DarkStar Spouts Off

GM Forced Restructuring

I forgot to mention that I agree with some people who are saying the government forcing GM to make the moves that it is now making, is really starting to look like a company undergoing bankruptcy restructuring without it legally filing for bankruptcy.

Government Money: Something To Think About

When farmers, colleges/universities, or non-profits receive government money, those entities cannot operate however they wish to operate. They must operate within the bounds set by the government since they receive government money.

So, although I agree that the president should not be able to fire the executive team of a publicly traded company, it falls in line with the current strings attached to government financing. So, again, why all of the fuss?

Here's My Thing...

Here's my thing, if GM accepted the money from the government, then as a major investor, the government gets to call some shots, no matter how distasteful it may be:

DETROIT – General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry.

The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama is to announce measures to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6 billion more.

Again, I have to make the comment about publicly traded companies. Shouldn't the board members of publicly traded companies, and the share holders of the companies, be the people who hold the officers of the companies accountable? And if they haven't done their jobs, and the officers go to a venture capitalist, and the VC holds the officers accountable, then what is the problem?

Family First

Family has to come first, because in the end, they are the people who should have your back.

It's been a rough 5 weeks but things are going to get back to normal as much as they can when a member of your family passes.The point of the "Black men get yourself checked out" has been the death of a family member which may have been prevented if regular checkups were done. The death of Mrs D.S. family member, however, was unexpected and, frankly, the work of evil.

But with the grace of God, both families will prevail and continue to live life.

I haven't been paying close attention to the news of the day but that will start to change now that things are going to "get back to normal." But what I have been paying attention to, I have a lot of thoughts about. That should come out in the next few days.

I Say, Get Yourself Checked Out

I don't get too personal on this blog, but I'll make an exception here. Mind stream follows...

A few weeks ago I posted that Black men need to get checked out.

A close cousin wasn't feeling well. After deciding which hospital was the best one to go to and when was the best time, he checked himself into a hospital thinking he was sick from a change in diet. When he checked himself in, his blood pressure was SKY high and the doctors worked to bring that down, which they did. However, he suffered some kidney damage from the VERY strong medicine they gave him.

He had blood in his urine and it turned out he had polyps on his colon. They removed the colon polyps and saw spots on his liver and they had to remove part of his kidney.

"Man, you know us Black men! We don't go to the doctor or get checked out!" That's why he told me when I first talked to him in the hospital. He said that in response to a doctor who said to him, "You're not in as good of shape as you thought you were."

It was said he had colon cancer and they gave him 6 months to live.

He died today (Friday), 4 weeks later, at home with his sister, mother, ex-wife, my daughter, and nurse around him, praying for him.

I had stayed the night because I got a call he wouldn't make it. I had to be there. This morning, I left to go home and wash up and then head back. After I got out of the shower, the call came saying he passed.

Grand total for services and burial? $9 - 10K when we are finished. A few of the family members are rallying around to pay funeral expenses.

My daughter works part-time in the hospital where he checked himself into. She's a transporter. She wheels people around. When he checked himself in, she was the one who took him to his room.

"Daddy. I don't understand. He came in feeling so-so, and now..."

His last day in the hospital, before he was released, he said, "If I knew I was this sick, I would have gotten checked out a long time ago."

Once at home, he was staying in his nephew's room and said he wanted his recliner chair from his house.

We got it.

Yesterday (Thursday) he left his room and got in the chair. Today (Friday) he died in the chair.

I think he left the room to die because he didn't want to die in his nephew's room.

I got checked out 2 weeks ago. I'm scheduling a colonostopy for the end of the week or the following week.

My cousins, who I track for health issues because we look so much alike and have shared mannerisms, have told me for years things to look out for, and I seem to be on their track.

High cholesterol? Check but I'm working on it.

I'm "in store" for high blood pressure even though I'm fine right now.

Again, Black men, get checked out.

Black Men: Get A Regular Physical

The title says it all.

"The story ends" but not really, because the story has yet to be finished.

It's been a rough few weeks.

MD Can't Get Slots, So Instead "We" Should Run A Race Track?

Maryland politicians screwed up slots legislation to the point where there were less bids than available slots locations. One slots location received no bids. Even with that, two bidders were thrown out because they didn't provide the required fee which they, the bidders, claimed wasn't guarenteed to be returned if they did not get slots bid.

It's a major mess.

So, even after that, politicians in Maryland are saying they may grab "The Preakness" name  and then run a horse racing track.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said today he would be open to holding a special session of the General Assembly if legislation is needed to ensure the Preakness Stakes stays in Maryland.

The lawmaker, a staunch supporter of horse racing, has been talking in recent days about the possibility of the state taking over the race in case its owner, the bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., seeks to sell the rights to an out-of-state buyer.

"It’s not only a matter of pride, it’s a matter of economic development," Miller said. "The question is do you want the Preakness run in Florida or California? Or even worse do you want the Preakness run in West Virginia or Delaware?"

Miller needs to be tested for crack. And Maryland politicians, as a group, suck.

Not Feeling Love

I'm trying to give it time, but I'm just not feeling love, like, or even slight confidence in the Obama administration.

Sen. Dodd throws the Obama administration under the bus concerning the bonus language he put in the bill:

In a dramatic reversal Wednesday, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., confessed to adding language to the stimulus bill last month that exempted all bonuses that bailed-out companies had promised to employees before Feb. 11, 2009. 

Dodd told FOX News that Treasury officials forced him to make the change.

"As many know, the administration was, among others, not happy with the language. They wanted some modifications to it," he said. "They came to us, our staff, and asked for changes, and the changes at the time did not seem that obnoxious or onerous."

The Obama administration backed down concerning a plan to force wounded vets to use private insurance:

President Obama, after an uproar by veterans groups, has scrapped a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service.

"In considering the third-party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday in a written statement. "However, the president listened to concerns raised by the [veteran service organizations] that this might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans' and their families' ability to access health care.

I don't understand why that idea would get the light of day in the first place. I just didn't understand it at all.

And maybe I missed it, but Cuba and Venezuela could base Russian bombers and what is the administration's response?

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian general said on Saturday Venezuela has offered the use of its La Orchila island airfield for Russian strategic bombers on long-range flights.

Russia has been keen to build relations with a rival to the United States in the Western hemisphere in an effort to counter U.S. influence in formerly Communist countries in eastern Europe and central Asia.

"If certain political decisions are taken, it is possible (for Russian bombers to use the base)," Interfax news agency quoted the head of Russian strategic aviation general-major Anatoly Zhikharev as saying.

Zhikharev also said Russian bombers would be prepared to use four or five airfields on Cuba if the political leadership of the two countries allowed the use of Cuban bases.

Huh?

And how many people have now withdrawn from consideration for the Secretary of Treasury position?

Vet Care:Explain This To Me

Someone please explain this to me.

WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, "This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ' to care for him who shall have borne the battle' given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans!"

This doesn't make sense to me. It makes no sense.

Why do this?

Contracts

If AIG bonus money has to be given because of contract law, how, then, can home mortgage companies be forced to change the terms of bad loans, in other words, break the contract?

If It Costs $5 to Make But Only Sells for $1, Why Make?

My question for the day is, if it takes $5.00 to make a gadget that, last month, was selling for $6.00, but this month is selling for $1.00 because of market forces, would YOU continue to make the gadget? I wouldn't. The same goes for oil exploration:

The number of oil and gas rigs deployed to tap new energy supplies across the country has plunged to less than 1,200 from 2,400 last summer, and energy executives say the drop is accelerating further.

Lower prices are bringing to an end an ambitious effort to squeeze more oil from aging fields and to tap new sources of natural gas. For the last four years, companies here drilled below airports, golf courses, churches and playgrounds in a frantic search for energy. They scoured the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, the Gulf of Mexico and Appalachia.

But the economic downturn has cut into demand. Global oil prices and American natural gas prices have plummeted two-thirds since last summer. Not even an unseasonably cold winter drove down unusually high inventories of natural gas.

The drop has been good news for American consumers, with gasoline now selling for $1.92 a gallon, on average, down from a high of $4.11 in July. But the result for companies is that it is becoming unprofitable to drill.

The reversal of fortune could have important implications for the future health of the nation’s energy companies, for consumer wallets and for national aspirations to rely less on foreign energy sources.

The drilling cutback has been particularly stark for natural gas. Gas exploration had soared in recent years after technology advances enabled the exploitation of gas trapped in huge shale beds found around Fort Worth, western Pennsylvania, upstate New York and elsewhere.

But that boom has created such abundant supplies that companies are not only drilling less but also deciding not to pump from wells already drilled.

That's why this isn't surprising to me. And if they kept exploring and drilling, costs would go down making it far more less profitable.

How Do We Get People To "Wrap IT Up"?

Someone PLEASE tell me how we get people who are just going to have sex without benefit of marriage or outside of marriage, to do what is necessary to "protect" themselves?!?!?!

ESPECIALLY BLACK PEOPLE as is, YET AGAIN, demonstrated with the HIV/AIDS rate, this time in Washington, D.C.

The first 3 paragraphs:

At least 3 percent of District residents have HIV or AIDS, a total that far surpasses the 1 percent threshold that constitutes a "generalized and severe" epidemic, according to a report scheduled to be released by health officials tomorrow.

That translates into 2,984 residents per every 100,000 over the age of 12 -- or 15,120 -- according to the 2008 epidemiology report by the District's HIV/AIDS office.

"Our rates are higher than West Africa," said Shannon L. Hader, director of the District's HIV/AIDS Administration, who once led the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in Zimbabwe. "They're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya."

OK, so that's the "hyperbole" to get people's attention to keep reading. So, now comes the "pc" component:

The District's report found a 22 percent increase in HIV and AIDS cases from the 12,428 reported at the end of 2006, touching every race and sex across population and neighborhoods, with an epidemic level in all but one of the eight wards.

But, then a little further down, comes the REAL DEAL:

More than 4 percent of blacks in the city are known to have HIV, along with almost 2 percent of Latinos and 1.4 percent of whites. More than three-quarters -- 76 percent -- of the HIV infected are black, 70 percent are men and 70 percent are age 40 and older.
Heterosexual sex was the principal mode of transmission for blacks with the disease, 33 percent. Men having sex with men was the chief mode of transmission for white residents, 78 percent; and Latinos, 49 percent. Black women represent more than a quarter of HIV cases in the District, and most, about 58 percent, were infected through heterosexual sex. About a quarter of black women were infected through drug use.

People know what's out there. The question is, WHY continue doing what will kill you?

Roland Martin: Dems Standing In School House Doorway

I've said before that the Congressional Democrats are standing in the school house doorway as did George Wallace, years ago.

Here is Roland Martin in his own words.

D.S. co-signs.

MD Politics Mini-Rant

Let me see if I understand this.

Martin O'Malley wins the governor's race. Comes into Annapolis and promptly spends down all of the "rainy day fund" with spending political initiatives and pay raises for his core team.

He then says Maryland needs slots to counteract a "structural deficit" that has come about because of political initiatives he put in place. If he, and the state assembly would have held spending to current levels, there would not have been a deficit. But be that as it may, the special session occurred and slots was put on the ballot and the voters of Maryland voted for it. Meanwhile in this special session, tax increases were also passed even though people were saying economic troubles are around the corner and it's best to cut spending, not raise taxes.

But they didn't listen and now the economic bust is here and all over the state, "revenue" is down because businesses are not making as much money, but mostly because home prices have gone through the floor.

So, there were dire statements made about cutting programs and laying people off. They did enact forced furloughs, however.

But WAIT!!!!!! The "stimulus package" is passed and O'Malley is grinning from ear to ear saying the stimulus money means no cuts or layoffs!!!

Then comes the failure to get bids to cover all of the slots locations. It appears gambling companies refused to bid because the state wanted too much of "the take" and they were actually using it as a funding source.

But WAIT!!!!!! It turns out, now, that the stimulus money won't be enough and their WILL have to be cuts!!! But, they increased spending, AGAIN....

Yeah, that makes a hell of a lot of sense.

Maryland politicians, as a group, stink. And this is a one party state!

I'm coming back to that last part later.

Suuuuuuuuure.......

Yep, suuuuuuuurrrreeeeeee......

The vice president of Baltimore's NAACP chapter said yesterday during a rally for taxicab drivers that his reputation has been damaged after police arrested him, claiming to have found drugs in his car.

Ellis L. Staten Jr., 44, was not charged with a crime, although officers said they recovered heroin and marijuana during a search of his vehicle Thursday near Pennsylvania Avenue and Dolphin Street.

Staten said he was targeted by police because of his work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which held an organizing meeting yesterday for city cabdrivers.

...

Staten said the drugs that police found belonged to a volunteer who was helping pass out fliers about the rally. Kevin Logan, 44, who was in the back seat of the car, was charged with two counts of drug possession.

But police said they found Staten in possession of Suboxone pills, or buprenorphine, which is prescribed to treat heroin addiction.

"They singled me out because I'm the one responsible for getting the cabdrivers together. No more perfect person to defame than the NAACP," Staten said.

Is it possible it was another person's stash?

Yes.

I want to know what "in possession" means. On his person or in his car. And if in his car, was it a bag owned by him or in the open under a seat, on the seat...

It doesn't look good.

Don't Buy An LG LCD Television

I brought a 32", LG LCD television from Circuit City.

After 1 1/2 months, I have good sound but no picture. This is a common problem from what I am reading.

It's number one in their television knowledge base FAQ.

Questions To Ask

When you read something like this:

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- More than 8.3 million U.S. mortgage holders owed more on their loans in the fourth quarter than their property was worth as the recession cut home values by $2.4 trillion last year, First American CoreLogic said.

An additional 2.2 million borrowers will be underwater if home prices decline another 5 percent, First American, a Santa Ana, California-based seller of mortgage and economic data, said in a report today. Households with negative equity or near it account for a quarter of all mortgage holders.

“We have way too much supply and not enough demand,” Sam Khater, senior economist for First American, said in an interview. “People aren’t going to purchase a home as long as prices keep falling, and someone who is worried about their job isn’t going to purchase a home either.

The questions to ask are this:

• Was the home purchased at the height of the housing boom? If so, tough luck.
• Is a re-financed mortgage with a "cash out" option the reason? "Cash out" options mean you get a lump sum of money out of the re-finance of the mortgage to spend as you wish. People use this option to fix up the home, buy cars, finance college, take vacations, pay bills, etc. If so, tough luck.

Micky D's and the Media Okie Doke

Look at the following situation. A woman wanted the merchandise she ordered and when the store worker told her they were out of stock, she requested her money back and the worker refused to return her money to her. She then called 9-1-1 to get her money back.

What's wrong with what she did?

Now, put it in the context of McDonald's with the merchandise being a McNugget, and the woman gets clowned.

McDonald's workers refused to return her money to her when they said they didn't have what she wanted. If she had eaten the food and then wanted her money back, it would be silly. But, effectively, they stole that woman's money.

Suppose you took something and refused to pay for it. They would call 9-1-1 in a heartbeat and you would be charged with theft or theft of services.

When I was younger, I got into such a similar dispute with a store and they would not return my money, I told THEM to call 911, and they did.

After the situation was explained to the policeman who responded, I was let go WITH my money.

People who are clowning this woman have been played. In my opinion, their actually the ones being clowned.

This Is Just Wrong

$40,000 A MONTH IN CHILD SUPPORT!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!

LOS ANGELES - Court records show Russell Simmons has agreed to pay $40,000 a month in child support.

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Marjorie Steinberg signed off on an agreement Thursday giving Kimora Lee Simmons sole custody of the couple's two daughters, 9-year-old Ming and 6-year-old Aoki. The couple's divorce was finalized in January. Kimora Lee Simmons filed for divorce in March 2008, citing irreconcilable differences.

DAMN!!!!

Go 34 Minutes Into It and Play

Go 34 minutes into it and play.

Then go 49 minutes into it and play.

Then go 1:45 into it and play.

Then go 2:39 into it and play. Hear what causes Michael Steele to rise to his feet can applaud.

Let's Talk Bias

I was flipping channels looking for something mindless to draw my mind off of recent events when I came upon "Right America. Feeling Wronged." I wasn't a backer of McCain, nor was I a backer of Obama, but this movie had my mouth wide open and wondering how much film was left on the floor to get what it got.

The movie, presented as a documentary, was produced by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She put the microphone and camera on people who attended McCain/Palin rallies and just let those people speak for themselves.

And, Lord, did they speak!

This was beyond the typical ignorance of Obama is a Muslim. This was straight up naked racism and a form of nationalism that should scare the crap out of anyone who ever said we should all just be Americans with no hyphenization. I mean, this crap of "real America" only being "fly over country" should be slapped down, instead of supported by, commentators on The Right. The idea that the East Coast and West Coast ain't "real America"?

Maryland may have Baltimore and the D.C. suburbs, but it also has the Eastern Shore and part of the Appalachin Range. And New York city is NOT "Real America"?

I haven't gone hunting around but I'm sure conservatives are livid over this movie. Well, I hope they remember any comments they make about misrepresentation by putting forth "the worst" to be representative of the majority when they are about to do that about Blacks. But that would be too much like right.

Standing In The School House Doorway, AGAIN

I have a post, date September 2, 2006, where I wrote:

It isn't a white man who is standing in the way of education, it is a Black Democrat.

I'll say this again: Black Democrat politicians in the state assembly of Maryland, don't give a damn about the education of Black students.

I touched up the picture of Wallace standing in the school door and put a Black face on it. I'm keeping the picture, but now the face represents not Black Democrat politicians in Maryland, but congressional Democrats who are going to kill the voucher program in Washington, D.C. because their masters the public education unions don't like the idea. Who cares if there are Black students have achieved under the program? Who cares if the Democrats know the students are going to be sentenced to put back into poor public schools?

As long as the masters are happy, the slaves don't matter.

Michael Steele Is A Punk

Michael Steele Is A Punk

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he has reached out to Rush Limbaugh to tell him he meant no offense when he referred to the popular conservative radio host as an “entertainer” whose show can be “incendiary.”

“My intent was not to go after Rush – I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh,” Steele said in a telephone interview. “I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. … There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership.”

The dust-up comes at a time when top Democrats are trying to make Limbaugh the face of the Republican Party, in part by using ads funded by labor. Americans United for Change sent a fund-raising e-mail Monday that begins: “The Republican Party has turned into the Rush Limbaugh Party.”

Steele told CNN host D.L. Hughley in an interview aired Saturday night: “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh — his whole thing is entertainment. He has this incendiary — yes, it's ugly.”

Steele, who won a hard-fought chairman's race on Jan. 30, told Politico he telephoned Limbaugh after his show on Monday afternoon and hoped that they would connect soon.

“I went back at that tape and I realized words that I said weren’t what I was thinking,” Steele said. "It was one of those things where I thinking I was saying one thing, and it came out differently. What I was trying to say was a lot of people … want to make Rush the scapegoat, the bogeyman, and he’s not."

“I’m not going to engage these guys and sit back and provide them the popcorn for a fight between me and Rush Limbaugh,” Steele added. “No such thing is going to happen. … I wasn’t trying to slam him or anything.”

Rest at link.

Say what you mean. Mean what you say.

Michael Steele is a punk.

Cheering For The Wrong Reason And An Example Of Outcome

Before I do what I need to do, I had to post a link to this:

In Baltimore, No One Left to Press The Police

Read the opinion article. It's about cut backs in the news room affecting proper oversight of public officials, this time focusing on the Baltimore City Police Department.

I've written before that I think the reason newspapers are hurting is NOT because of a liberal bias, as claimed by those "on the right," but because of:

1. The fast paced news cycle of CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, etc;
2. The Internet allows reading of newspapers on-line; and
3. The general decline in reading, in general, of the American population.

Meanwhile, those, mainly "on the right" about the demise of newspapers, really shouldn't crow because a lot of stories that would be covered, stories they would pick up to piggyback on slamming people they don't like, or stories that they would pick up as NOT being told correctly, won't be covered. Of course, the cynic -- realist? -- in me realizes many "on the right" are "law and order" types that seem to not mind police and prosecutorial abuse except when it involves white men of privilege like Rush Limbaugh getting outted for doctor shopping or the Duke Lacrosse players being railroaded by Nifong. But mention the cases like people released from jail after investigative work done by The Innocence Project...

[ NOTE ]

I'm busy dealing with things. There are posts that I've queued up to be published days in advance, but I won't be responding for awhile. So if you comment on something that requires a reply, I'll make it but it will take awhile.

More On Mortgages, Part II

I have a little bit of time, so I'm going to respond to comments put on some of the mortgage related posts.

erik5432 wrote:

Let’s get back to your original assertion that subprime mortgage were not the cause of the financial meltdown that the country is witnessing.

The financial meltdown started snowballing at the beginning of 2008 and early summer of 2008. Yet now you are providing figuring from October 2008 provided by Mortgage Bankers Association.

October 2008 is well after the CRA driven subprime mortgages starting causing havoc to the economy.

There are a few things with the comments:

Let’s get back to your original assertion that subprime mortgage were not the cause of the financial meltdown that the country is witnessing.

On September 18, 2008, I wrote this:

Don't fall for the "sub-prime caused the economic upheaval" okie-doke, ESPECIALLY the blame on the CRA.

Right now, 2% of mortgages that are in default are sub-prime loan mortgages.

...

I tend to think that 2% isn't the cause. I tend to think that 2% is just the very tip of the ice-berg. I tend to think the massive failures happening now is a result of the "bad stuff" that we are going to find out about later.

Note that I make a distinction between sub-prime loans and CRA loans. This distinction is born out in another post. I made the distinction because I know the two are not the same although people against the CRA placed them into the same bucket.

Let's go back to this fact: the majority of sub-prime loans were made by companies not under CRA regulations. For example, the first major company to fail was Countrywide Mortgage, which was not under the CRA regulations. I pointed to the CRA fact in this post:

More than half of subprime loans were made by independent mortgage companies not subject to comprehensive federal supervision; another 30 percent of such originations were made by affiliates of banks or thrifts, which are not subject to routine examination or supervision, and the remaining 20 percent were made by banks and thrifts

Above I emphasized the part of the comment where I said that I thought we were going to find out more about the "bad stuff" later. In December, I wrote a post that showed an exerpt from The Washington Post where they "investigated" what happened at AIG, or rather, AIG Financial Products.

The computer model was based on years of historical data about the ups and downs of corporate debt, essentially the bonds that corporations sell to finance their operations. As AIG's top executives and Tom Savage, the 48-year-old Financial Products president, understood the model's projections, the U.S. economy would have to disintegrate into a full-blown depression to trigger the succession of events that would require Financial Products to cover defaults.

If that happened, the holders of swaps would almost certainly be wiped out, so how could they even collect? Financial Products would receive millions of dollars in fees for taking on infinitesimal risk.

The firm's chief operating officer, Joseph Cassano, had studied the model and urged Savage to give the swaps a green light.

"The models suggested that the risk was so remote that the fees were almost free money," Savage said in a recent interview. "Just put it on your books and enjoy the money."

That's the "bad stuff." AIG assumed the housing market would not correct and they over-leveraged themselves, as did Bear Sterns.

More later when I really have more time.