our current predicament.

Good. NYC rental market will fall and I'll be able to afford a decent apartment.

Actually #28, over 90 Dems voted against the bailout. Pelosi could not keep her house in order. Partisan bullshi**, as evidenced by your ignorant comment, is what led us to our current predicament.

I'M GLAD THE BAILOUT FAILED, NO GOV'T CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO, I'M NO SOCIALIST!!!!

*shuffles back into bread line*

Islam=TTTexas

Thanks a lot GULC.

41 - The Republicans voted this shit down 2 to 1. Now please shut the fuck up.

I second #25's request for a law-and-econ take on the bailout.

WWPD -- What Would Posner Do?

What does this mean for associates at WILDMAN HARROLD? Would someone please tell me what this means for WILDMAN HARROLD?

#41, good catch, but what led to our current predicament was equal parts a failure of regulation, and the fact that Fannie and Freddie should've been somehow abolished and replaced up to a dozen private sector entities up to a 30+ years ago, and we never should've passed the Community Reinvestment Act.

TO: Elie Mystal

FROM: The management

DATE: 9/29/08

RE: Your request to be paid your “salary” in “gold bullion”
______________________________________

Dear Mr. Mystal:

Please see page 41, paragraph 41.3.2 of the relevant agreement.

Your position is unfunded at this time.

We therefore regret to inform you that your request for payment, whether in gold, USD, Swiss Franks, Euros, Wan, Yen, or otherwise is hereby DECLINED.

I AM ROGER LAU

I AM NO LONGER SEEKING JOB POSITION AT AMERICAN WALL STREET LAW FIRM

GOOD LUCK YOU IDIOTS

Pelosi's pre-vote comments were pretty inflammatory, http://www.breitbart.tv/html/184803.html, but Cantor says they cost votes? I hate Cantor. "I didn't like what you said, so I'll screw over the economy to punish you."

See how your representative voted:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll674.xml

should I accept my offers now?
thanks- Tommy

Any idea what firms will be particualrly hard hit by the Wachovia sale to Citi?

Any idea what firms will be particualrly hard hit by the Wachovia sale to Citi?

20: you are an f'ing idiot. in case you hadn't gotten the memo, the democrats control the house by a significant number of votes. the fact that this bill didn't pass has so little to do with the republicans, but partisan 'tards like you are too wrapped up in politics to notice.

i get the sense that congress doesn't get what is at stake here. hopefully mccain and obama were just trying to dumb it down for the debate, but it didn't seem like they get it either. am i alone on this?

See how your representative voted:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll674.xml

Damn, how many more times can Wall Street get donkey punched and GULCed before the rest of the US begins to look like the shit stain that is Houston?

KENT BROCKMAN: Without knowing all the details, would you say this is a good time to crack your neighbors' skulls open, and feast on the goo inside?

GUEST: Yes, I would, Kent.

Totally with you 42.

Damn you 61! You beat me to the (hilarious) punch!

Dear 24:

Re: Didn't McCain fix this already?

Actually, no.

If you recall, McCain suspended his campaign and flew to DC after he was informed that only 2 republican law makers supported the bailout, solicited Obama's cooperation in suspending the debate, put partisan politics aside, and to work TOGETHER to stay in DC until the bill was passed.

Obama then PISSED ALL OVER McCain, declared the offer to be a stunt, refused to return to DC (and then only reluctantly traveled to DC when summoned by the President for a 2 hour meeting) and then forced McCain to debate.

Moreover, the Democrats HAVE A MAJORITY in the House, and could have, but did not pass the bill.

F****** you very much,

Former Democrat

A law-and-econ analysis of the bailout would focus on the "moral hazard" problem.

FUCK YOU NANCY PELOSI! Once again they play politics instead of looking out for America. You have the votes, Dems, pass it if you think it is the right thing to do. Chicken shit politicians.

KENT BROCKMAN: Without knowing all the details, would you say this is a good time to crack your neighbors' skulls open, and feast on the goo inside?

GUEST: Yes, I would, Kent.

Thanks Republicans!! Instead of political grandstanding, we could be on our way to getting out of this mess. Spin this as you want conservative f***tards, but 2/3's of the democrats voted FOR the bill and 2/3's of the republicans voted AGAINST the bill. We all lose because of some hurt feelings. WTF?

hey dickwads, the agreement was for dems to provide half their votes and for repubs to supply half their votes. the democrats more than delivered on their part of the bargain. the failure here was with the republican house members. get your facts straight!

KENT BROCKMAN: Without knowing all the details, would you say this is a good time to crack your neighbors' skulls open, and feast on the goo inside?

GUEST: Yes, I would, Kent.

I agree with 64 and 66. The DEMOCRATS control Congress. It is the DEMOCRATS' fault.

Damn, now the govt can't overpay for a bunch of crap paper.

Here is a thought, perhaps it is time we stopped financing everything with debt and go back to proper ratios. We are trying to revive a credit market which is telling us we have over-borrowed.

hey dickwads, the agreement was for dems to provide half their votes and for repubs to supply half their votes. the democrats more than delivered on their part of the bargain. the failure here was with the republican house members. get your facts straight!

Damn, now the govt can't overpay for a bunch of crap paper.

Here is a thought, perhaps it is time we stopped financing everything with debt and go back to proper ratios. We are trying to revive a credit market which is telling us we have over-borrowed.

This bill failed because 2/3 of the REPUBLICANS voted it down. This WAS FAR LESS support than they expected and needed for the vote. The Democrat and Republican leaders both supported this legislation, but only the Democrats gave a majority of votes to pass it.

KENT BROCKMAN: Without knowing all the details, would you say this is a good time to crack your neighbors' skulls open, and feast on the goo inside?

GUEST: Yes, I would, Kent.

64 - The Democrats aren't going to miss you if you're dumb enough to think that's what actually happened.

Obama called McCain at 8:30 Wednesday morning to ask about issuing a joint statement re: the bailout. McCain called back at 2:30 to agree, then dropped his "I'm suspending my campaign" bit a few minutes later. He then spent the rest of the day and evening in Manhattan doing interviews with various media. He left for DC Thursday morning, not arriving at the Capitol until early afternoon. Even his own party members referred to him as an "observer" - he didn't know what was going on and made no contributions to the process. (One could even argue that his presence was a factor in the destabilization on Thursday, but that might be taking it a bit far.) Realizing that he hadn't done enough to warrant getting out of the debate, he reversed his position and agreed to participate despite the fact that the bailout wasn't set.

The man is a drama queen and far too unstable to be president. I have to say it's interesting that he made the "I'm suspending my campaign" announcement on the day that polls came out showing Obama with an 11 point bump. And shouldn't he be able to delegate campaigning to his VP if he needs to do Senate work? Oh wait, that's right, they're too afraid to let her talk to anyone and further display her astounding ignorance.

73, we got it. But that's BULLSHIT! The Democrats are too chicken shit to pass it, and then Pelosi had to go and throw mud just before the vote and complete torpedo the deal. No one is blameless in getting us to this point, but Pelosi had to try to score political points instead of doing what is right. She fucked this up, and she and Barney Frank should be held accountable. No wonder this DEMOCRATICALLY controlled Congress has the lowest approval rating in history.

64: where the heck are you getting that this is somehow the democrats fault? from cnn:

About 60% of Democrats voted for the measure, but less than a third of Republicans backed it.

LOL@Republicans angrily DEMANDING big government and the worst deficit spending in the history of the United States.

Could it be any clearer now that conservatism = nothing more than protecting the interests of big corporations and their shareholders--period?

Please don't ever, EVER try to link the words "Democrats" and "Big Government" and "government spending" again. All your pretenses are gone. What a pathetic joke.

79: 100% of Republican Presidents support the bill, but not even one Democrat President has come out in support of it. This is clearly the fault of the Democrats.

good thing you broke this news, Mystal. I wouldn't have known about it otherwise.

73, we got it. But that's BULLSHIT! The Democrats are too chicken shit to pass it, and then Pelosi had to go and throw mud just before the vote and complete torpedo the deal. No one is blameless in getting us to this point, but Pelosi had to try to score political points instead of doing what is right. She fucked this up, and she and Barney Frank should be held accountable. No wonder this DEMOCRATICALLY controlled Congress has the lowest approval rating in history.

Yeehay -

78 (73 here): that's a bullshit response and you know it! you're saying that just because nancy pelosi gave a speech, the republicans couldn't muster the courage to make a vote? wtf! the text of the bill didn't change when she gave her speech. what difference does that make?

Thanks Republicans!! Instead of political grandstanding, we could be on our way to getting out of this mess. Spin this as you want conservative f***tards, but 2/3's of the democrats voted FOR the bill and 2/3's of the republicans voted AGAINST the bill. We all lose because of some hurt feelings. WTF?

80 you are right, and this is reublicans finally saying enough is enough. The republican party sold its soul and allowed overspending at the government. The people of this country have done the same thing. Either we face the music now and feel some pain, or continue to defer the problem and only increase the magnitude later on.

P.S. anyone really think $700B was going to be enough?

Dear 69:

NEWSFLASH: The Democratic party controls both houses of congress, and decisively the House (where the measure was defeated).

Any failure of passage therefore must be laid exclusively at the feet of Democrats.

Moreover, had Obama take McCain up on his proposal to drop everything, go to Washington DC, and WORK together JOINTLY to craft a bill with bipartisan support, a bill would be on the way to the Senate awaiting ratification as we speak.

As a Democrat, now supporting John McCain, I have followed this closely.

Moreover, when a party controls a legislative body by an overwhelming majority and then fails to take action, under no plausible scenario can it blame the minority party.

No, this is not Republican politics, is legislators on both sides fearing constant wrath---all of which could have been avoided if the two DEFACTO party leaders had just set the contest aside for a few days and solved the thing.

NEWSFLASH: Obama cares not about anything but getting elected.

I blame the failure of the bail out plan on all of the Texas congressman who asked for extra time to vote because they were dealing with a river a shit flowing through their house.

I blame Ron Paul specifically and Texas generally. I'd like to point out that Tom Tancredo had the nuts to be on board.

THE DEMS DON'T NEED THE PUBS TO PASS THIS BILL! They are just too chicken shit to do it. Politics as usual.

47

"But Goldman is pretty healthy. Many lenders have so much of their capital tied up in mortgage-backed securities or other novel forms of capital that are difficult to value that they cannot attract new capital at a price that would enable the lender to continue in business. The sale of the securities would just expose their lack of value. The federal government, however, has essentially unlimited capital because of its taxing power. It is prepared at this writing to contribute perhaps as much as a trillion dollars to rebuild the capital of the banking industry. The Treasury wants to make this contribution in the form of buying the dubious securities, but that seems to be a mistake, unless pressure of time allows for no alternative. If the Treasury pays the actual value (if anyone can determine what that is) of the securities, it will not be injecting new capital into the banking industry, but merely swapping one form of capital for another. If the Treasury pays more than the securities are worth, then it is contributing capital to the industry all right, but it is also enriching the owners and managers of the banks, which creates the familiar moral hazard problem as well as upsetting people by rewarding careless management practices. The more it overpays, the most costly the bailout plan to the taxpayer.

A more palatable approach would be for the government to drive a Warren Buffett style hard bargain, in which, rather than buying anything from banks, the government would invest in them in a form, such as purchase of newly issued preferred stock, or bonds with a long maturity, that would augment the banks' capital and thus enable banks to make more loans. That would avoid conferring a windfall on the banks by overpaying them for their bad securities; no one thinks Buffett is conferring a windfall on Goldman Sachs. After the industry was back on its feet, the government could sell the bank stocks or bonds that it had acquired." -Posner, 9/28/08

http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/

I blame the failure of the bail out plan on all of the Texas congressman who asked for extra time to vote because they were dealing with a river a shit flowing through their house.

78, if some Republicans actually changed their mind on such a gigantic piece of nation-changing legislation because of Pelosi's speech, do you really think that Pelosi is the assh*le?

We all know this country needs the bill.

60% of Democrats voted for it. Only 30% of Republicans voted for it.

to 91: yes, you're right on the fact that the dems don't need the repugs to pass the bill. BUT, why does that then mean that they must carry the full burden for passing it?? your anger should be directed at the repugs whose votes were even LESS as a percentage of their membership.

Everyone thought I was a fool for spending all of my money at Tiffany!

80 you are right, and this is reublicans finally saying enough is enough. The republican party sold its soul and allowed overspending at the government. The people of this country have done the same thing. Either we face the music now and feel some pain, or continue to defer the problem and only increase the magnitude later on.

P.S. anyone really think $700B was going to be enough?

65 here. Thanks for the link, 92. I was right -- it's all about "moral hazard."

As the founding father of the now defunct Young Socialists of Saint Mary's College of Maryland, let me say the following:

I mock you.

Same river of shit in Texas, different day.

Thanks a lot, Texas.

Go Sooners!

Thanks 92. It sounds like Posner would vote against the bailout, at least in its current form.

80 you are right, and this is reublicans finally saying enough is enough. The republican party sold its soul and allowed overspending at the government. The people of this country have done the same thing. Either we face the music now and feel some pain, or continue to defer the problem and only increase the magnitude later on.

P.S. anyone really think $700B was going to be enough?

They should have never let this go to a vote if they weren't positive it was going to pass. Morons.

96, did you ever stop to think that maybe that is because this bill runs counter to traditional Republican economic philosphy? Why would you ever expect Pubs to vote for this in the same percentages as Dems? That's ridiculous. But how can you explain the number of Dems who voted against it? But if Pelosi and Fat Frank could control their membership, this would have been done.

Time to reallocate my 401k portfolio to buy more shotgun shells and canned goods. We deserve what we get from the idiots in Congress.

Pelosi...let this be a good example of what happens when you allow a woman to open her mouth and spew thoughts from her tiny little brain.

91 - Your point is retarded. You support the bailout, but are blaming the party who were twice as likely to vote for it than the other guy?

Time to reallocate my 401k portfolio to buy more shotgun shells and canned goods. We deserve what we get from the idiots in Congress.

Feel free to bicker about House dems or GOP'ers, but one thing's for sure:

Pelosi is an irresponsible jackass for making that speech.

I specifically blame all the folks on this board who can't figure out how to only post their comment once. More generally, I blame all people who know way to much about the kids at their high school and the significance of those kids' actions.

Posted by guest | Permalink

96, did you ever stop to think that maybe that is because this bill runs counter to traditional Republican economic philosphy?
__________________________________________

Have you ever stopped to think that the last 28 years of Republican-controlled government has run counter to "traditional Republican economic philosophy"?

Have you ever stopped to think that "traditional Republican economic philosophy" actually consists of "What's Good for Goldman Sachs is Good for America"?

Thanks for breaking this story! I wouldn't have known about it otherwise.

I'm glad we have lots of (would-be?) lawyers here giving there input, too. They know a lot about economics.

108, 91 here, where did I say I support the bailout? I'm just sick of the fucking political games. Do what you think is right for the country and shut the fuck up! We should vote every one of these fucking idiots out of office.

Yay! I'm so hoping capitalism dies today.

Democratic socialism lies ahead!

Feel free to bicker about House dems or GOP'ers, but one thing's for sure:

Pelosi is an irresponsible jackass for making that speech.

Barney Frank offers to make the Republicans whose feelings were hurt feel better so that they won't punish the country with their next vote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLPki41U-lE

Texas is making this county swallow one gigantic fecal pill after another.

GULC is looking better and better.

this post has zero relevance to the summer associate class at WILDMAN HARROLD.

Ellie = Epic Fail = not WILDMAN HARROLD material

Anyone else thinkin' this looks like a good time to pass a Constitutional Amendment banning same sex marriages?

House Republicans = epic fail.

Enough said.

- Gallion

this post has zero relevance to the summer associate class at WILDMAN HARROLD.

Ellie = Epic Fail = not WILDMAN HARROLD material

So when the posts were about Thelan instead of the bailout, people complained, and now that the posts are about the bailout instead of the legal profession, people complain.

Gotcha.

I hear suicide is painless.

I specifically blame all the folks on this board who can't figure out how to only post their comment once. More generally, I blame all people who know way to much about the kids at their high school and the significance of those kids' actions.

It is unbelievable that Lat hasn't been able to fix the posting function on this site for years now. How difficult can it be to fix? How many multiple posting fools do we need before someone fixes it?????

Word on the street is that Trig Palin botched up the bail out plan vote.

Thanks a lot, Trip Palin and Texas.

"to 91: yes, you're right on the fact that the dems don't need the repugs to pass the bill. BUT, why does that then mean that they must carry the full burden for passing it??"

cuz the dems are responsible for it. even after discoveriong irregular accounting practices, the dems refused to overhaul freddie and fannie. calls for oversight by the republicans was met with by calls of racism.

let the dems clean up their mess.

I have no idea if the bailout is a good move or not. But what is obvious is that a vote for anyone on this issue is politically risky. Dems hate the bill because it's a Wall St./big corporation bail out. Republicans hate it because it goes against core philosophies. Main St. hates it because nobody is bailing them out. Anyone who voted for it took a big personal risk to try to fix the problem. 2/3 of Dems took that big risk. Only 1/3 of Republicans did. That tells me something.

KENT BROCKMAN: Without knowing all the details, would you say this is a good time to crack your neighbors' skulls open, and feast on the goo inside?

GUEST: Yes, I would, Kent.

Rich republic snobs don't care about the bailout and they don't want the govt stopping them from acting as stupidly as they did when they got us into this crisis. That's the whole story.

I blame Islam=TTT.

Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters.

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.

oh f*ck, now I look like the idiot -- ok, Elie/Lat/whoever, fix your server -- the multiple posts are getting frustrating

There sure are a lot of anonymous commenters trying to figure out who to blame here. Are all of you running for office or something?

128 are you kidding? The republicans systematically deregulated every institution that has caused or been affected by this crisis. Good lord. this is the biggest republican mess of all time.

Can current biglaw atty's give 2Ls advice about how to protect themselves? Should we go to the biggest, most prestigious firms we get offers from? Are smaller firms with a more regional focus better? Currently debating between Willkie, OMM, Latham, Kirkland, and some small firms (all NY)

137 - go to Latham or Kirkland and be done with it.

Trig Palin = TTT

Everything is bigger in Texas.

129

I have no idea if the bailout is a good move or not. But what is obvious is that a vote against it is politically risky move. Dems like the bill because it gives them leverage to increase regulation on Wall St./Big Corporations. Republicans lie it because it goes aids troubled corporations and helps them to get them back on their feet. Main St. likes they are afraid to see the stock market drop and their invested savings drop along with it. Anyone who voted against it took a big personal risk to try to fix the problem. 1/3 of Dems took that big risk. Only 2/3 of Republicans did. That tells me something.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE INCOMING

129

it tells you that the days of tom delay getting full party support regardless of the popularity of a bill is something that nancy pelosi and her stinky lil' bush can't replicate.

137 - get a clerkship or go to work for DOJ. Spend two years sheltered in the government's warm, loving, warming arms, and then go make your millions after the economy has stabilized.

I'm heading down to Blockbuster to rent the documentary "Red Dawn".

136: McCain co-sponsored a bill that would have regulated Fannie and Freddie and help prevent this mess, but the Dems killed it.

The Republicans have done a lot to fight regulations as well, but there's a pretty big gap between the mainstream Republicans and McCain.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DID IT FOR THE LULZ

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DID IT FOR THE LULZ

Top 3 Recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Campaign Contributions, 1989-2008

Dodd, Christopher $165,400
Obama, Barack $126,349
Kerry, John $111,000

Hey barry, not bad for 3 years in the senate

Fannie and Freddie were not the issuers of the majority of the bad paper. the private banks were.

This just in -- Nancy Pelosi is deep-throating Sara Palin's 8 inch clitoris.

TTTexas

KENT BROCKMAN:

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Democracy simply doesn't work."

@ 128 I wanted to use a picture because that seems what would probably help you out the most. See the years 2003 and 2005, you know, the terms where the Republicans controlled across the board? Couldn't the Rs have done something then, or is it only possible for Ds to actually make something happen?

Kent Brockman:

"ITS IN REVELATIONS, PEOPLE!"

::please standby::

149: The major issuer of bad paper is GULC

Franklin Raines earned $90 million in his five years as Fannie Mae CEO - currently advises Obama on housing policy

James Johnson earned $21 million in just his last year serving as Fannie Mae CEO - was appointed to head Obama's vice presidential selection committee, until a controversy concerning an alleged $7 millions in questionable real estate loans he received on favorable terms from failed sub-prime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial surfaced and forced him to step down.

149 - please learn about Fannie and Freddie before you make another ignorant post about this topic. Had it not been for those two government-backed entities, much of the bad paper that is causing this mess never would have been written.

149: The major issuer of bad paper is GULC

I second the advice of 143. Ride out the storm in the public sector.

This is fantastic news. A bailout would have destroyed the dollar, and started another great depression.

I think you'll find that most people who understand things blame the private banks way more than fannie and freddie. sorry.

I hate what we have become. This mess is everyone's fault. It is bullshit to call this main street v. wall street. Last time I looked there weren't many houses on wall street. This is about greedy bankers, greedy mortgage brokers, and yes Virgina, greedy f'n consumers who have over spent. Next to come (although already happening) will be the implosion relating to credit card receivables.

The reason we are screwed is because more people are worried about assigning blame and coming up with bandaids then trying to actually get our house in order. Our rate of borrowing cannot be sustained and any emasure that tries to bring back that rate of borrowing will cause us more pain in the future.

I hate what we have become. This mess is everyone's fault. It is bullshit to call this main street v. wall street. Last time I looked there weren't many houses on wall street. This is about greedy bankers, greedy mortgage brokers, and yes Virgina, greedy f'n consumers who have over spent. Next to come (although already happening) will be the implosion relating to credit card receivables.

The reason we are screwed is because more people are worried about assigning blame and coming up with bandaids then trying to actually get our house in order. Our rate of borrowing cannot be sustained and any emasure that tries to bring back that rate of borrowing will cause us more pain in the future.

149 = Sara Palin's Clitoris

Chuck Norris' Penis to EIC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&eurl=http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/

You can bicker about whether it was Republicans or Democrats that failed to deliver the votes -- but it is a fact that a good number of House Republicans have been on the record opposed to the bill. Where have the 40% of Democrats who voted against been the last week? And are they really agains the bill or just against the President?

I blame 161

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&eurl=http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/

152 here. Damn servers

Here is the link

http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm

Is it better to wear a crew neck undershirt, or a v-neck?

154 - funny on so many levels

LAT....can you please start a thread titled "why does GULC suck lexington steele size dick?" best reason given wins a trip with you and the gay weil associate to some exhibitionist resort in mexico.

I hate what we have become. This mess is everyone's fault. It is bullshit to call this main street v. wall street. Last time I looked there weren't many houses on wall street. This is about greedy bankers, greedy mortgage brokers, and yes Virgina, greedy f'n consumers who have over spent. Next to come (although already happening) will be the implosion relating to credit card receivables.

The reason we are screwed is because more people are worried about assigning blame and coming up with bandaids then trying to actually get our house in order. Our rate of borrowing cannot be sustained and any emasure that tries to bring back that rate of borrowing will cause us more pain in the future.

148, Obama's campaign contributions "from" Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were overwhelmingly individual contributions from employees. McCain got way more from their PACs and from Board members.

I blame Sara Palin's throbbing GULC.

171 - i hate what we have become. people who can't post a message only once.

Did someone say something about WILDMAN HARROLD? Please explain what in the world is happening at WILDMAN HARROLD.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print

148 - these figures were contributions from individuals who identified themselves as being employees of Fannie and Freddie. If you look at Fannie and Freddie directors and lobbyists for the same period, you'll have:

Obama: $16k
McCain: $169k

But why bother with facts?

Damn crackers making me thirsty.

Wait a second wait a second. There are perfectly good reasons to vote down this bill. But any honest observe must admit that the Republicans killed it. It was worked out by party leaders from both sides, and one side didn't bring a majority of their votes. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but the Republicans killed the bill.

I smell a rope-a-dope.

So 90% of America hates the bill.

At the end of the day, over 60% of Dems vote for the bailout, and only 30% of repubs support it.

Pelosi gives a stirring speech trying to channel America's hatred for the bill to repubs, as if they are the ones pushing it.

But in the end, over 60% of dems are on record with supporting wall-street, and the repubs are viewed as the ones supporting Mainstreet ??? How the hell did that happen. Seems to me that Pelosi either got played, or is really out of her league.

82 = Mystal

Where's McCain's leadership? Wasnt he supposed to shepherd the republican vote through? Wasnt he going to magically take credit for the whole thing? Where is he now? Saying that Nancy Pelosi made a not-nice speech and Im taking my toys and going home?

Of course, this just allows McCain to set it up more dramatically, and take credit when this does pass later this week - and it WILL pass.

Dont think for a MINUTE that this will not get done. This is hardly over, and gambler McCain is still trying to game it.

And if not, well then Bristol Palin and that Levy boy will just have to get married at the end of October.

burn capitalism burn!

137 - I agree with 138.

Signed,
2nd year associate with little to do, after picking a smaller, more collegial, responsibility bestowing firm over a half dozen V10 offers.

I have been a 12 year Republican - and I am embarrassed for the party for shooting down this Bill.

I think I just turned Democratic.

Thank God John McCain suspended his political campaign to save this bill and our economy.

Any one who blames anyone who's name isn't on this list for the fact that we're all screwed can go fuck off and die, assigning blame really isn't any more complicated this:

http://thepage.time.com/list-of-who-voted-no-on-the-house-bailout-bill/

Why is everybody playing the blame game on this? The bailout failed because it's a stupid idea. The failure of the bill was a good thing. What I'm upset about is the fact that some form of this misguided, shortsighted piece of steaming big-government shite will in fact be passed tomorrow or the next day, only in a form that's even worse for Sam Q Taxpayer than the one rejected today.

Get out your checkbooks, comrades. We're all screwed.

134 I pwned you good

And you know the thing about chaos is . . . it's fear.

-The Joker

Why is everybody playing the blame game on this? The bailout failed because it's a stupid idea. The failure of the bill was a good thing. What I'm upset about is the fact that some form of this misguided, shortsighted piece of steaming big-government shite will in fact be passed tomorrow or the next day, only in a form that's even worse for Sam Q Taxpayer than the one rejected today.

Get out your checkbooks, comrades. We're all screwed.

Yes. GOP rank and file stands up and says ENOUGH. Stop this theft.

Why is everybody playing the blame game on this? The bailout failed because it's a stupid idea. The failure of the bill was a good thing. What I'm upset about is the fact that some form of this misguided, shortsighted piece of steaming big-government shite will in fact be passed tomorrow or the next day, only in a form that's even worse for Sam Q Taxpayer than the one rejected today.

Get out your checkbooks, comrades. We're all screwed.

#169 -- I would go without a T shirt altogether. unless you're fat & hairy, who needs it?

yawn. there is plenty of money out there on the sidelines. look at the buffett goldman deal. problem is, the other big banks don't want to pay for it like goldman did, they want cheap money to come from the taxpayers instead.

185: You should be embarrassed instead by the fact that you call yourself a Republican and still support this idiotic bailout.

You know, before this $700 billion savior from Big Brother was put on the table as our last hope to sidestep Armageddon, I swear there was a different kind of bailout that seemed to work pretty well: bankruptcy. You remember - Chapters 7 and 11. Companies that were mismanaged into the ground were seized by their creditors, had their less desirable assets sold off, and their more desirable assets stripped down and revamped into eventual profitability. Management got canned, and shareholders got nothing, but hey, that's what you get for corporate mismanagement and poor investment decisionmaking. Meanwhile, the taxpayers on "Main Street" were NOT saddled with the fallout - nor were the idiots who ran the companies into the ground effectively rewarded for their poor performance.

Ahh... remember capitalism? Those were the days...

It's not about money, it's about sending a message (to Wall St.)

-The Joker

185: You should be embarrassed instead by the fact that you call yourself a Republican and still support this idiotic bailout.

You know, before this $700 billion savior from Big Brother was put on the table as our last hope to sidestep Armageddon, I swear there was a different kind of bailout that seemed to work pretty well: bankruptcy. You remember - Chapters 7 and 11. Companies that were mismanaged into the ground were seized by their creditors, had their less desirable assets sold off, and their more desirable assets stripped down and revamped into eventual profitability. Management got canned, and shareholders got nothing, but hey, that's what you get for corporate mismanagement and poor investment decisionmaking. Meanwhile, the taxpayers on "Main Street" were NOT saddled with the fallout - nor were the idiots who ran the companies into the ground effectively rewarded for their poor performance.

Ahh... remember capitalism? Those were the days...

co-sign 191/193/195.

A 750 point drop in the dow does not justify 750B in gov't outlays.

Private equity will save us all.

185: You should be embarrassed instead by the fact that you call yourself a Republican and still support this idiotic bailout.

You know, before this $700 billion savior from Big Brother was put on the table as our last hope to sidestep Armageddon, I swear there was a different kind of bailout that seemed to work pretty well: bankruptcy. You remember - Chapters 7 and 11. Companies that were mismanaged into the ground were seized by their creditors, had their less desirable assets sold off, and their more desirable assets stripped down and revamped into eventual profitability. Management got canned, and shareholders got nothing, but hey, that's what you get for corporate mismanagement and poor investment decisionmaking. Meanwhile, the taxpayers on "Main Street" were NOT saddled with the fallout - nor were the idiots who ran the companies into the ground effectively rewarded for their poor performance.

Ahh... remember capitalism? Those were the days...

the legal profession is one of the most recession-proof industries on the planet. when deals are down, litigation and bankruptcy are up. family law and personal injury are constant. the criminal justice system keeps churning. the sun will still rise in the east and set in the west. the economy will eventually come back - with or without a federal solution.

the end-of-the-world talk may incite a passionate comment on this stupid blog, but it's hard to take seriously coming from a bunch of people that are just about as secure in their jobs as a female, gay, minority, tenured professor at a state university.

in sum....relax

*in advance of the comments regarding Cadwalader, Thelen and Heller -- why doesn't some one add up the number of all those layoffs and compare it to the number of people that Citigroup alone has laid off this month. I also note, for those of you that forget that there are law firms other than the v100, the legal marketplace is much larger that transactional lawyers repping the biggest banks on wall st.

Why are my posts displaying in (staggered) triplicate? WTF????? (And sorry to readers - I'm not hitting the post button more than once, so chill out. It's a server issue).

Why are my posts displaying in (staggered) triplicate? WTF????? (And sorry to readers - I'm not hitting the post button more than once, so chill out. It's a server issue).

Why are my posts displaying in (staggered) triplicate? WTF????? (And sorry to readers - I'm not hitting the post button more than once, so chill out. It's a server issue).

This is what happens when an unstoppable force (the economy) meets an immovable object (the government)

-The Joker

25, et al,

This was my take on what was being proposed. Nutshell version.

Banks have Trillions of mortgage backed securities and paper on their books. Based on mark to market rule (thank you Enron) banks have to put value based on what they would get for these securities (I will use paper and securities interchangeably, but am normally referring to both). As investors have fled market this means most post a loss on the value. Also, as investors have fled, these banks and institutions have a lot of worthless paper on their books, worthless only in that they cannot sell it and thus must eat up the cost when they normally would have sold the paper and be relending that money on the market. As a consequence, there is practically no mortgages, commercial or residential, few mergers, few business loans, bond prices have gone crazy, bank and financial shares have been roasted.

Now the plan was to pay $700 billion for, aprox, $900 billion of assets. A good deal, but less than the cents on the dollar that some people are offering (and getting accepted). For example, I recently sold $100 million of debt for $59 million, and another $275million for $200 million, so the government was not getting the best deal, but still getting a deal.

[As a side note, I cannot understand why this is being called a bail out. The Gov is buying assets. Now maybe the gov should not do that - I get that argument - but it is not a blank check. First, the hope is that the assets are worth more than they pay, as such the gov, I.e. tax payer, makes a profit on its initial investment. Second, even if you believe they are overpaying (and some do) lets do the math on what has to happen for this to really be a $700 billion bail out. (a) EVERY mortgage in the pool bought by the government has to default without EVER making a single payment; AND (b) the government would have to sell all the underlying foreclosed property (which at a worse case scenario was valued at $700 billion just a year ago) for $0. As you can see, this was not likely.]

So the government would buy the securities, thus freeing up the banks to make loans again. My understanding was that the government would ensure that all banks lend and not just bank the money. Tough underwriting would ensure 75% LTV deals being done, income producing (or income verified), with good fundamentals. Thus investors would reinvest in the market.

It wasn't perfect, but it would have helped.

I don't want to get into the finger pointing politics, but someone should have explained it better. It should not have been called a bailout, and the Gov. and both parties should have explained why the market needs this injection. It is not to pay fat cat salaries. It was to ensure your business gets the funds it needs to pay your wage.

Why are my posts displaying in (staggered) triplicate? WTF????? (And sorry to readers - I'm not hitting the post button more than once, so chill out. It's a server issue).

I believe the root of the problem is poor corporate governance. Executives have the incentive to seek immediate, but perhaps illusory gains accompanied by long-term risks borne by shareholders and creditors, not themselves. The people who created this mess are unaccountable for it, and have no reason even to care about it. We need a new system of corporate governance and/or oversight.

I wish Trig Palin would stop triple posting.

The reason why I love to read ATL comments is b/c they continue to demonstrate how there's zero correlation b/w intelligence (which arguably some of you have some of) and Wisdom.

It's so adorable how you all are so shocked. And you debate over republicans and democrats as if there was a bona fide distinction between the two.

See, dumbasses like me awoke long ago to the fact that our whole economy is a fuckin illusion.

Dumbasses like me started buying gold and silver as soon as the Fed stopped publishing the M3, whatever that is.

But dumbasses like me were told to put on our tinfoil hats and shut the fuck up.

And lookee lookee. Whatta we have now? Everyone's in a panic and most of you geniuses are willing to give away hundreds of billions more to King George after he spent the last 8 years turning our country to shit. Maybe if you weren't so concerned about your bonuses and didn't spend 95% of your waking lives in a fancy sweatshop, you'd have had time to read up on and heed the warnings.

There are much, much better ways to spend $700 more billion of borrowed money. Thank God the Republicans voted it down. Who cares what their motive was. My man Kucinich voted no too, and he's the motherfuckin man.

Today's a great day people.

(Warren Buffet thinks) if you're good at something, never do it for free.

-The Joker

206- it's called a bailout b/c the taxpayer is buying crap assets over and above fair market value, roughly 22 cents on the dollar if you use Lonestar's last P/E buy as a guide. Meantime, execs and boards suffer no consequences for their mismanagement.

Also, the provisions governing exec comp and equity stakes (warrants, common, etc) are toothless.

201 -

The legal profession may be recession-proof, but highly specialized expansion attorneys (M&A, corp, etc.) and extremely highly compensated attorneys are not.

The current big firm model cannot support dramatically reduced corporate work, which is exactly what a credit-led recession will result in. You don't retask entire practice groups to litigation and bankruptcy, and if you try, you certainly can't bill them out at what you would normally charge per-hour.

There are a very few firms that will be completely insulated from this. Big litigation-only shops and V5. Everyone else is going to suffer. Summer classes will be reduced dramatically in size, summers will be no-offered, incoming first-years will be deferred or axed, headcounts will be trimmed and everyone will see income drop, be it bonuses or PPP.

You also have the issue of a lot of firms nationwide paying Caravath or Caravath+ when you adjust for cost of living. That wasn't sustainable with a good economy and everyone knew it. Now they aren't going to get to deny it anymore.

199: how about a 10,000 point drop in the dow? Does that justify it?

It's too bad John McCain didn't suspend his campaign and return to Washington to pass the Bailout Bill....We could have used a real leader to get that done.

Nobody panics when things go according to plan.

-The Joker

212, First, I heard 80 cents on the dollar, which is at least 20 cents more than they are being traded now, but not 22 cents over par. Second, as someone who works in this area, we originated billions of $$$ of commercial loans, backed by good property. The commercial mortgage default rate is STILL less than 1% (and the longer this drags on the more amazing that is). So 99% of commercial mortgages are performing, and we can buy then for 20% discount?? If I could I would put every cent I have into it.

If any of you (former) biglaw types have questions about state court motions practice or probate procedure, I'll be happy to give advice. Also the art of repeatedly rewriting the trusts of wealthy but suspicious and maybe-just-slightly senile clients without wanting to kill yourself. Oh, and I can give you LOTS of tips on how to get paid. HTH

The Joker is the I-Ching

213 -

Why so serious?

-The Joker

Somehow, my rejection from a V5 today doesn't seem all that bad... or surprising.

Thank God the Republicans finally brought down this ponzi scheme of a bailout plan. It's nice to see someone give a damn about fighting socialism for the first time in about fourteen years.

What a shame so many people prefer to believe what they are told rather than attempt to find out the truth. Obama received campaign contributions from individual people who worked at Freddie and Fannie. It was Republicans who got the money from the PAC's directly associated with Freddie and Fannie.

And here's GW on housing (2002):
"And so, therefore, I've called -- yesterday, I called upon the private sector to help us and help the home buyers. We need more capital in the private markets for first-time, low-income buyers. And I'm proud to report that Fannie Mae has heard the call and, as I understand, it's about $440 billion over a period of time. They've used their influence to create that much capital available for the type of home buyer we're talking about here. It's in their charter; it now needs to be implemented. Freddie Mac is interested in helping. I appreciate both of those agencies providing the underpinnings of good capital."

http://www.hud.gov/news/speeches/pr

-777 at the closing bell... I'm trying to figure out exactly how to put myself out of misery... unfortunately the windows in the office won't open... any suggestions?

http://209.157.64.201/focus/f-news/2092375/posts

223: use a chair to break the window.

what is up with the Arizona vote?

When will all of you pussified idiots quit panicking over something that couldn't matter any less and start talking about something important: Oklahoma or Alabama? I mean, Alabama did go down to Athens and beat the crap out of a Georgia team that was supposed to be great this year (although that's disputable), but Oklahoma has killed everybody they've seen behind Bradford and a great offensive line. I think the real controversy will be when one of the two of them falls in conference play (the SEC and Big 12 are both great this year), and someone like USC or (gasp!) BYU sneaks into the title game.

This is what happens when the president cries wolf about WMDs in Iraq.

"Must act now, take unprecedented action, give the administration tons of power, don't ask questions, dire consequences, trust me"

Congress got skeptical this time, with good reason. We'll see if they are right.

Did you see that everybody? MysTTTal did an in-post update! He looked at money.cnn.com or finance.yahoo.com and instead of cutting and pasting, he retyped. Who's our Big Boy?!

enjoy Obama conservatards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPSDnGMzIdo

Let's get to the root of the problem:

1. Democrats promise "housing for everybody" and got voted into office based on this "promise"

2. Once in office, they pressured mortgage companies to liberalize their mortgage criteria, passing laws to further their purpose.

3. They pressured freddie mac and fannie mae to liberalize their criteria and buy loans from lenders that were very risky.

4. This risky business spread through the whole mortgage industry.

5. Lots of people "got housing" they couldn't afford by putting 0 money down, and having a mortgage payment of 70-80% of their income.

6. Their bad decision to purchase properties beyond their means was clapped and applauded by the Democrats, as they pointed to the massive "increase in home ownership" as a reason to PROVE that the Democrats really CARE about people. The truth is, they care about getting votes, nothing more.

7. People with no savings (read, they can't manage their finances) were in houses for the first time, with no emergency fund, no ability to save money, no ability to survive the normal monetary setbacks in life.

8. Mortgage companies, enticed by the democrat's promise of "fannie mae and freddie mac" insuring (read - BUYING) these high risk loans, were pushed into making high risk loans.

9. These high risk loans were overvalued by the entire industry, due to the "promise" that the government would insure/purchase the ones that failed.

10. The fiscally irresponsible "home owners" ran into financial trouble - their cars broke down, they had to buy a new car, or some other "expenditure" that they had to make, - so they couldn't make their mortgage payments. They went into foreclosure and lost the house with the 3 extra rooms they didn't need, with the view downtown, with the really nice granite countertops.

11. The lenders had already sold their mortgages to fannie, freddie, or investment banks, so they didn't really run into large troubles, unless they were so ignorant to retain their high risk loans.

12. many of the Investment banks, fannie, freddie, and others who bought the mortgages (mortgage backed securities), started to run into financial trouble because they didn't actually check to see if the underlying financials of the securities made sense.

13. Investors who bought shares in the Ibanks and other investors in the mortgage backed securities started to lose money.

14. The democrats realized that their prized voters are in foreclosure, that they lost a lot of their OWN money invested in the Ibanks, so what do they do? STEAL $700 BILLION FROM WORKING TAXPAYERS to: 1. payoff the mortgages of their prized poor voters (read the proposed law - they can make 'principal reductions' to the mortgages, 2. give money to the Ibanks so that their investments go back up and their friends stay employed.

Why no congressional investigation into the risky mortgage policy?

The only "liquidity" crisis is the salivation of politicans greedily stealing $700 billion from their tax payers, all with the pretext of "saving America."

Let those who made bad decisions take responsibility for their actions: People will live after losing their first house they couldn't afford, Congressmen who lost money in Ibanks will vote to increase their salaries again next year, and companies will still be able to get credit: It will just require the lender to actually READ their financials before giving them credit.

What does all of this mean?

More jobs for lawyers

Who to blame?
the Democratically controlled Congress that has spent more taxpayer money during the past 8 years than it has ever spent in 8 years.

Vote for your congressman accordingly.

Every second spent trying to assign blame is a second that could be used to look for an alternate solution (or to find a way to get the current bill through the house).

Two things need to happen as soon as possible:

1. the FDIC needs to raise the amount of money insured at each bank to $250,000. This is a symbolic gesture that should help prevent people from withdrawing their savings and keeping it their respective Knight Rider lunch boxes.
2. the government (including mccain and obama) have to drop this inane wall street/main street distinction. This should be easy, assuming people don't like (a) losing their jobs; (b) assuming they have a job, receiving a paycheck that fails to clear; or (c) watching their (and their parents) 401(k) drop 10% a day.

Just a pathetic job by Washington. These clowns have no idea what they're doing.

232 = A55 C10WN

232 = exactly right

232 is almost exactly right. However its post shows the problem in this country at the moment. How can this possibly be the democrats fault entirely? Before I counter that, I am an independent, and I think both parties and the President's cabinet are to blame. But why must one "side" feel the need to blame the other side. 232 pointed out a number of real problems, and then ruins a valid post with partisan rubbish.

The Democrats have only had Congress (both house and Senate) since January 2007. This mess started to hit the residential area in summer 2006, ramping up April 2007. Commercial shut down August 2007. There has beena Republican President since January 2001, and Republican Congress (always the house, majority of the time the senate also) since January 1995. For 6 glorious years the Republicans had Congress, President and Supreme Court. Anything they wanted to get done could be done. Both parties are to blame, but I would like anyone who thinks it is only the democrats to explain what happened during those 6 years?

232 - it's awesome that you lack an understanding of the last few years. Democrats were not in the majority for much of it, but thanks for letting us all know that they are behind it all.

Die.

I'm sick of watching hearing CNBC pundits say, "While the people calling into their representatives place all blame on Wall Street, we have to remember, we as citizens are to blame as well for taking out these risky loans."
Listen motherfuckers - a very small subset (<10%) of a subset (the propertied class) of the American people took out these loans.

Generally amusing to see so many - here and everywhere else - pundits, politicians, folks on "Main Street" - speak so stridently and authoritatively about crap that they know almost nothing about.

I dont mean to suggest that there arent many folks making intelligent points, but a little humility in the face of such an enormous and complex issue would inspire some confidence.

Instead, its pretty much a steady stream of hubris.

Btw, the FDIC to 250K does nothing but provide an outlet for more people to withdraw their money from the market and further a drop. Also, there are concerns already as to whether the FDIC has sufficient funds to cover another large failure without a further injection of funds. Raising the insurance coverage to 250K would only make that problem worst.

The problem is the lack of cheap credit not credit overall. Also, it is interesting because the principals who are controlling the flow of credits are the parties most likely to benefit from this legislation. This legislation has created an incentive for banks to hold back their lending.

Your jobs are all going to Mongolia.

Sen. Gordon Smith wants tax breaks for wooden arrows in the bailout bill.

SEC. 503. EXEMPTION FROM EXCISE TAX FOR CERTAIN
21 WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY
22 CHILDREN.
23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 4161(b)
24 is amended by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub