Cuban's Insider Trading Charge: Payback For Anti-Bush Movie?

Wow, when I made the post below, I did not expect the Mark Cuban story to develop this quickly, bizarrely and intensely.

A person close to Mark Cuban, has told DealBook that an SEC employee had sent Cuban e-mails several times over the last year or so, accusing him of being unpatriotic. Cuban was today charged by the SEC with insider trading. The emails from the SEC employee raised concerns about Cuban’s involvement as producer of “Loose Change”, a documentary that accuses the Bush administration of engineering the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a pretext for the Iraq war.

The Cuban camp contends this semi-coherent email was sent by SEC employee Jeffrey Norris:

From: Norris, Jeffrey B.
Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 2:27 PM
To: Mark Cuban
Cc: Cox, Christopher

Subject: RE: “Lose Change”

I AM SHARING THIS WITH CHAIRMAN COX. NEITHER HE NOR THE COMMISSION ENDORSE MY OPINIONS, BUT IN LIGHT OF YOUR THREAT, I THOUGHT SHOULD SEND THIS TO HIM.

Mark:

If this upsets you, I wonder how George Bush feels. I assume that Mr. Cox would view your involvement with “Loose Change” much as I do. After all, he served his country as a Republican Congressman from Orange County for nearly 20 years and was appointed by President Bush. If you feel like sharing my thoughts with Chairman Cox, be my guest.

Previously, I thought you were merely foolish and naïve (sic). Now, however, I see that you are also a hypocrite. I guess your belief in free speech has severe limitations. If someone else is the victim of an absurd conspiracy theory, you defend your right to participate in smearing the good name of of a patriot like President Bush. But, when you are the subject of a parody of the attack you have endorsed, you suddenly issue threats.

I think I will e-mail this to Chairman Cox myself. I think he will enjoy it. I’m sure he is also a Laker (sic)fan.

Since Chairman Cox may not know the background, I will explain. Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and has participated in distributing the vicious and absurd documentary, “Loose Change,” which posits that President Bush planned the demolition of the World Trade Center as a pretext for going to war against Iraq. We have had some past exchanges about my opinion the Mr. Cuban’s support for this project is irresponsible and immoral. Below, I parodied his position that every opinion, no matter how absurd and vicious, deserves to be broadly disseminated.

Curiously, SEC chairman Christopher Cox recused himself from the commission vote on whether to bring charges against Cuban.

In a statement, an S.E.C. spokesman told DealBook that the insider-trading investigation was run out of the Commission’s Washington headquarters. Norris worked out of a regional office and had no role in or knowledge of the investigation. He was “referred for disciplinary action,” the spokesman said.

But, the regional SEC office turns out to be Fort Worth, TX and Norris is listed on numerous public court filings (See here, here and here) as a Senior Trial Counsel, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Fort Worth, TX Cuban lives next door in Dallas.

Bush Plans Summit of World Leaders Over Crisis

At the urging of French President Nicolas Sarkozy (His half-brother, Oliver Sarkozy, is a Managing Director and co-head of the Global Financial Services at The Carlyle Group), President Bush will plan to hold a summit of world leaders "to discuss the global response to the financial crisis and ideas to prevent such a crisis from recurring in the future and to preserve our free market system."

At this point in his administration, it is clear that Bush "preserving our free market system" is the equivalent of Hitler favoring national healthcare for Jews, just before shipping them to Auschwitz.

Sarkozy in particular has pressed for the economic summit to be held in New York City, where, he says, "everything started".

This should be quite the show.

The summit is likely to include the member states of the Group of Eight – the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Canada and Russia – as well some developing countries that haven't traditionally had a seat at the table, such as China, India, Brazil and South Korea. Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland and Australia also are being mentioned as possible invitees, according to WSJ.

Fact Checking "W"

Oliver Stone's movie about George W. Bush, "W", opens Friday. It is fact checked today by Rupert Murdoch's New York Post. Warning, the fact check could be considered a spoiler. You may want to save the link until after you see the movie. It's detailed and appears objective. You can find it here.

Blame The Current Mess On Ben Stein's Father?

Writes Chris Westley:

By demeanor, Herb Stein was a lovable and funny man, and very smart. (I worked a few steps from his office once, as a college intern.) But in terms of his professional contribution as Richard Nixon's chief economic advisor, Stein played the role of buffer between Nixon's desire to socialize and the market's desire to correct, and in the process he set the standard for many DC-based economists who advocated the bailout last week. The early 1970s were similar to today in that they followed years of political manipulation of the economy, leading to a major correction, which led to a crisis for the political class and the need to socialize in order to avoid it. In Stein's case, it was his reputation as an economist working behind the scenes that enabled Nixon to close the gold window and establish the dollar as a fiat currency and therefore enable the largest wealth redistributions in history. Stein's example reminds one of the full cost of public financing of intellectual activity. Let's add the bailout to this cost.

Westley also blames, among others, Milton Friedman, George W. Bush, Karl Marx and Barney Frank. His full list with thumbnail descriptions of their evil deeds is here.

Alert: Bush To Speak To Nation Tomorrow

Presdent George W. Bush will address the nation tomorrow to tell Americans they should remain ``confident'' amid falling stock markets and a worldwide credit crisis, administration spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The statement will be given at 10:25 a.m. ET, Perino said.

Transcript of Bush Statement on the Economy

President Bush just made brief comments at the White House on the economy. Here is a transcript of the remarks, provided by the White House.

10:15 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: The American people are concerned about the situation in our financial markets and our economy, and I share their concerns.

I've canceled my travel today to stay in Washington, where I will continue to closely monitor the situation in our financial markets and consult with my economic advisors. I spoke to Secretary Paulson this morning, and I will meet with him later on today.

In recent weeks, the federal government has taken extraordinary measures to address the challenges confronting our financial markets. We've taken control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- the home finance agencies -- to help promote market stability and to ensure they can continue to play a role in helping our housing market recover. This week, the Federal Reserve acted to prevent the disorderly failure of the insurance company AIG -- a development that could have caused a severe disruption in our financial markets and threatened other sectors of the economy. Yesterday, the Security and Exchange Commission took action to strengthen investor protections and step up its enforcement actions against illegal market manipulation. Last night, the Federal Reserve, in coordination with central banks around the world, took a substantial step to provide additional liquidity to the U.S. financial system.

These actions are necessary, and they're important. And the markets are adjusting to them. Our financial markets continue to deal with serious challenges. As our recent actions demonstrate, my administration is focused on meeting these challenges. The American people can be sure we will continue to act to strengthen and stabilize our financial markets and improve investor confidence.

Thank you.

Bush Cancels Trip Amid Financial Crisis

GW has canceled a political trip to Alabama and Florida.

"President Bush is canceling his planned travel to Alabama and Florida tomorrow, and will instead remain in Washington to continue to work with his economic advisers on the serious challenges confronting our financial markets," spokesman Tony Fratto said. "The health of our financial markets is critical to the nation's economy, and the president remains focused on taking action to stabilize and strengthen our markets and to restore investor confidence."

On Monday,Bush offered reassurances following last weekend's emergency actions, but U.S. equity markets plunged anyway.


-EPJ Newsdesk

Obama Might Pursue Criminal Charges Against Bush

Elna Schor reports for Guardian.co.uk:

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.

Biden's comments, first reported by ABC news, attracted little notice on a day dominated by the drama surrounding his Republican counterpart, Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

But his statements represent the Democrats' strongest vow so far this year to investigate alleged misdeeds committed during the Bush years.

"If there has been a basis upon which you can pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued," Biden said during a campaign event in Deerfield Beach, Florida, according to ABC.

"[N]ot out of vengeance, not out of retribution," he added, "out of the need to preserve the notion that no one, no attorney general, no president -- no one is above the law."

Crude Oil Soars on US Mischief With Russia

GW has found a new way to drive up the oil price. The war in Iraq and the threat of war with Iran are not enough. GW has decided to surround Russia. First by turning Georgia into a US proxy and then by placing a military defense shield in Poland.

The plan(?) is working.

Crude oil futures are above $120, again.

Crude for October delivery rose $5.64, or 4.9%, to $121.20 a barrel on its first full trading day on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

To understand the national psyche of Poland that would allow the US to plant a missile defense shield there, see Peter S. Rieth's important analysis,Oh, Me! Me! Shoot Me!: A Summary of Contemporary Polish Foreign Policy

Bob Woodward's New Book Is Out Sept. 8

"There has not been such an authoritative and intimate account of presidential decision making since the Nixon tapes and the Pentagon Papers," Woodward's longtime editor, Alice Mayhew, said Tuesday in a statement. "This is the declassification of what went on in secret, behind the scenes."

The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 will have a first printing of 900,000 copies.

The Washington Post, where Woodward currently serves as an associate editor, will run excerpts on Sept. 7. That night, Woodward will be interviewed on CBS television's "60 Minutes.

GW Looking To Cause Some Trouble

GW said this morning that the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia must remain part of Georgia.

Bush said in a speech at his ranch in Crawford, Texas that the two regions are "a part of Georgia," and "they will remain so."

"There is no room for debate on this matter," Bush added.

What the hell does this mean?

Are US troops going into Georgia to enforce this declaration?

Buchanan On Agitating The Bear

Pat Buchanan writes:

Bush, Cheney, and McCain have pushed to bring Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. This would require the United States to go to war with Russia over Stalin's birthplace and who has sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula and Sebastopol, traditional home of Russia's Black Sea fleet.

When did these become U.S. vital interests, justifying war with Russia?

The United States unilaterally abrogated the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty because our technology was superior, then planned to site anti-missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend against Iranian missiles,though Iran has no ICBMs and no atomic bombs. A Russian counter-offer to have us together put an antimissile system in Azerbaijan was rejected out of hand.

We built a Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey to cut Russia out. Then we helped dump over regimes friendly to Moscow with democratic "revolutions" in Ukraine and Georgia, and tried to repeat it in Belarus.

Read Bucahnan's complete commentary here.

Russia: Poland Risks Nuclear Attack

A top Russian general, Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia's missile force.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

Clearly, the United States is egging on Russia on many fronts. It appears it was first moves by American influenced Georgia that provoked Russia's attack into Georgia.

Is this George Bush's endgame to his presidency, to get the entire world at war?

Bush Signs "Housing" Bill

It's law.

President Bush signed the bill without any fanfare or signing ceremony, in the Oval Office in the early morning hours. He was surrounded by top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Steve Preston.

The bill contains provisions to fingerprint mortgage brokers, requires that all credit card transactions be forwarded to the IRS, and it raised the national debt ceiling by $800 billion.

Senate Approves Sneaky Housing Bill

The Senate voted overwhelmingly this morning for final approval of the huge "housing" bill, that is some 600 pages long. It includes provisions to fingerprint mortgage brokers, requires all credit card transactions of consumers be reported to the IRS, raises the debt ceiling by $800 billion, and who knows what other evil has been snuck into the voluminous legislation?

The President is expected to sign the legislation this coming week.

Bush Drops Opposition to Housing Bill

The House is in, the Senate is in, and now GW is in.

This morning, President Bush dropped his opposition to legislation aiming to "rescue" the housing market despite his objections to a $3.9 billion provision. The House was expected to vote on and pass the bill today, and it could become law as early as this week.

Bush on Economy: 'Wall Street Got Drunk'

Explaining the status of the economy to a closed-door fundraiser last week, President Bush said, "Wall Street got drunk."

"There's no question about it," Bush said. "Wall Street got drunk, that's one of the reasons I asked you to turn off the TV cameras. It got drunk and now it's got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments."

Bush made the remark at a closed-door fundraiser for Republican Pete Olson.

No cameras were allowed in the fundraiser, but an ABC affiliate in Houston acquired the video and posted it on its YouTube page today.

Here's the video. Notice the odd analogy, "the economy getting drunk". That's GW regurgitating what some administration economist told him in terms the economist thought GW would understand.



Here's a transcript of the key portion of the video:

GW:It is uncertain, there’s no question about it.

Wall Street got drunk, it got drunk, (it’s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off your tv cameras.) It got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up, and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments.

And now we got a housing issue, not in Houston, and evidently, not in Dallas, because Laura was over there trying to buy a house today. (From the audience: laughter.. ale voice:"Crawford!")

I like Crawford, unfortunately after eight years of asking her to sacrifice, I’m now no longer the decision maker. She’ll be deciding, thanks for the suggestion! I suggest you don’t yell it out when she’s here. Later, telling her “Hey honey, we’ve been on government pay now for 14 years... so go slow!"

It’s uh.. caused me to lose my train of thought. Anyway.

The Goldman Octopus Grows

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s most senior financial-institutions banker, Ken Wilson, is temporarily leaving the firm to advise Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on how to resolve the country's banking crisis, according to people familiar with the matter, reports WSJ.

Wilson is expected to serve without pay, in a period through January. President George W. Bush made a personal call to Wilson in recent days, asking him to assist Paulson, according to WSJ.

Also, I just became aware this weekend via an NYT profile of CNBC's Erin Burnett that she worked for Goldman for a year.

Mmy full report on the incredible penetration of Goldman in government circles and the financial world is here.

Yes, Honesty In A Government Press Pack

UK's The Telegraph, again, from the G8 Summit:

Mr Bush also faced criticism at the summit after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, was described in the White House press pack given to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice".

The White House apologised for what it called "sloppy work" and said an official had simply lifted the characterisation from the internet without reading it.

Doesn't Sound Like GW Is Part Of the Greenie-Industrial Complex

GW must be drinking, again. You can tell because it's the only time the frat boy makes any sense.

The UK's Telegraph reports:

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

Good for George. There's now a tiny positive in his overall embarrassing presidency.

Hogarth With The Same Scary Thought

As we have pointed out before about Obama:

It's one thing to pose and posture to get elected, but what is a man really going to do after he is elected, when he is clearly a very calculating man, who through out his life has associated with and befriended the most extreme left wing, anti-American, communist sympathizers, in the United States.

If he can switch toward the right, and move to the center to get elected, he sure has the potential to swing extreme left once he has been elected, especially since that's the nest he had lived in his entire life.

Indeed, Paul Hogarth, over at Huffington Post, seems to be thinking the same way, Obama is just lying when he moves to the center:

In recent weeks, some progressives have been alarmed at Barack Obama - who they fear has "moved to the center" for the general election... But unlike Bill Clinton's right-wing capitulations in 1996, it's hard to conclude from Obama's recent "shifts" any long-term policy consequences.For those who fear that Obama's posture signals another Clintonian "sell-out," the time to hold him accountable will be after the election - when as President he will be in a position to bring about change. But for now, there hasn't been much to signal such an alarm.

Under the current election system, you never know what you get until the elected are already in office, since most politicians will do and say anything to get elected.Until, politicians are thrown in jail for lying to the public, the lies shall continue. Bush I should be in jail for his "Read my lips, no new taxes" lie. Bush II should be in jail for his promise to run a "humble foreign policy."

Checkout Of The U.S. Anytime, But Your Money Can't Leave

President Bush recently signed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Act of 2008, aka, the HEART bill.

Hidden in the bill is new taxation on those who renounce their citizenship. The bill specifically calls for taxation on the net unrealized gain in their property, as if the property had been sold. Call it the "Hotel California" Tax, checkout any time you want, but a good chunk of your money can't leave. The first $600,000 in estimated net worth is exempt, then the tax kicks-in at regular rates. Thus, this tax creates the potential for huge taxable phantom gains, with huge cash flow ramifications.

The bill also applies to foreigners who are living and working in the United States legally with green cards. When they decide to go home, the tax kicks-in for them, also. The green card aspects of the tax, have double ramifications. First, at a time when immigrants are a political hot potato, this tax creates incentives for them to remain in the United States. Secondly, the tax will discourage high income, highly skilled foreigners from entering the country in the first place.

From the bill, JCX-44-8,:

In general, the provision imposes tax on certain US citizens who relinquish their US citizenship and certain long-term US residents who terminate their US residency. Such individuals are subject to income tax on the net unrealized gain in their property as if the property had been sold for its fair market value.

THE SIMPLETON AND THE SECRETARY IN WASHINGTON: A review of "The Price of Loyalty"

In the Peter Sellers film classic, Being There, Sellers plays a simple-minded gardener. When Seller's character is asked his view on political subjects, his replies in the film are along the lines of "You need to water flowers in the
spring for them to blossom in the summer".

Sellers� simpleton answers are misinterpreted by the sophisticates around Sellers as being the casting of pearls of wisdom by Sellers, when in fact Sellers doesn't have a clue. In Ron Suskind's book The Price of Loyalty, a reporting on the experiences of Paul O'Neill while he was Treasury Secretary, one gets the sense that O'Neill at times wondered if he was dealing with a similar simpleton in the person of President George W. Bush.It�s clear in the book that O'Neill was obviously asking himself, "Does President Bush have a clue?"

Suskind writes:

There were a dozen questions O'Neill expected the president to ask...Bush didn't ask any. He looked at O'Neill not changing his expression..The
President said nothing. No change in expression.

"I wondered from the first, if the President didn't know the question to ask",O'Neill recalled, or did he know and just not to want to know the answers?
Or did his strategy somehow involve not showing what he thought? But you can ask questions, gather information, and not necessarily show your hand. It was strange.

O'Neill started to wonder about the President...The problem O'Neill felt,was that this President's lack of inquisitiveness or pertinent experience... meant he didn't know or really care about the position of the U. S. Government.

O'Neill was watching Bush closely. He threw out a few general phrases, a few nods, but there was virtually no engagement.

As for National Security Council meetings, Suskind writes that O'Neill reports that Bush allowed Condoleezza Rice to run them.

It is these observations alone, of Bush by O'Neill, that will make this an important book for historians studying this Bush Administration. But there is much more we learn from this book. We learn that the Bush Administration in its earliest days was very much focused on regime change in Iraq. Suskind reports:"O'Neill said...'From the start, we were building a case against Hussein and looking at how we could take him out and change Iraq into a new country...' "

And, of course, we learn about O'Neill. Indeed if one can picture George Bush as in someways the gardener in Being There, O'Neill can certainly be seen as a similar character. A character that just doesn't quite get the Big Picture or the nuances in the little things.

Time after time, O'Neill positions himself as the honest man, the get things done person, the thinking out of the box person, when in fact he bumbles along, misses the important points and finally ends up getting fired. O'Neill's bumbling adventure in Washington would be hilarious, if it wasn't for the seriousness of the topics at hand and the ramifications for America's future.

Some have already declared that George Bush is the worst president the United States has ever had. As O'Neill reveals himself in this book through Suskind, it is not a stretch to view this Treasury Secretary as among the worst to be Treasury Secretary in the history of the United States.

It is nothing short of alarming that a book of more than 300 pages revealing the thoughts of O'Neill when he was Treasury Secretary does not once address the topic of government spending. Indeed, the entire book contains the term federal spending just once. Yet through out the book on page after page, we are harangued about O'Neill's quite legitimate concerns of a growing deficit. But his solution is to battle Bush and advise against any tax cuts without ever mentioning, or even acknowledging, that there is indeed a second part to the equation, specifically spending cuts. Not once!

For O'Neill there is only one solution to growing budget deficits, more taxes. All government expenditures are simply assumed as a given. For a Treasury Secretary who prides himself on thinking out of the box and finding solutions to problems big and small, it is remarkable that he doesn't find even one dollar worth of government expenditures that should be eliminated.

Like O'Neill's curiosity about a president who shows no engagement, asks
no questions and seemingly doesn't get it, one must ask about O'Neill,
Does the man have a clue?

He simply doesn't engage, ask questions or seemingly care about government spending.

It is because of this that O'Neill has to be viewed as nothing more than a spend and tax big government advocate.

So where did O'Neill focus his time, while Treasury Secretary if not on spending cuts? On attempting to design regulations that limit carbon dioxide emissions! On a trip to Africa with rock star Bono, where he determines water wells are the answer.

Yes, the Treasury Secretary based on a murmur from Bush, helped the Environmental Protection Agency's chief Christine Whitman design a carbon dioxide policy that everyone else in the Administration including the President seemed to ignore. The plan was never implemented.

From there O�Neill's next big stand took place during his tour of Africa, where seemingly entirely missing the oppressive, socialistic nature of many of the African governments as a major cause of their poor economic situation, he calls for United States support in building water wells in parts of Africa. His call for water wells gained as much support as his carbon dioxide initiative. Zero.

In the book, we learn that O'Neill views Vice-president Dick Cheney as a significant influence in the Bush Administration. At one point, which can only be viewed as hilarious, O'Neill attempts to mimic the manner in which Cheney holds meetings, of course, with none of the success that Cheney has when he holds meetings.

In its proper context, this book must be viewed as a major embarrassment not only for the president but for O'Neill himself.

Indeed, while O'Neill trumpets his independence and forthrightness, we know through the book that O'Neill recognizes early on that there was no evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. On this major issue though, the bumbler decided to go with the flow and instead of voicing his concerns publicly, he decided to take a tour of Africa with Bono.

Ron Suskind's book, thus, does a tremendous service in providing a glimpse into just exactly how some major players in this empire operate, with little that can be said positively about them in terms of integrity, principles or deep understanding.