House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was reported to have used an expletive to describe Barack Obama.

Note:  John

This was reported on the Washington Times website and I would have posted the link, but they pulled it because the link has since disappeared.

Here's what's left:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/01/house-gop-leader-uses-expletive-to-describe-oba-1/

Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, citing concerns about the Justice Department’ouse Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, citing concerns about the Justice Department’s  oHouse Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, citing concerns about the Justice Department’s  use Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, citing concerns about the Justice Department’s House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, citing concerns about the Justice Department’s 

Friday 10-31-08

715, 830, 507, 158, 318, 093, 480, 690, 078

570, 205, 398, 752, 180, 106, 498, 000, 555

827, 837, 857, 8696, 8698, 8699

  

Never Have So Few

Taken So Much From

So Many For So Long

Exxon, Shell Profits Rise More Than Estimated on Record Prices 

By Joe Carroll and Fred Pals

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) --  Exxon Mobil Corp.  and  Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world's biggest oil companies, posted gains in third-quarter earnings after crude's surge to an all-time high made up for slumping production.

Exxon Mobil  netted $14.8 billion, up 58 percent from a year earlier, according to a statement today by the Irving, Texas- based company. Profit excluding one-time costs and gains was the highest ever for a U.S. corporation. Shell, based in the Hague, said its net income rose 22 percent to $8.45 billion. Both companies exceeded analyst earnings estimates.

Oil futures in New York averaged more than $118 a barrel, up 57 percent from a year earlier, the biggest third-quarter increase on record. After reaching a high-water mark above $147 a barrel in July, oil tumbled $80 as growth in fuel demand slowed to the lowest rate in 15 years.

``I think we're going to see obviously the peak here, and then the fourth quarter will be significantly lower unless things turn around fast,'' said Matti Teittinen, an analyst with IHS Herold in Boston.

Exxon Mobil fell $2.09, or 2.8 percent, to $72.56 at 10:45 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, sliding along with oil futures. The  stock  has dropped 23 percent this year, heading for its worst decline since 1974.  Shell's  Class A shares in London fell 68 pence, or 4 percent, to 1,637 pence.

Exxon Mobil's per-share profit excluding such items as a gain on a pipeline sale was $2.59, 18 cents higher than the average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Shell's profit excluding such items as gains from inventories was $8.04 billion, 9.1 percent higher than the average of 7 analyst  estimates  compiled by Bloomberg.

Ike and Gustav

``The oil majors are coming all above expectations, which means they have resilient qualities,'' said Jason Kenney, an analyst at ING Wholesale Banking in Edinburgh. ``They show the benefit of being an integrated company, and they have the flexibility to weather the storm.''

Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which struck the U.S. Gulf Coast last month, may have contributed to the positive surprises by leading to wider profit margins on refined fuels, said Philip Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research in New York.

``The hurricanes knocked out some operations and that really benefited the spreads for anyone who still had production up and running,'' Weiss said.

Exxon Mobil's  refineries  earned $3 billion in the quarter, a 51 percent increase from a year earlier. Shell's profit from refining jumped 40 percent to $2.3 billion as diesel prices in Europe rose 17 percent to a record.

Production Drops

Profits from oil and gas sales surged even as production slid. Exxon Mobil's output fell 8.2 percent, the most since at least 1997, to the equivalent of 3.6 million barrels of oil a day, the lowest since Exxon Corp. bought Mobil Corp. in 1999.

Shell's  production  fell 6.6 percent and dropped to below 3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day for the first time in more than a decade.

London-based BP Plc said earlier this week that its net income rose 83 percent to $8.05 billion, exceeding analyst estimates.  Chevron Corp., Exxon's biggest U.S. rival, is scheduled to report earnings tomorrow.

Houston-based  ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, said last week that its profit jumped 41 percent to $5.19 billion.

Marathon Oil Corp., the No. 4 U.S. oil company, said today that its third-quarter profit doubled, partly on a gain in the value of contracts that lock in crude prices paid by its refineries. Marathon said its board approved two deepwater projects in the Gulf of Mexico that will cost $1.6 billion.

Shell said it's delaying a decision on its Athabasca oil- sands project in Alberta because of rising costs.

Exxon Mobil  will maintain annual capital budgets of about $25 billion through 2012, regardless of changes in oil prices, Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson told reporters Oct. 20 at an industry meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Last Updated: October 30, 2008 10:54 EDT

Delta buys Northwest to create biggest airline

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines swallowed rival Northwest Airlines Inc on Wednesday in a $2.6 billion merger that created the world's biggest airline and prompted new speculation about further industry consolidation.

The all-stock transaction, the first domestic airline combination in three years, closed after clearing its biggest and last regulatory hurdle earlier in the day -- U.S. Justice Department antitrust review.

Justice officials cited the likelihood of "substantial and credible efficiencies" without harming consumers or competition.

Government approval was expected. Industry vigorously made the case to regulators earlier this year, when airline finances were rockier than they are now, that consolidation was an important tool for remaining viable with fuel prices high and the economy worsening.

"The airline industry faces a very difficult economic environment around the world and this merger gives Delta increased flexibility to adapt to the economic challenges ahead," said Richard Anderson, the Delta chief executive who will head the combined entity.

The new, larger Delta will be an international powerhouse with unparalleled scheduling and pricing strength with service to 375 cities worldwide, experts said. The company estimates a combined $2 billion in cost savings and revenue enhancements annually.

An ambitious plan is to link the long-established strength of Northwest in Asia with Delta's expanding overseas network, and leverage benefits from the transatlantic SkyTeam alliance that includes AirFrance/KLM.

"There are global corporations but no global airlines. The race to become the first truly global airline has an incredible reward to it," said consultant Darryl Jenkins. "The revenue potential is something that we have not seen yet. That's the synergy that will make this very lucrative."

Jenkins and other experts said the deal's potential may reignite merger fever, which burned this year until fuel prices started their dramatic rise this summer to record heights and prompted sharp airline cost cutting.

Doug Parker, chief executive of US Airways Group and a long-time proponent of consolidation, said last week that he still believes mergers are right for the industry. US Airways failed last year in its bid for Delta.

Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl said that economic wild cards could impede consolidation. A credit crunch and fuel price volatility must diminish before airlines can explore mergers, he said.

"Down the road, there will be more consolidation or attempts," Neidl said.

INTEGRATING OPERATIONS

Northwest's history dates to 1926 and its common stock first traded in 1941. But the company now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta until the two fully integrate their operations. That process is expected to take up to two years and cost no more than $600 million.

Integration can be tricky. For instance, US Airways Group Inc has yet to fully combine its work force after merging with America West in 2005.

Delta said customers should continue to check-in and do business directly with the airline operating their flights just as they did before the merger.

For the time being, the carriers will maintain separate web sites as well as two reservation systems and loyalty programs.

The new company will retain the Delta brand and be headquartered in Atlanta, where Delta is based. The new Delta begins operations with 75,000 employees.

In the coming days, Delta will distribute an equity stake to substantially all U.S.-based employees with international employees participating through cash payments in lieu of stock. The pilots' unions of both airlines have agreed to a unified contract but still must negotiate a seniority arrangement, a detail that almost derailed merger prospects earlier this year.

The new Delta has said no frontline employees will be involuntarily furloughed as a result of the merger and that no hubs will be closed. The old Delta's strength was in the South while Northwest operations are based in the northern cities of Minneapolis and Detroit.

As approved by shareholders at both companies earlier this year, Northwest stockholders will receive 1.25 Delta shares for each Northwest share they own. Based on Delta's closing stock price on Wednesday, this exchange ratio is the equivalent of $9.99 per Northwest common share.

Delta shares closed down 2.1 percent at $7.99 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, while Northwest finished 0.6 percent higher at $9.90.

Government approval of the deal comes as airline finances begin to improve with fuel prices falling sharply off record highs. But carriers are now cutting back service to save money as travel demand softens due to economic weakness.

Northwest posted a $317 million third-quarter loss due to writedowns on its fuel hedging. Without the adjustment, the company earned $93 million and beat Wall Street share price estimates. Delta's third-quarter loss was $50 million.

(Additional reporting by Diane Bartz, Randall Mikkelsen and Kyle Peterson in Chicago; Editing by Gary Hill)

American Express to cut 7,000 jobs, save $1.8 billion

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Express said on Thursday that it would cut 7,000 jobs, lower compensations, reduce operating costs and scale back investments to save $1.8 billion in 2009 as it struggles with the worst financial crisis in decades.

Shares of the company were up 2.7 percent at $15.90 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade.

The company will take a restructuring charge of $370 million to $440 million pretax, or $240 million to $290 million after taxes, in the fourth quarter.

"The charge is primarily associated with severance and other costs related to the elimination of approximately 7,000 jobs or about 10 percent of the Company's worldwide workforce," American Express said in a statement.

American Express posted lower earnings for the third quarter as it set aside more money to cover growing losses in its credit card business.

(Reporting by Juan Lagorio; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Thursday 10-30-08

296, 601, 897, 498, 285, 673, 858, 421, 279

711, 007, 718, 725, 443, 168, 611, 779, 390

4801, 5903, 5048, 4490

Midday & Evening

** until 10-31-08 **

8690, 8691, 8692, 8693, 8694, 8695, 8696, 8697, 8698, 8699

4490, 4491, 4492, 4493, 4494, 4495, 4496, 4497, 4498, 4499

3680, 3681, 3682, 3683, 3684, 3685, 3686, 3687, 3688, 3689

3880, 3881, 3882, 3883, 3884, 3885, 3886, 3887, 3888, 3889

5700, 5701, 5702, 5703, 5704, 5705, 5706, 5707, 5708, 5709

6900, 6901, 6902, 6903, 6904, 6905, 6906, 6907, 6908, 6909

  

Midday & Evening

** until 10-30-08 **

160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169

270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279

380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389

Wednesday 10-29-08

910, 264, 347, 368, 286, 693, 676, 769, 9156

64X, 000, 8933, 2048, 1295, 1478, 3684, 3887

8694, 2449, 7777, 5555, 8888

Palin wardrobe controversy heightens - Todd is a cheapo!

By Jimmy Orr  |  10.26.08

No one is calling Todd Palin cheap or anything, but Todd…. 35 bucks for a wedding ring?

Sarah Palin threw her husband under the bus today and emboldened cheap husbands and boyfriends everywhere by announcing her wedding ring cost $35.  Note that there are no commas in that figure.  Those two numbers stand together.  A three followed by a five.  Then a period.  35 bucks.

On top of this, she announced that Todd didn’t even buy it.  She bought it herself.  Maybe this is why the  Anchorage Daily News endorsed  Barack Obama today.

Financial advice

Are the poll numbers this bad that she is doling out personal financial advice hoping to get a gig on CNBC?

No, she was just bringing up an issue that her campaign doesn’t like the media to cover.  The wardrobe issue.

Ever since Politico’s report that the Republican National Committee doled out $150,000 for Palin’s clothes and accessories, it’s been a big topic on the campaign trail.   Every wardrobe malfunction joke thought to have been dead and buried since the 2004  Super Bowl has regretfully come back to life.

Palin’s view

Today, campaigning with The View co-host  Joy Behar  Elisabeth Hasselbeck in Tampa, the topic of clothes was again addressed.  First by Hasselbeck.

The morning talk show star tore into the media, alleging that reporters would prefer not to cover Palin’s record in Alaska, her credentials in energy policy, or her role in negotiating a $40 billion natural- gas line deal in Alaska.

To a chorus of boos, Hasselbeck said the media is “fixated on her wardrobe” instead.

“Let me tell you this is deliberately sexist,” Hasselbeck said, before discussing the part of Palin’s wardrobe she believes the media should focus on.

“I’m most impressed by her accessories, you know, like the flag pin she wears in honor of her son and our military — men and women — fighting abroad.  And they fight for our every right to be here today,” she added.

Where I shop

Palin told the crowd when deciding what to wear this morning that she grabbed “her own jacket,” emphasizing it was  hers.   Then she thanked Hasselbeck for bringing the issue up as it gave her the opportunity to discuss it “without the filter of the media.”

“Those clothes - they are not my property,” she explained.  “Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else the RNC purchases.  I’m not taking them with me.”

Her clothes

The clothes she was wearing came from her “favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska” Palin announced.

Then she took husband Todd and turned him into a goat in less than 10 seconds.

“My wedding ring, it’s in Todd’s pocket cause it hurts sometimes when I shake hands and it gets squished,” Palin told a crowd in Tampa, Florida. “A $35 wedding ring from Hawaii that I bought myself …’cause I always thought with my ring, it’s not what it’s made of, it’s what it represents and 20 years later, happy to wear it.”

There would be few who would argue that it’s not the ring, it’s what the ring symbolizes.  And after 20 years of marriage, who can argue with her.

But over the course of those 20 years, perhaps an upgrade is in order?  Come on Todd…

FOXNews.com

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Posted on Tue, Oct. 28, 2008 U.S. health insurance costing $5,800 a year? McCain's proposal for U.S. families is deeply troubling.   Uwe E. Reinhardt > is a health-care economist > and a professor at Princeton > As a longtime health economist, I almost fell out of my chair when, during the third presidential debate, Sen. John McCain told the audience that "the average cost of a health insurance policy in America today is $5,800." > He continued: "I'll give them [families] $5,000 to take with them wherever they want to go, and this will give them affordability." He seemed to suggest that the average American family could get adequate health insurance for an additional $800 a year. > Try calling up one or more health-insurance companies in your area. Pretend you are part of a family of four without health insurance. Throw in that one of the adults has diabetes, or had a bout with cancer. Then see what kind of health insurance policy - if any - you can get for $5,800 a year. > According to a highly respected annual survey of employer-sponsored health insurance in America, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Heath Research Educational Trust, the average annual premium for the type of insurance employers provide is $12,600. > That includes the employer's and employee's contributions to the premium, but not the family's out-of-pocket costs, which have been rising steadily in recent years. According to the Milliman Medical Index, based on millions of privately insured Americans, average medical costs for the typical American family when out-of-pocket spending is included are $15,600. > What kind of coverage, then, could an annual premium of $5,800 get you, even if your whole family were healthy? And what if one or more members had a chronic illness, or had had a bout with cancer? > Sure, an insurer might get the premium down to $5,800 by excluding enough services from coverage (for example, maternity and mental-health care), strictly limiting various types of spending (such as prescription drugs), and imposing a deductible in the thousands upfront and significant co-insurance thereafter. But what kind of insurance would that be? > Most likely, it would be "un-surance." Once seriously ill, you would quickly find yourself paying a lot of money out of pocket. > I am deeply troubled that McCain appears to believe that a mere $5,800 can buy American families the protection they need against the costs of illness - especially as our economy moves into what may be a deep, prolonged recession, and as more and more Americans are laid off from work. > If you are uninsured or fear that you might lose your coverage, go to the candidates' Web sites and carefully check out what they say about their health-insurance proposals. Leave aside any ideological baggage and clichés, such as  socialized medicine  - which Sen. Barack Obama's plan, based predominantly on government-subsidized private insurance, certainly is not. (Socialized medicine is something like the health system Americans reserve for their veterans.) > And then support the health plan that you believe protects your own family best.

What's the name of that guy....four-letter first name....five-letter, somewhat ethnic sounding last name starting with R, ending in a vowel ....a low character, yet the major presidential candidate hung with him a bit too much, causing critics to question his judgment? It'll come to me.... Yeah,  Rick Renzi,  that's it. You probably haven't heard the name because you've been so obsessed with Barack Obama's association with Tony Rezko, but here's the story: McCain named U.S. Rep. Renzi (R-Ariz.), a co-chair of his campaign in Arizona on Jan. 26, even though  rumors were swirling that he was corrupt  and it was  widely reported as early as April, 2007,  that  the FBI was investigating him (also see  "Land-swap plan causes trouble for Congressman-- Mr. Renzi offers field to mining companies, grand jury is active," from the Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2007). Then, well, let's go to the Swamp on Feb. 22 of this year:  A  26-page federal indictment  unsealed in Arizona this morning accuses Renzi and two former business partners of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government.... Talking Points Memo  summarized  the indictment crisply: Renzi is charged with doing everything he can as a congressman to strong-arm others into buying land from his buddy James Sandlin -- Sandlin then allegedly kicked back sizable chunks of cash back to Renzi in a series of complicated financial transactions (thus the money laundering charge). ...The indictment charges (also) Renzi with a conspiracy to "embezzle and misappropriate client premiums [from his insurance company] to fund his congressional campaign."   Renzi, who is awaiting trial, was quickly removed from a position of leadership in the McCain campaign, and yet how much howling have you heard about McCain palling around with allegedly corrupt pols?    April 8 Huff Po Irony alert:  McCain Once Physically Attacked Fellow Congressman (Renzi) March 8 "Carpetbagger Report" entry by Steve Benen:   The story gets worse for McCain’s buddy Rick Renzi Beyond Delay:   THE FULL REPORT ON REP. RICK RENZI (R-AZ) (.pdf)  Feb 26, Think Progress:  McCain: ‘It Doesn’t Matter’ If Indicted Congressman Renzi Is Still Part Of My Campaign Washington Post, Oct. 17: Renzi Claims Agents Tapped GOP Calls

 

****************************************************************************

On the same subject:

McCain has been staunchly loyal to his fellow Arizonian. After the FBI investigation into Renzi was first reported in October 2006, McCain vouched for Renzi’s “integrity” in a robo-call to Arizona voters:

This is Senator John McCain. I’m calling to urge you to support my friend, Representative Rick Renzi for Congress. Rick has represented the first district of Arizona with tenacity, honesty and integrity beyond reproach.

But despite his claim that “it doesn’t matter” if the indicted Renzi remains a part of his campaign, McCain hasn’t hesitated to call for scandal plagued public officials to resign. Just last year, McCain said that both Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down.