There comes a time when times passes us by. It is when one rigidly holds onto the old, unable to adjust to the new. Sort of like a fish that, through evolution, becomes a fossil. Clinging to the Ford Model T, refusing to drive the Ford Mustang. Cooking on a wood stove rather than a modern gas range.

There are some Senators that remain frozen in time, unable to cope with the new world. The Republican Party adheres to its old leaders, shunning new blood. Take Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions.

The top Republican on the Senate committee reviewing Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination said Sunday her testimony did not settle his concerns about elevating her to the Supreme Court. “I was troubled by a number of the things the nominee has said, a number of the rulings she has made,” said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions. [Townhall]

As to judges his position statement reveals: [Read more →]

Put out by Scenic Video “Relaxing the World One Video at a Time.” Enjoy.

Now what is this all about? The banks got $700 billion of taxpayer money in the bailouts President Bush dedicated to help put banks back on track.

The Treasury Department claims that banks cannot be asked to account for their use of taxpayer money in a new report obtained by ABC News.

Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program wants the banks to provide details about what they did with all that money. Barofsky asked 360 financial and other institutions to account for their use of funds. More than 98 percent of the survey’s recipients responded.

• 83 percent of respondents said they used some funds to increase lending or to avoid a decline in lending.
• 43 percent of respondents said they used some funds to maintain capital levels required by regulators to protect against future losses.
• 31 percent of respondents said they used some funds to invest in agency-mortgage backed securities (government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), which in turn supported lending and borrowing for other banks.
• 14 percent of respondents said they used some funds to repay outstanding loans.
• 4 percent of respondents said they used some funds to buy other banks.

And some respondents said they had not yet used funds due to the current economic situation, decreased demand for credit, and the brief period of time since they received the money.

FactCheck says:

A new ad from Conservatives for Patients’ Rights says that a public health insurance plan now being proposed in Congress “could crush all your other choices, driving them out of existence, resulting in 119 million off their current insurance coverage.”

That’s misleading.

To obtain the detailed analysis and basis FactCheck says the ad is misleading please read it here.

I also recommend you click the Conservatives for Patients’ Rights above to read the Wikipedia coverage of that group. You’ll learn a lot about a wealthy lawyer named Rick Scott who is a leading sponsor of the TV ad. Scott is heavily involved in health care, manufacturing and technology companies. He makes a lot of money from them.

Perhaps the lesson to learn is to resist the temptation of believing everything you see and hear in these advocacy TV ads. You have to look behind them to discern the motives for the ads.