Elizabeth Warren

More and more people are calling for Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, to resign from the Board of the New York Federal Reserve. more »

More »»

Most Americans, the 99 percent, feel the pressure of indebtedness. When they owe a friend a buck, their conscience bothers them until they’re square. They pay their bills, working second jobs if necessary. They meet mortgage obligations even when underwater.

That’s why there was a deficit Super Committee. Americans don’t like debt, including bills owed by their government. more »

More »»

While hosting The Young Turks this week we covered the latest interrogation of Elizabeth Warren by House Republicans, who are determined to make sure that she -- and the bureau charged with protecting consumer from bank ripoffs - are discredited.  

The headline for this piece should be "Elizabeth Warren Listens to Ludicrous Republican StatementsWhile Maintaining Straight Face."  It was really impressive of her to maintain her composure as long as she did, and we couldn't help picturing a thought balloon above her head as she half-suppressed a smile.  

Here's the video of her Capitol Hill appearance, along with our introduction and commentary:

more »

More »»

"Money doesn't talk," sang Bob Dylan, "it swears." Rep. Patrick McHenry gave the week's most famous seventy year old a dark birthday gift on Tuesday by proving that those lyrics still ring true after nearly half a century.

McHenry's savage attack on Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was an obscenity by any definition except the FCC's, an assault on human decency which proves once again that Wall Street's Capitol Hill goon squad is prepared to discard decency at a moment's notice to serve its masters.

One of the best ways to understand events like today's hearing is by looking at the actors involved, and today's case study is Patrick McHenry, Republican from North Carolina.He may have disgraced himself before the voters today, but look on the bright side: Rep. McHenry is now Wall Street's "Employee of the Month."

McHenry, like other Republicans before him, is just the latest symbol of a party that's stopped pretending that its actions are motivated by anything except a desire to serve Wall Street and other large corporate interests. more »

More »»

It's clear Elizabeth Warren is the most qualified person to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But no one is arguing otherwise. Republicans aren't saying that she isn't qualified or capable. No, the opposition to her comes from the exact opposite position: Republicans oppose Elizabeth Warren because she is too good at her job. And that has them (and the big lenders they represent) running scared.

More »»

A group of Democratic representatives has joined consumer groups- along more »

More »»

The post-bin Laden afterglow is fading. Those video clips of his home movies seem like scenes from a reality show, not glimpses of an Existential Threat. It's the master terrorist as an addled Ozzy Osbourne, minus the Beverly Hills couturiers and groomers. And while a few people might wait for bin Laden to sing Ozzy's "Iron Man" -- "Nobody wants him/he just stares at the world, planning his vengeance" -- our attention-deficit nation is getting ready to move on.

Significantly, while the President's overall approval rating jumped 11 percent after the killing, his economic approval fell and reached a new low: Only 34 percent approved of his handling of the economy, while 55 percent disapproved.

People were happy to see 9/11 avenged, but there's another lesson in that 11% boost, too: The public wants its President to be clear-eyed, resolute, and able to make tough decisions under pressure. We know now that the President can be (and just as importantly, can appear to be) as steely-eyed and decisive as the best of them.

More »»

Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy in 2009 with the support of the special-interest backed Tea Party movement, and large campaign contributions from the banking and financial sector. more »

More »»

As the debate heats up over Elizabeth Warren to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I took a step out on my own. I got a divorce. I am no longer a wholly owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank. more »

More »»

The bankers are endangering innocent people, their pals are roughing up the law, and the people who should be helping out are sitting on the sidelines doing nothing You can almost hear Tex Ritter singing "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin'," the theme song from High Noon.

You remember High Noon. That's the movie where Gary Cooper plays Will Kane, a retired gunslinger who can't find anybody to help him defend the town from a dangerous gang. In fact, the townspeople give him almost as much trouble as the gang does.

The financial system has its own sheriffs, and bankers behaved like an unruly mob with one of them this week. Meanwhile Democrats were characteristically diffident and Republicans formed a stone-throwing mob of their own.

Red Lights Everywhere

The lawmen - both women, in this case - were being baited, taunted, and thwarted at a time when the economy's dashboard is flashing red with warning signs. A lot of people think Wall Street banks are healthy again because it's making a lot of money. But they were making lots of money right before the last crash, too.

More »»