House may try to pass Senate health-care bill without voting on it By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, March 16, 2010

After laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate’s health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.
Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers "deem" the health-care bill to be passed.
The tactic — known as a "self-executing rule" or a "deem and pass" — has been commonly used, although never to pass legislation as momentous as the $875 billion health-care bill. It is one of three options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote, but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.
"It’s more insider and process-oriented than most people want to know," the speaker said in a roundtable discussion with bloggers Monday. "But I like it," she said, "because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill."
Republicans quickly condemned the strategy, framing it as an effort to avoid responsibility for passing the legislation, and some suggested that Pelosi’s plan would be unconstitutional.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
More…


Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs.


Another Record Month of Red Ink: Government Racked Up Record Monthly Deficit of $220 Billion in February.


Is There Gold in Fort Knox?


UK: Another Banking Crisis Looms


Five Lies about the American Economy- Reason


Gold Prices Rise in N.Y. on Demand for Alternative to Currency CIGA Eric

“Gold is a good spot to be parking your money for the time being,’ said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. “Gold has that flight-to-safety aspect to it. It’s going to hold its value.”
Demand for alternative to currency and flight-to-safety aspects to it. You don’t see that combined with gold to often in printed media. Keep this up and spin that labels gold holders as gold bugs (implied a little crazy and fanatic) get as many laughs as in the past. In the end, gold will go mainstream in terms of demand and general acceptance within the investment community.
Source: businessweek.com
More…


Thoughts For This Morning:
Do you think the present revelations about Lehman are plausible denial for having flushed it?
Do you really believe that Lehman was the only entity to play outside the rules?
Do you think Lehman was attending to all the details and ethics of finance when securitizing mortgages it bought?
Did your mortgage pass through Lehman’s hands?
Do you want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The criminals stay on the payroll, the victims get thrown out.

OTC derivatives are not a victimless crime.

Pink slips sent to thousands of Calif. teachers By ROBIN HINDERY, Associated Press Writer Monday, March 15, 2010

California’s budget crisis could cost nearly 22,000 teachers their jobs this year.
State school districts had issued 21,905 pink slips to teachers and other school employees by Monday, the legal deadline for districts to send preliminary layoff notices.
Not all the threatened layoffs will be carried out. The final tally depends on the state budget to be adopted for the coming fiscal year.
Last year, 60 percent of the 26,000 teachers who received pink slips ended up losing their jobs.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell expected this year’s actual job losses to be high, given the state’s persistent budget problems and the smaller pool of education stimulus money available from the federal government.
More…


Rich Chinese Channel US Tea Party in Tax Debate- Bloomberg


States Wait for Hand from Rich Uncle Sam- Wall Street Journal


Junk Bond Avalanche Looms for Credit Markets- NY Times


Pelosi Plans to Pass Health Care Bill w/o Vote- Fox News


China, Japan Sell More US Treasuries in Jan- Bloomberg


Moody's: US Debt Could Test AAA Rating- NY Times