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BANKS: Deposits Guaranteed … Through the great banking houses of Manhattan last week ran wild-eyed alarm. Big bankers stared at one another in anger and astonishment. A bill just passed by both houses of Congress would rivet upon their institutions what they considered a monstrous system of guaranteeing bank deposits.
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Remarks by the President on Wall Street Reform Cooper Union, New York, New York — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Everybody, please have a seat. Thank you very much. Well, thank you. It is good to be back. (Applause.) It is good to be back in New York, it is good to be back in the Great Hall at Cooper Union.

Obama Issues Sharp Call for Reforms on Wall Street — WASHINGTON - President Obama is traveling to the shadow of Wall Street on Thursday to counter what he calls “the furious efforts of industry lobbyists” trying to weaken or kill new financial regulations that he says are needed to stave off a second Great Depression.


What would FDR do? — In 1936, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the podium at Madison Square Garden to deliver a message to his critics. “We [have] had to struggle with the old enemies of peace,” he said. “Business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

Obama on Wall Street: A vote for reform is a vote to stop bailouts
Discussion:
CNN

President Obama's ‘TARP Forever’ Act
Discussion:
Economix, NY Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, The Note, USA Today, Newshoggers.com and The Reaction

VIDEO: The GOP's Solution To Everything — Let's ‘Start Over’
Discussion:
Grasping Reality …


Reid moves forward with reform vote — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he will not wait for Democrats and Republicans to reach a bipartisan compromise on a Wall Street reform bill, pledging to move ahead with the first key test vote Monday.
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In WH meeting, 'Only two of the elected officials in the room …
Discussion:
Hot Air

‘South Park’ Episode Is Altered After Muslim Group's Warning — A message posted on SouthParkStudios.com, the Web site of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's production company. — 8:56 a.m. | Updated — An episode of “South Park” that continued a story line involving the Prophet Muhammad …
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Exclusive: WellPoint routinely targets breast cancer patients — (Reuters) - One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled. First there was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles.
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Poll: Obama gets thumbs down on Israel — One third of Americans approve of how President Obama is handling the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a new poll. — Washington (CNN) - Only a third of Americans approve of the way President Obama's handling …
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Internal RNC probe finds financial controls in disarray — Barely 6 1/2 months before the midterm elections, an internal investigation by the Republican National Committee has revealed that the organization is beset with questionable financial management and oversight and is spending …
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Michael Steele Acknowledges GOP Had “Southern Strategy” For Decades
Discussion:
GayPatriot, Right Now, Wonkette, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Washington Monthly, Liveshots and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!


Obama suggests value-added tax may be an option — WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that a new value-added tax on Americans is still on the table, seeming to show more openness to the idea than his aides have expressed in recent days.
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Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey — The bridge spanning the Delaware River connects New Jersey's capital with this town where the nation's most interesting governor occasionally eats lunch at Cafe Antonio. It also connects New Jersey's government with reality.
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The tea party's exaggerated importance — 2009 was the year when many journalists concluded they were slow to recognize the anti-government, anti-Obama rage that gave birth to the tea party movement. — 2010 is the year when news organizations have decided to prove they get it. — And get it.

Blankfein: Suit Against Goldman Will “Hurt America” — An interesting disconnect exists between Goldman's public posture on the SEC's suit against it over its Abacus 2007 AC1 deal and its private remarks. The firm has maintained that the charges are baseless and politically motivated …
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Goldman's White House connections raise eyebrows
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Note, Bloomberg, The Politico, Hot Air, Political Punch and New York Times

Conservative Radio Silence On Financial Regulation — Yesterday I commented on the miraculous nature of the sudden revival of financial reform. One other key element in this upsurge is the intellectual disarray on the right. Conservatives do not know what to say or think about this.


4/22: Making Change with the 50 Dollar Bill — A Republican congressman from North Carolina has proposed legislation that would replace the image of President Ulysses S. Grant on the fifty dollar bill with that of President Ronald Reagan. Do Americans want this change to occur?


'I've gone from being Churchill to a Nazi in a week': Clegg defends attack on Britain's ‘delusions of grandeur’ over WWII — A rattled Nick Clegg today sought to defend himself over his claim that the British people have a ‘more insidious cross to bear’ than Germany over World War II.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Guardian, Telegraph, Weekly Standard, thetorydiary, Swampland, Iain Dale's Diary, MyDD and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Millions face tax increases under Dems budget plan — WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate promise to cut the deficit by almost two-thirds over the next five years, but their budget plan could threaten about 30 million people with tax increases averaging $3,700 …


In Pa. House race, identity politics with a twist — It's happened so often that it's now a cultural cliche: the gay politician pretending to be straight. In most parts of the nation, homosexuality or bisexuality is a clear electoral liability. — Not in Center City's 182d state House district.