Obama proposes new rules banning profits, losses

In the wake of last week’s news that investment bank JP Morgan had lost a staggering $2 billion in hedge fund trading, President Obama today proposed a new “Dimon Rule” that would prohibit banks from investing in securities that lose money.  The rule, named for JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, would hold investment firms civilly and criminally liable if their investments decrease in value.

President Obama announced the initiative in a press conference at the White House this morning.  As reported by the Wall Street Journal, President Obama praised Dimon and JP Morgan saying, “JP Morgan is one of the best-managed banks there is.  Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is one of the smartest bankers we got, and they still lost $2 billion and counting.”

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/president-obama-proposes-rules-banning-investment-losses-profits

Obama’s marriage evolution may cost votes in November

(Kurt Löwenstein Educational Center International Team)

President Obama’s evolution on marriage in which he returned to his previously stated position of supporting a right for same-sex couples to marry may hurt the president with black and independent voters in November.  The president, who was widely believed to be a closeted supporter of same-sex marriage, removed all doubt in a statement last week in which he said that he personally believed that “it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married” according to ABC News.

The president did say that the issue belonged to the states, but his administration is not defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act.  The act, passed with broad bipartisan support in 1996 prevents states from being required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and defines marriage as between a man and woman for the purposes of federal law.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-s-evolution-on-marriage-could-cost-votes-from-blacks-independents

Obama’s other legal problems

(Elizabeth Cromwell/Wikimedia)

By now most Americans are familiar with the legal challenges to President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.  In March, the Supreme Court heard three days of oral arguments on the constitutionality of the various aspects of the law including the government’s mandate that all Americans must buy health insurance.  Although the Court has not yet ruled on the case, pointed questions from the justices lead many observers to believe that at least part of the law will be struck down.

If the Supreme Court does rule that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, it will not be the first time that the Obama Administration has been chastised by the judicial branch.  Last year, President Obama’s Interior Department was held in contempt for violating a federal judge’s ruling striking down the moratorium on offshore oil drilling imposed after the BP oil spill in 2010.  After the judge ordered the moratorium lifted, the Interior Department continued to refuse to issue drilling permits for months.  Interior Secretary Ken Salazar also imposed onerous safety rules on drilling that the judge ruled were in violation of federal law.

Obama and Romney platforms are totally opposite

(Malwack/Wikimedia)

A common theme heard in the wake of Mitt Romney’s primary victories is that the former Massachusetts governor’s platform is almost indistinguishable from President Obama.  Even a cursory examination of the two men shows that the charge is manifestly untrue.

Perhaps the most obvious area of apparent similarity is health care reform.  While governor of Massachusetts, Romney presided over the enactment of an individual mandate to purchase health insurance that President Obama has claimed as the inspiration for his own landmark legislation.

There are important key differences between the Romney and Obama laws.

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Ron Paul sweeps Maine

Ron Paul shook up the Republican Party over the weekend when he won a majority of delegates at the Maine Republican convention.  Paul is mounting an insurgent strategy in caucus states where his supporters disregard the nonbinding results of straw polls and commandeer delegates in spite of the fact that their candidate has not been able to win a single election.

In spite of the apparent success of the strategy in several states including Maine, the Boston Herald reports that Paul’s delegates may not be a factor at the convention.  The Romney campaign alleged that Paul supporters had committed rules violations and claimed that ballots were tampered with.  Romney supporters are considering challenging the results with the Republican National Committee.  Romney supporters who objected to alleged rules violations were overruled by convention chairman Brent Tweed, a Paul supporter.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/ron-paul-takes-majority-of-maine-delegates-but-nomination-still-unlikely

Democrats desert Obama

Gov. Tomblin (Foo Conner/Wikimedia)

In what may be the first of many similar stories this election year, a Democratic governor and U.S. senator have announced that they will not endorse President Barack Obama for re-election.  In an Associated Press report this week, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and Senator Joe Manchin both decline to support the president due to his energy policies.  Manchin announced his decision not to endorse Obama last month.

Tomblin told the AP, “President Obama has apparently made it his mission to drive the backbone of West Virginia’s economy, coal and the energy industry, out of business.  That will not only hurt thousands of West Virginia families, it will destroy the economic fabric of our state.”

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http://www.examiner.com/article/democratic-governor-and-senator-refuse-to-endorse-obama

Occupy violence may hurt Democrats in elections

Occupiers are anarchists, not Democrats.

Occupy protesters celebrated May Day, the traditional labor and communist holiday, with spasms of violence across the country on Monday.  According to Buzz Feed, “Black Bloc” protesters in New York, the cradle of the Occupy movement, attacked photographers and tried to take their cameras.  The New York Daily News reports that the NYPD arrested 86 protesters on charges “ranging from disorderly conduct to assaulting cops.”

On the West Coast, there was even more violence.  In Oakland, police used tear gas and “flash bang” grenades to break up demonstrations and arrested at least 25 protesters according to CBS News.  In Seattle, the violence seemed to be the worst as Occupiers dressed in black broke windows, vandalized cars, blocked traffic and did extensive damage to the federal courthouse MSNBC reports.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/occupy-protests-pose-election-year-liability-for-democrats

New Apple app for pilots

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association recently announced the release of a new Apple application for pilots.  The application, called FlyQ, is free to download and use for AOPA members.  The app uses DUAT, the FAA’s online weather source for pilots, to provide pilots with legal weather briefings and the ability to file flight plans.

The app consists of three main areas, which are tabbed across the bottom of the screen.  The first of these is the airports tab.  This uses the location feature of the iPhone or iPad to automatically bring up a list of nearby airports.  Along with airport data such as runway, fuel available, and frequencies is a small tab that tells whether each airport is VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, or low IFR at a glance.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/review/aopa-releases-new-pilot-app-for-apple-products

Delta refinery may mean competitive advantage

In a move that is the first of its kind for an airline, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines is buying its own refinery in an effort to control fuel costs.  Along with labor and aircraft, jet fuel is one the highest cost factors for airlines.  High fuel costs over the past few months have put pressure on airline profits and led to reduced schedules and higher fares.

The refinery purchased by Delta is outside Philadelphia and was previously owned by Phillips 66 according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.  A subsidiary of Delta, Monroe Energy LLC, will pay $150 million for the plant and then spend another $100 million for retooling to maximize production of jet fuel.  Delta expects production to start in the third quarter of 2012 and forecasts a savings of $100 million this year and $300 million per year thereafter.  This means that the investment could pay for itself in less than two years.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/refinery-may-give-delta-air-lines-competitve-advantage

Emirates Airlines of Dubai is a large importer of US pilots. (Imre Solt/Wikimedia)

An economic analysis by the Wall St. Journal reports that large U.S. companies are adding jobs abroad much faster than in the U.S.  According to the report, the number of workers employed by U.S. companies worldwide was up 7.7 percent from two years earlier.  The domestic employment for the same period was up only 3.1 percent.  Employment abroad increased by more than double that of domestic hiring.  The same trend is evident in pilot hiring as well.

The United States has long been the destination of flight students from around the world.  Lower taxes, cheaper fuel, and no aviation user fees make it attractive for prospective pilots from other parts of the world to come to the U.S. for training.  In many cases, they then return to their home countries to earn their domestic licenses on the basis of training completed in the U.S. or FAA pilot licenses earned here.  In other cases, such as those who attend foreign airline training courses at schools in the United States, they can even be issued a foreign license while training in the U.S.

 

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http://www.examiner.com/article/u-s-exports-pilots-around-the-world