John Sununu TARP Overseer

Senator John Sununu will provide oversight for the TARP. That means counting returns on America's sovereign taxpayer IOU fund. CNBC reported TARP investments are up 3.17%. How does that compare to Abu Dhabi? Sununu is just the man to run the numbers.

Congress passed a bill to provide credit and reign in distorting executive compensation. Bush's implementation did neither. However, the taxpayer provided hundreds of billions to banks, who subsequently cut over a hundred thousand jobs.

Rest assured this Christmas, a 3.17% return sits under Hank Paulson's TARP tree. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, or is it hot and bothered?

Obama's Pay for Performance in Education Already Tested on Wall Street

America suffers from "pay for performance." Executives optimized their pay, while risking our economic foundation. It began with stock options.

Nearly 30% of CEO's backdated their options. This decade long cheating maxed out the "purest" form of incentive pay. A college professor found the widespread malfeasance, not the Securities and Exchange Commission. Only a handful of egregious offenders were hand slapped for stealing millions from shareholders. The rest, like Apple's Steven Jobs, got off Scott free.

Extrinsic motivators, like money, are well studied. The damage they do is profound. Wall Street's recent implosion is a large fish bowl. Incentive pay caused investment professionals to act selfishly, risking the company and its customers. Their behavior took the oxygen out of customer's portfolios.

Yet, President elect Barack Obama wants P4P to save education and health care. Obama appointed Arnie Duncan, the "chief executive officer" of Chicago Public Schools, as his Secretary of Education. Note the CEO title.

Barack Obama said in his press conference, "If pay for performance works..." The highly educated President elect need only read "Punished by Rewards" by Alfie Kohn . Extrinsic motivators harm. As Dr. Deming said, "Will they ever learn?"

America's intrinsic motivation withers under the oppressive thumb of incentives. P4P will do for education and health care, what it did for Wall Street. Let's hope leaders somewhere "give people a good job to do." Pay them fairly. Quit bribing them. That includes employees, students, and doctors.

Update 3-29-14:  Evaluating teachers using student test scores has been a disaster, driving many experienced teachers into retirement or other fields.  Nevertheless the corporatization of public education charges onward.

Season's Beatings in Democratic Iraq?

One might expect the United States to ensure proper treatment for the reporter who launched two size tens at President Bush's head. The perpetrator's brother says Muntadar al-Zaidi suffered a broken hand, broken ribs, internal bleeding, and an eye injury. The relative also said the reporter had not been offered access to legal representation.

Mr Zaidi was a graduate of communications from Baghdad University and worked at a local television station. "He has no ties with the former regime. His family was arrested under Saddam's regime," the station boss said. Mr Zaidi has previously been abducted by insurgents and held twice for questioning by US forces in Iraq.

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

Welcome to your open democracy, Mr. al-Zaidi. Beatings on aisle 9...

Bernie Madoff, Rod Blagojevich, Thomas Tamm & Frances Townsend

Investment expert Harry Markopolos asked the SEC to explore Bernie Madoff in 1999. Nine years later Madoff says he lost $50 billion running a Ponzi scheme.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich peddled influence in appointing a replacement for Senator Barack Obama's seat. Favors for friends are common in politics, but it took a wiretap to reveal Blago's egregious behavior.

Thomas Tann ratted the Bush administration for spying on U.S. citizens. The Justice Department ran the illegal spying operation.

Frances Townsend conducted the White House investigation on Hurricane Katrina. She authored the Lessons Learned report that omitted the hospital facility with the highest patient death toll. Two for-profit hospital companies shared Memorial Medical Center. Tenet Health owned Memorial, while LifeCare rented a floor of the hospital for its long term acute care unit. Thirty four patients perished, 10 under Tenet and 24 in the LifeCare unit. The Carlyle Group purchased LifeCare just weeks before Katrina struck. A year after the report's release, Jeb Bush was appointed to the Tenet Health board of directors, earning a handsome annual sum.

All of the above are malodorous. However, Frances Townsend (#4) weighed in on Thomas Tann (#3). She said:

"You can't have runoffs deciding they're going to be the white knight and running to the press," says Frances Fragos Townsend, who once headed the unit where Tamm worked and later served as President Bush's chief counterterrorism adviser. Townsend made clear that she had no knowledge of Tamm's particular case, but added: "There are legal processes in place [for whistle-blowers' complaints]. This is one where I'm a hawk. It offends me, and I find it incredibly dangerous."

If a government can run an illegal program with approval from the highest levels, they can run roughshod over whistle blowers, internal or external. Consider Tamm's treatment:

The FBI has pursued him relentlessly for the past two and a half years. Agents have raided his house, hauled away personal possessions and grilled his wife, a teenage daughter and a grown son. More recently, they've been questioning Tamm's friends and associates about nearly every aspect of his life. Tamm has resisted pressure to plead to a felony for divulging classified information. But he is living under a pall, never sure if or when federal agents might arrest him.

My questions are more Markopolos-like than Tammish in nature. As a hospital administrator, I endured in a river flooded Virginia teaching hospital and evacuated a Texas Gulf Coast facility before record Hurricane Gilbert. I submitted my concerns about the sorry White House Lessons Learned report shortly after its publication in 2006 and received no answers from Congressional representatives or any federal agencies.

Are any whistle blowers twisting under a federal thumb? Frances Townsend would be offended if they spoke out. I'm offended by her poor quality work. The resounding silence from all arms of our federal government is equally disturbing.

Bush's TARP Has No Executive Pay Limits

George Bush's craftiness in fleecing America should not be underestimated. Why did the Federal Reserve Bank buy AIG's toxic assets and not the Treasury? Had the Treasury made the purchase via auction, executive pay could be limited. That wouldn't do. The NYT reported:

One sentence in the bill, added at the insistence of the Bush administration, required that executive-pay provisions apply only to firms that hold troubled assets to the government in auctions. But the Treasury Department has switched strategies since then, instead making direct investments in financial institutions.

Recall Bush lectured Wall Street traders at the NYSE over executive pay. George W. consistently looked after his wealthy peers.

A financial firm catering to the high net worth marketplace received TARP equity investment. Boston Private Financial Holdings bragged of their strong capital position. Yet, Carlyle Group affiliate BPFH received $154 million in taxpayer money. This occurred while Carlyle had $40 billion of dry powder and actively searched for financial investments.

In the 1990's George W. Bush served on the Board of Carlyle affiliate CaterAir. Two timer President Bush and his TARP caters to the executive class.

Democracy is Messy

The first shoe was for 600,000 dead and 1 million displaced. The second shoe was for another 600,000 lives lost and over 1 million more refugees. Pardon any fecal matter. Many Iraqi streets serve as open sewers.

Fishy Meet the Press

David Gregory's inaugural session of Meet the Press addressed Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's pay for play politics. David acted like President Bush hasn't operated the federal government on behalf of his rich donors for eight years. Mr. Gregory should know from the fishy aftertaste in his mouth.

He shared Dover Sole at the White House with Queen Elizabeth, alongside 37 high dollar Republican donors. No, he didn't cover the event as the NBC reporter. The Press rep and his wife dined with royalty.

Gregory was occupied with additional assignments when George W. used the Beijing Olympics for a family and rich donor friend vacation. Otherwise, David might have sand in his eyes to go along with the fish taste. Meet the Putz earned its title.

Wall Street Water Carrier

Pay attention to Democratic Congressperson's position on carried interest taxation. The New York Times highlighted Senator Chuck Schumer's close ties to Wall Street and his efforts to maintain investment managers' preferred tax status.

It also stated his key role in the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. Financial firms ponied up $135,000 in campaign donations in support of Chuck's determined leadership.

Senator Schumer drives a hard bargain, much like the President elect's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Both take "no", as the first step to "yes". Both are legendary for maxing out donations from wealthy supporters. A close friend calls Schumer a "jackhammer," Emanuel is known as "the hammer."

Rahm worked for an investment bank between the Clinton White House and his service in Congress. Will he join Chuck as Wall Street's water carrier? Stay tuned...

The Gates Test: Obama vs. Bush

Pentagon Chief Robert Gates warned the world not to test President Barack Obama in his early days in office. Haaretz reported:

Anyone who thought that the upcoming months might present opportunities to test the new administration would be sorely mistaken," he told the Manama Dialogue conference, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"President Obama and his national security team, myself included, will be ready to defend the interests of the United States from the moment he takes office on January 20th."

Ironically, his words at the Bahrain security conference pointed to the failures of his current boss, George W. Bush.

He repeated longstanding appeals for Sunni Arab states to support Iraq's U.S.-backed government with full diplomatic relations and forgiveness of Saddam
Hussein-era debts.

Sunni Arab powers have harbored deep reservations about the Baghdad government, believing it to be sectarian and too close politically to Shi'ite-dominated Iran.

Gates said Sunni states should welcome a chance to forge close relations with Iraq, partly to prevent Iran from doing so.

"There is no doubt that Iran has been heavily engaged in trying to influence the development and direction of the Iraqi government - and not as a good neighbor," he said.

"Iraq wants to be your partner," he told his audience. "And, given the challenges in the Gulf, and the reality of Iran, you should wish to be theirs."

Five years after freeing Iraq, the Middle East remains unstable. America plans for troops to stay indefinitely, despite an agreement saying otherwise. Western interests in the region are vast. Fighting piracy is a huge concern. It validates the huge U.S. military presence. How will that stick be mobilized? It depends on the test. Bush-F, Obama-?

Bush Advises College Grads

President Bush spoke at Texas A & M's graduation. The commencement speaker offered the following:

"Remember that popularity is as fleeting as the Texas wind. Character and conscience are as sturdy as the oaks on this campus," he told the graduates and their families at Reed Arena. "If you go home at night, look in the mirror and be satisfied that you have done what is right, you will pass the only test that matters."

Where does omitting the hospital with the highest patient death toll from the White House Katrina Lessons Learned Report fit? Is it a Fran Townsend skirt blowing in the wind moment? Or was Bush a stand up oak on behalf of for-profit hospital companies, Tenet Health and LifeCare Hospitals? The Carlyle Group purchased LifeCare just weeks before landfall. Carlyle shares a Pennsylvania Avenue address with the White House, 1001 vs. 1600.

The Texas wind blew Jeb Bush onto the Board of Tenet Health in April 2007. Or did the Bush family grow roots in for-profit health care? Uncle Bucky sits on the WellPoint board.

Wind, oaks, popularity, character, conscience? I leave this mix with you. Good luck figuring out how a "robust investigative report" omits the hospital with the highest death toll. If you drop the "ro", that leaves "bust", which sums up the Bush Presidency.

WSJ Cites Daschle's Duel Appointments

President George W. Bush said, "Childrens do learn." Some children grow up to write for the venerated Wall Street Journal.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is being named to duel posts this morning: secretary of health and human services, and head of a new White House office on health reform, giving him a prominent perch for a major push for health care legislation. For Daschle, the double duty is meant to avoid the scenario that unfolded in the Clinton administration, where the White House took the lead on health reform and left Donna Shalala, who was HHS secretary, largely in the sidelines.

Duel, double duty? The correct word is dual. Unless, Tom Daschle has multiple personalities, with several at odds. Is that what's to come from Rupert Murdoch, an internally conflicted Daschle? Or, did one of Bush's childrens learn? Stay tuned...

Thirteen Senators Can Be Eliminated, Eighty Seven Remaining Millionaires Deserve Pay Cut

The Senate voted 52-35 to bring up the auto bailout bill, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill. Eighty seven senators voted, leaving the total thirteen short.

If American auto workers need to be reduced in numbers and wages moved to the average paid foreign car employees, then Congress should lead by example. How many fired Senators would send the right message? And how much can we cut pay for the millionaires enriching their families via their plum political patronage?

People are livid over America's sorry leadership at all levels. Greed killed investing and it's taking a serious toll on politics. A pox on the Capital and the White House as they pursue the lowest global common denominator on pay and benefits, political and business leaders excepted.

South Carolina Senator Predicts Riots from Auto Bailout

"We’re going to have riots. There are already people rioting because they’re losing their jobs when somebody else is being bailed out."-Jim DeMint 12/10/08 at a press conference

Assume Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is serious about his prediction that widespread job loss will cause riots. Maybe, he should take action to keep people employed. At a minimum, he should be quiet. A leader would work behind the scenes with police and National Guard to minimize any threat.

But giving billions to companies to fire tens of thousands of workers? Mr. DeMint's Senate did just that.

CitiBank-got $45 billion in TARP money, plus $306 billion in loan guarantees-53,000 layoffs
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch-received $25 billion-plan to fire 35,000 employees

Try planning a bailout that saves jobs, Mr. DeMint. America's reverse economic development is funded by a U.S. sovereign multi-generational IOU fund.

Companies that got unions this past century, generally deserved them. If a riot breaks out in front of Senator DeMint's office, I won't be surprised.

Blago & Conaway: Pay to Play Brothers?

In light of Illinois Governor Rod Blagovejich's "pay to play" antics, a review of Representative Mike Conaway's Albertine earmark is in order. John and James Albertine are professional lobbyists. They also started Global Delta, a defense research company in 2003.

The 2008 Defense bill included a $1.6 million earmark for Global Delta. One of the sponsors of the earmark is West Texas Congressman Mike Conaway. His office has an interesting pattern of donations from the Albertine brothers and their spouses as the Defense bill wound through Congress. The Albertine's donations are in italics in the timeline below:

H.R.1585

Title: To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.

MAJOR ACTIONS:
3/13/2007 John Albertine of Fredericksburg, VA donated $2,500 to Mike Conaway and received a $200 refund.
3/13/2007 James Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $500 to Mike Conaway

3/20/2007 H.R. 1585 Introduced in House
5/11/2007 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Armed Services. H. Rept. 110-146.
5/14/2007 Supplemental report filed by the Committee on Armed Services, H. Rept. 110-146, Part II.
5/17/2007 Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 397 - 27 (Roll no. 373).

5/21/07 John Albertine of Fredericksburg, VA donated $500 to Mike Conaway, but received a refund that same day
5/21/07 Mona Albertine of Fredericksburg, VA donated $500 to Mike Conaway
5/29/07 James Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $500 to Mike Conaway

9/30/2007 James Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $1,000 to Mike Conaway

10/1/2007 Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 92 - 3. Record Vote Number: 359.

10/4/07 John Albertine of Fredericksburg, VA donated $1,000 to Mike Conaway, but received a refund that same day
10/4/07 Mona Albertine of Fredericksburg, VA donated $1,000 to Mike Conaway

11/26/2007 James Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $1,000 to Mike Conaway, but received a refund that same day
11/26/07 Anne Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $1,000 to Mike Conaway

12/6/2007 Conference report H. Rept. 110-477 filed.

12/12/2007 Conference report agreed to in House: On agreeing to the conference report Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 370 - 49 (Roll no. 1151).

12/14/2007 Conference report agreed to in Senate: Senate agreed to conference report by Yea-Nay Vote. 90 - 3. Record Vote Number: 433.

12/14/2007 Cleared for White House.

12/19/2007 Presented to President.

12/28/2007 Vetoed by President.

H.R. 4986

1/16/2008 Introduced and passed in House

1/22/2008 Passed in Senate

1/28/2008 Signed by President

2/15/2008 James Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $500, but received a $200 credit
2/15/2008 Anne Albertine of Bethesda, MD donated $200 to Mike Conaway
2/15/2008 Mona Albertine of Fredericksburg, VA donated $500 to Mike Conaway

Blagojevich and Conaway, two birds of a feather or of the same political "pay to play" school? Maybe not, but something's fishy...

Boorish Pay to Play's Cretin Sibling, Pay to Perform

America's business and government leaders need to be "paid" to do their job. Salary and benefits don't qualify as pay, more juice is needed. It could be:

1. Incentive compensation (bonus, stock, etc.)
2. Golden parachute
3. Cushy consulting arrangement
4. A high paying job in an affiliated nonprofit or think tank
5. Seat on a corporate board (or two)

Extrinsic motivators caused America's financial sector to package and sell junk. Commissions compounded with securitization fees. They crescendoed into magnanimous CEO incentive compensation. But the system blew up.

Investing is dead. People don't trust financial products or the institutions that offer them. Financial statements can look fine, while lurking off balance sheet are credit derivatives, capable of destroying a company overnight.

Pay to play politics, the Red version, expressed as K Street. The Blue team finds the Illinois governor running a bidding war for a U.S. Senate seat. Soon politics will be in the same place as Wall Street.

Due to poor leadership, whole markets have been destroyed. With a lack of trust, people quit investing. When will they quit voting? When will the system give us leaders willing to do good work for a fair day's pay, and no more? That's when America has a chance to recover. Otherwise, welcome to Pottersville.

Blue Blagojevich's Bank of America Boondoggle

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich threatened to punish Bank of America for their role in bankrupting a Chicago manufacturer. The next morning he was arrested for corruption, which he selfishly earned.

The Democrat's "pay to play" schemes were way too overt for more subtle blue Chi-town politicians. His gauche self interest stood on display for a political party trying to turn back the sickening "K Street" project, sponsored in just as bold a manner by the red team. Citizens just voted against shameless corruption.

Rumor has it, Rahm Emanuel pulled the plug on Blagojevich. The President elect's Chief of Staff received $10,000 from Bank of America's PAC for his House run. Barack Obama's Presidential run garnered $254,167 from the same BOA Political Action Committee.

Meanwhile $7 trillion in financial interventions and a $1 trillion stimulus package have corporate America foaming at the mouth. Blue lobbyists circle Capital Hill, trying to steer some of that largess to their clients.

Obama isn't sworn in, but the mess that needs cleaning up keeps growing. The New Yorker indicates Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama coached Blagojevich in 2002. David Axelrod wouldn't help, citing concerns about Rod's governing abilities. Those came to pass.

The question isn't which way this disturbing story will be spun, that's away from Emanuel-Obama. It's whether there is anything left to save. Is our federal government one big boondoggle?

Pelosi's Small Amount of Money

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke of last chance aid for America's auto manufacturers. She termed the $15 billion as a "small amount of money." Really, Mrs. Pelosi?

That sum is nearly half of hospital uncompensated care, $31 billion at last check. For two years, Nancy didn't budget a small amount of money to help struggling Americans or financially strapped safety net providers.

America has a crisis of leadership, and it's far worse than the credit crunch. Board rooms, executive suites and both political parties are infected with hypercompetition, greed, and addiction to extrinsic motivators. Profound knowledge is needed in our profoundly suboptimal times.

Rahm Has Work to Do with Blag's Downfall

The Chicago boys are likely mixing concrete for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. His arrest for influence peddling stands to taint the Democratic machine.

Rod implemented a pay for play scheme worthy of Tom DeLay's K Street. The indictment mentioned Blag's arm twisting for a public-private toll road project, funding for a children's hospital, and the chance to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The question is how fast the Governor sinks. Will his shepherding by President elect Barack Obama and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel come to light? One only has to read a New Yorker piece to find:

That year, he (Obama) gained his first high-level experience in a statewide campaign when he advised the victorious gubernatorial candidate Rod Blagojevich, another politician with a funny name and a message of reform. Rahm Emanuel, a congressman from Chicago and a friend of Obama’s, told me that he, Obama, David Wilhelm, who was Blagojevich’s campaign co-chair, and another Blagojevich aide were the top strategists of Blagojevich’s victory.

He and Obama “participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor,” Emanuel said. "We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two.” A spokesman for Blagojevich confirmed Emanuel’s account, although David Wilhelm, who now works for Obama, said that Emanuel had overstated Obama’s role. “There was an advisory council that was inclusive of Rahm and Barack but not limited to them,” Wilhelm said, and he disputed the notion that Obama was “an architect or one of the principal strategists.”

David Axelrod, the preëminent strategist in the state, declined to work for Blagojevich. “He had been my client and I had a very good relationship with him, but I didn’t sign on to the governor’s race,” Axelrod said. “Obviously he won, but I had concerns about it. . . . I was concerned about whether he was ready for that. Not so much for the race but for governing."

Rest assured, David has a strategy to divorce Obama and Emanuel from Blagojevich. Will they turn him into a raving madman? Might it involve copious amounts of silence from an underwater Blag, sporting his new shoes. Or, will Rahm end up as hero?

FBI Nails Blag, Ignores Bush

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) and his chief of staff for corruption. They conspired to gain financial benefits for Rod or his wife. Swimming in dirty political waters? Hmmm...

Not long ago, I contacted the same FBI. I shared concerning facts:

1. The White House Lessons Learned report omitted the hospital with the largest patient death toll after Hurricane Katrina.

Memorial Medical Center-10 deaths
LifeCare Hospital (rented a floor)-24 deaths
Total MMC deaths-34

2. Memorial was owned by Tenet Health, a for-profit hospital company known for serial ethics abuse.

3. The Carlyle Group purchased LifeCare Hospitals from GTCR Golder Rauner just weeks before Katrina struck. President George W. Bush served on the board of Carlyle affiliate CaterAir in the 1990's. GTCR Golder Rauner's LifeCare executives paid $200,000 in federal election fines for illegal campaign donations from 1998-2002.

4. Frances Townsend submitted the report to the public in February 2006. Jeb Bush was appointed to the Tenet Health board in April 2007.

I solicited the FBI's help. They never replied. Neither did Rep. Mike Conaway, Senator John Cornyn or Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. What's Patrick Fitzgerald doing next?

Bush Acts on Financial Crisis

Meet the Putz

Tom Brokaw introduced the new host of Meet the Press, David Gregory. Many know David from his White House reporting years. During his tenure Gregory watched 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue turn in a bawdy Corporawhorehouse.

One of his final gigs involved sharing Dover Sole with Queen Elizabeth, a cubed version of Clinton's Lincoln Bedroom. Thirty seven diners ponied up major Republican ka-ching. The five news persons in attendance failed to note the comparison. Was that a requirement of their invitation?

The chance to rub elbows with royalty is a heady thing. David proved his ability to pull stories. How many punches will he pull at Meet the Press? Stay tuned...

General Jeb to Ride in from the South?

With no credible Republican national leaders, a move is afoot to claim regional territory. Political pundits pose a Mel Martinez resignation, opening the door for Jeb Bush in the Senate. Jeb would have to give up those cush private sector appointments:

Lehman Brothers Private Equity adviser
Tenet Healthcare Board of Directors
CNL Bancshares Board
Rayonier Board of Directors

Jeb's cousin, George Herbert Walker, came out on top in the Neuberger Investment Management bid. Tenet, CNL, and Rayonier all have deep Florida connections. Jeb approved numerous financial settlements with Tenet as Florida's Governor.

President George W. Bush did Tenet a huge favor by omitting any mention of Memorial Hospital and their 34 total deaths from his Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned report. Twenty four of those deaths belonged to renter, LifeCare. The Carlyle Group purchased LifeCare just weeks before landfall.

The big money, big political boys look after one another. Brand Bush should be Tainted Tylenol. Jeb's running for anything shows the shallowness of our national leadership bench.

Update 1-29-12:  Jeb is being refloated, given the current toilet bowl of Republican candidates.  

Did Tyler Tunnel in Transportation Department?

News reports show Bush political appointees burrowing their way into the federal bureaucracy. The Transportation Department is poised to spend trillions on infrastructure projects, boosted by an Obama stimulus package.

Might Bush public-private partnership (PPP) proponents bury themselves in Transportation? They could steer big money to their private sector friends.

Tyler D. Duvall worked hard to push PPP's as Under Secretary of Transportation. The White House appointed Robert A DeHaan on November 17 to take Tyler's place. Yet, no stories pointed to Tyler's new resting place. Did he go underground? Does he have access to the same Treasury vault as Hank Paulson? When will Tyler come up for air? Stay tuned...

Update: Tyler is a Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Company

Update 6-16-11: Duvall spoke on the National Infrastructure Bank at the New America Foundation.  He clearly supports the role of huge private equity firms.  He raised the usual PEU threat of capital going to other countries. 

Innovation: From Wall Street to Minnetonka

Wonder where those creative financial gurus landed after their precipitous fall from towering Wall Street? Did one migrate west to Minnesota? Minnetonka based UnitedHealth Group's "first of a kind" product has that familiar vaporware ring. The Star-Tribune reported:

For these economically uncertain times, Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group has a "first of its kind" product: The right to buy an individual health policy at some point in the future even if you become sick.

Called UnitedHealth Continuity, the product is not actual medical insurance, but is aimed at people who may have insurance now but are worried they may lose it -- and may not be able to get replacement insurance on their own.

People who are already sick will generally not be eligible for the new product. Those who do pass a medical review will pay 20 percent each month of the current premium on an individual policy to reserve the right to be insured under the plan at some point in the future.

"What this product is designed to do, for a very modest premium, is to essentially protect your insurability for the future," said Richard Collins, president of UnitedHealth's individual insurance unit, who says he is the first policyholder.

Funny, administrative expenses and profit roughly comprise 20% of health insurance premiums. UnitedHealth guarantees their goodies without providing any coverage.

Calling it a "very modest premium" is inaccurate, as no insurance is provided. One is only buying the right to pay insurance premiums in the future. I see no lock in pricing guarantees, just the right to buy.

By denying coverage for the most spurious of reasons, UnitedHealth drives in fear. Their "innovative" product mines that very fear. America has a bad aftertaste from other recent innovations.

The Wall Street boys ruined investing for years to come. Tainted Tylenol financial products should be off the shelf, but Goldman Sachs & company can't stop securitizing or selling "non-insurance" credit coverage. Balance sheets remain opaque, while derivatives sit outside financial statements ready to pounce in asset slashing fashion.

Imitation may be a great flattery. However, beware UnitedHealth of what you create. On Wall Street, no one is buying.

Political Links to Hurricane Katrina's Memorial Medical Center

Weeks before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, two private equity firms inked a deal for LifeCare Hospitals. GTCR Golder Rauner sold their majority stake to The Carlyle Group. The sale closed before the Category 3 storm sideswiped New Orleans. Thirty four patients perished in Memorial Medical Center in the sweltering toxic aftermath. Twenty four were LifeCare Hospital's responsibility and ten were Tenet Healthcare's. LifeCare rented a floor in Memorial.

Tenet is a large for-profit hospital company, while LifeCare's niche is long term acute care. Influential politicians are associated with the firms' past and future.

GTCR Golder Rauner

Between his service in the Clinton White House and his Congressional position, Rahm Emanuel worked for an investment banker. GTCR Golder Rauner's chairman advised Mr. Emanuel on his career. GTCR was Rahm's account. His silence has been golden.

Tenet Healthcare

Ex-Nebraska Governor and Senator Bob Kerrey sat on the Board of Directors since 2001. Tenet is a serial ethics abuser. Their SEC filings show numerous settlements with states and the federal government on billing and financial practices. The company never admits any wrongdoing, they just pony up millions in fines.

Ex-Florida Governor Jeb Bush joined the Board in April 2007. This came roughly a year after the White House omitted any mention of Tenet, LifeCare or Memorial Medical Center from their Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned report.

Serial ethics abuser Tenet settled with the State of Florida several times under Governor Jeb's term in office. Tenet hired lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie to discuss "corporate governance changes" with the Executive Office of the White House, before Jeb's enriching appointment. Did President George W. do some "horse trading", an omission for a commission?

LifeCare Hospitals

Company executives were found guilty of illegal campaign contributions in three election cycles, 1998, 2000, and 2002. Fines totalled $200,000. The company paid $50,000 of this amount. Donald Boucher and David LeBlanc were fined individually for their improper acts. Most donations were to Republican candidates, but a number of Democrats received funds.

The Carlyle Group

This private equity underwriter (PEU) is legendary for its political hires and access to America's hallowed halls of government. Carlyle shows as a top 10 donor for Rep. Rahm Emanuel and Senator Evan Bayh. A small sampling of their Blue credentials shows numerous Clinton White House connections. President Clinton privatized USIS, which Carlyle flipped for large profits.

With all that political gunpowder and ManorCare grease, Memorial Medical Center and their 34 patient deaths are but a distant memory. LifeCare deaths warranted not one mention in Congressional hearings on Carlyle's purchase of ManorCare. Rahm Emanuel sat on the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health. He never uttered "ManorCare," much less "LifeCare."

If Carlyle could fail one of twenty one LTAC's in a time of crisis, what might they do with 500 facilities, most nursing homes? The Carlyle Group knows how to keep their good name.

Rest assured, their interest in adding health care companies is strong. They even have an Axelrod exploring new opportunities. How deep does the rabbit hole go?

Bush Relation Lands on Top of Lehman's Crown Jewel

George W. Bush's cousin and brother came out in high cotton from Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. Cousin George Herbert Walker will be CEO of an independent Neuberger Investment Management. The firm manages $160 billion in assets.

Brother Jeb Bush advises Lehman's private equity funds, included in the Neuberger spin off. Jeb is on a winning streak. His name was mentioned as a possible Senate candidate and he landed a spot on the Rayonier Board of Directors. That's in addition to his board seats at Tenet Healthcare and CNL Bankshares.

Lehman's bankruptcy was a precipitating event for the mid-September credit meltdown. Many financial experts call it a bad move, but it seemed to benefit the Bush boys. George W. avoided egg from saving his near relations' firm. George Herbert Walker and Jeb Bush can get a chunk of $2 billion in segregated bonus money and own part of a stand alone Neuberger. Another Bush league victory in their no cash down deal!

WMD & NAC Reflect Homo Sapien's Ability to Divide

Two news stories show people's ability to divide and harm. A WMD Commission report predicts a nuclear or biological attack on a major city in the next five years. U.S. Senator Bob Graham called necessary preparations a "civilian on civilian war" in his CSPAN interview. Government diminished as a responsible institution, especially when the Bush administration thwarted the commission’s access to classified intelligence on nuclear proliferation.

Another story dealt with a different hegemonic force in the world, religion. The U.S. Anglican Church plans to start a new chapter. Conservative Episcopal churches drafted a constitution for a new North American Church. Faith dimmed as a uniting, uplifting institution.

How religion and countries can exist together in the same global communion is looking increasingly problematic. Our structures look increasingly fragile and incapable of optimizing on behalf of the whole. Officials practicing division lead the way. Humanity would deliver much, much better.

Bush's Heavy Hand Smacks Federal Employee Unions

President George W. Bush denied collective bargaining rights to 8,600 federal workers in law enforcement, intelligence, and agencies involved with national security. Combine this with his eight year war on whistle blowers, and federal employees are literally on their own.

Bad management historically ended up with unions. President Bush qualifies as "such a manager." Rather than give employees recourse, George W. imposed a structural barrier. With the swipe of a pen, Bush issued an executive order.

Consider it a Christmas present for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, currently up in arms over a proposed new method for union organizing. Bush had the Chamber's back in 2007, with his executive order making it more difficult for private sector whistle blowers to prevail. Consumer recourse took a back seat to pharmaceutical and medical device makers under Bush's FDA preemption.

At varying times in American history, our federal government helped balance unfair power differentials. The current version clearly favors corporate rights.

Bob Kerrey's Unusual Corporate Connections

Ex-Nebraska Governor and Senator Bob Kerrey, the highly respected 9-11 Commission co-chair, surfaced not long ago as a corporate board member for Tenet Healthcare, Genworth Financial, Jones Apparel and Scientific Games Corporation.

Conde Nast Portfolio mentioned Mr. Kerrey in a story on Pete G. Peterson of the Blackstone Group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. It quoted Kerrey under the topic of government deficit reduction, increasingly unlikely as our economy implodes.

Bob Kerrey, the former Nebraska senator and a close friend of Peterson’s, puts it this way: “It’s like coming up with a really good welfare-reform plan for New Orleans, and then Katrina hits.”

Bob was in a position of responsibility when Katrina struck. Tenet Healthcare owned Memorial Hospital, the facility with 34 total patient deaths. Twenty four deaths came from LifeCare Hospital's long term acute care unit. LifeCare rented a floor from Memorial.

Unfortunately, the White House did not perform a really good investigation of Katrina. Frances Townsend's Lessons Learned report made no mention of Tenet's Memorial Hospital. It also omitted LifeCare, the hospital with the highest death toll in the storm.

The Carlyle Group purchased LifeCare Hospitals just weeks before Katrina's landfall. The two corporations divied up liability in a secret settlement. Their attorneys blamed rogue clinicians. When that failed before a grand jury, they targeted the federal government. LifeCare claims patients became wards of the government when FEMA evacuation teams set up in New Orleans.

Tenet sold Memorial Hospital and Carlyle closed their LifeCare unit. Both firms stayed out of the limelight, thanks in part to White House silence in their February 2006 report.

Spring 2007 found Jeb Bush appointed to the Tenet Healthcare Board of Directors. Funny, the State of Florida fined Tenet numerous times for unethical behavior. Was Jeb's appointment in gratitude for past preferential Florida treatment or George W. Bush's White House investigative silence?

Genworth Financial imploded along with the rest of America's financial sector, losing 94% of its stock value. It recently purchased InterBank, a savings & loan, to gain access to Hank Paulson's TARP funds. How much will Genworth draw?

Scientific Games tapped Mr. Kerrey's board skills in 2008. The company provides state lottery and other gaming services. People need distractions while they're being fleeced. What does Scientific Games have on tap? Stay tuned, the red and blue franchise contests are clearly in play...