Day: March 24, 2009

The Daily Slab – March 24

If North Dakota floats by, please catch it!

News of the flooding there has been stuck in the infamous “drafts” file for three days now and it’s time for it to make the Daily Slab.

Yesterday, CNN was reporting Flooding threatened up to 6,000 homes Monday in Fargo, North Dakota, where residents rushed to fill more than 1 million sandbags to stem the flow of the Red River, city officials said.

“So far, we have 310,000 bags filled and ready to go, but that’s a long way from the 1.5 million sandbags we need to fight this flood,” City Administrator Pat Zavoral said Sunday.

The National Guard and FEMA staff have been dispatched to help.

National news has been filled with stories of people putting their interest first; but, not so in North Dakota. 20,000 HELPING HANDS: At least 10,000 volunteers turn out; more needed to fight flood.sandbag-fargo

Buses could hardly keep up Monday with the thousands of volunteers eager to fill sandbags and fight the flood.

More than 10,000 people volunteered in Fargo-Moorhead, according to estimates from people coordinating the efforts. That doesn’t include people helping out friends or family.

The State must be populated by some of the best, most self reliant folks on earth, God love ‘um.  Helping others is bred into them. Continue reading “The Daily Slab – March 24”

Tuesday Music: Dedicated to our favorite U$ $enator Chri$ Dodd

What they need’s a damn good whacking

In the financial blogosphere a pig can refer to a “dogshit stock” or an investor that is too greedy. Investors that are too greedy invariably end up in the chop shop. Looks to me that is exactly where Chris Dodd is headed so this one goes out to you boubie.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEQeRLT1HNQ]

A bit more on $enator Chri$ Dodd’$ ties to offshore reinsurers as we follow the $$$$$$$$

(H/T Steve)

This courtesy of Real Clear Politics as we gain much greater clarity why $enator Dodd is so against the ordinary people on the Gulf Coast that struggle to make ends meet because of outragious wind insurance. Simply put he and his family are pigs at the trough:

No wonder Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) went wobbly last week when asked about his February amendment ratifying hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at insurance giant AIG. Dodd has been one of the company’s favorite recipients of campaign contributions. But it turns out that Senator Dodd’s wife has also benefited from past connections to AIG as well.

From 2001-2004, Jackie Clegg Dodd served as an “outside” director of IPC Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda-based company controlled by AIG. IPC, which provides property casualty catastrophe insurance coverage, was formed in 1993 and currently has a market cap of $1.4 billion and trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IPCR. In 2001, in addition to a public offering of 15 million shares of stock that raised $380 million, IPC raised more than $109 million through a simultaneous private placement sale of 5.6 million shares of stock to AIG – giving AIG a 20% stake in IPC. (AIG sold its 13.397 million shares in IPC in August, 2006.) Continue reading “A bit more on $enator Chri$ Dodd’$ ties to offshore reinsurers as we follow the $$$$$$$$”

Gene continues multiperil insurance rollout. Greg Harper proves to be a good neighbor.

(h/t Alan at Yall for the link). Yesterday, thanks to the C-L story on the topic of multiperil insurance we found Mississippi’s own Rep Greg Harper has signed on to Gene’s bill joining Travis Childers as co-sponsors of HR 1264.  Bennie Thompson has yet to sign on. Looking at the list of co sponsors at Gene’s congressional website we find a very diverse group of people (just like here at slabbed) in support of the multi peril concept. In addition to the newest announcements we see conservatives such as NOLA area Republican Rep Steve Scalise to Democratic Representatives Alcee Hastings and Sheila Jackson Lee have also signed on to HR 1264.

Over the past two years I’ve met, shook hands and briefly conversed with more US House members than I can remember at Gene’s Bay St Louis town hall meetings. Two from last year that came to the Bay and “talked a good game” were New York’s Steve Israel and Connecticut’s John Larson. For the slabbed it is put up or shut up time and we’re paying attention to the House members that sign up and the ones who talk a good game. We’re also paying attention to our own  US Senator Roger Wicker who appears to be doing a tap dance instead of working this issue from the Senate side.  Deborah Barfield has the Clarion Ledger story:

Banking on public outrage against insurance companies, 4th District Rep. Gene Taylor says his bill to add wind coverage to the federal flood-insurance program stands a better shot at passage this Congress.

“I would think that if there is ever a time to convince our fellow congressmen to rein in this industry, it’s now,” said Taylor, a Democrat.

Taylor reintroduced a bill this month that would expand the federal flood-insurance program to include wind coverage, which supporters say is important to homeowners in areas hit by hurricanes.

The bill, called the Multiple Peril Insurance Act, would allow homeowners who buy federal flood insurance to also purchase wind coverage.

Taylor said he expects more attention will be paid to his bill this year because lawmakers are upset that American International Group gave $165 million in employee bonuses after receiving more than $180 billion in a government bailout of the financial services industry. The House passed a bill Thursday that would impose a tax of 90 percent of those bonuses. Continue reading “Gene continues multiperil insurance rollout. Greg Harper proves to be a good neighbor.”