By Alan Mascarenhas and Katie Maloney
This year is proving to be one of insurrection within the Republican Party. In recent weeks a cavalcade of long shots has shocked the establishment in GOP primaries, armed with little but Tea Party backing and a supportive tweet or two from Sarah Palin. Now comes the Tea Party’s biggest test: can its heroes actually win in a general election? While few pundits would be willing to bet against the house just yet on Sharron Angle coming out on top in Nevada or Christine O’Donnell pulling ahead in Delaware, the movement has certainly thrown this year’s campaign for a loop. But among the kookier candidates the Tea Party has unearthed, there are a few who stand out as possible rising stars. Following our recent look at the top Tea Party movers and shakers, here’s a rundown of the most exciting and controversial names you’ll see on November’s ballot.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tea Party Darlings - Newsweek
CORRECTED - UPDATE 1-AIG exit plan to slash US bailout costs-official - Reuters
(Corrects break-even share price to $28.70 in paragraph 3)
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - American International Group's (AIG.N) plan to exit government support could cut the cost of the U.S. Treasury's bailout program by half, to less than $50 billion based on current market valuations, a senior Obama administration official said on Thursday.
The plan to convert the Treasury's preferred shares in the bailed out insurer to common stock could yield a profit of around $16.5 billion for taxpayers, compared to a previously estimated loss of about $45 billion, the official said.
Under a Federal Reserve and Treasury bailout that exceeded $180 billion at one point, the Treasury invested about $49.1 billion from TARP into AIG, including capitalized interest costs. Based on an actual cash cost of about $47.5 billion, the Treasury views $28.70 at its break-even share price for AIG.
On Thursday, AIG shares were up more than 1 percent to $38.65, a price that hangs a $64 billion valuation on the government's stake.
The administration official cautioned, however, that any declines in AIG's share price could reduce taxpayer profits. But Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner briefed President Barack Obama that the internal cost estimate for the Troubled Asset Relief Program could comfortably fall by around half from its previous level of around $101 billion, the official said.
The administration is likely to make new TARP cost estimates in conjunction with the end of the government's fiscal year on Thursday and the expiration of authority for new TARP investments on Sunday, the official added.
Under the conversion plan announced earlier on Thursday, the Treasury expects to receive about 1.655 billion common shares in AIG, lifting its stake in the insurance giant to about 92.1 percent from 80 percent.
The conversion, which is subject to successful sales and stock offerings for AIG's foreign assets and repayment of Federal Reserve loans, is being done to give the Treasury a more saleable asset than the relatively illiquid preferred stock it received in the bailout.
The Treasury is still weighing options on how best to sell off the shares, a process that is not expected to start until 2011, the official said.
So the projected cost just went from 800 billion taxpayer dollars to 50 billion, and still headed lower.
And we got to keep our major corporations in business (including GM).
If the right-wing loudmouths hadn’t hammered that this was “Obama’s plan” (which it isn’t – Bush created it) they could take some of the credit.
Lies blow up in your face, boys.
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US: Only one supply route shut down by Pakistan - CNN International
Three soldiers were killed when NATO helicopters crossed the Afghanistan Pakistan border, Pakistani security officials said.NEW: U.S. says only one supply route is closedPakistan says its troops fired warning shotsNATO aircraft entered Pakistani airspace, ISAF saidIslamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The U.S. military says only one supply route to Afghanistan has been closed by the Pakistani government after fighting that led to the deaths of three Pakistani soldiers, and a military spokesman said Thursday that United States is hopeful the situation is only temporary.
Pakistan banned NATO supply convoys from entering Afghanistan after the deaths of the three soldiers, whom the government says were killed in Pakistani territory during fighting between NATO troops and militants, according to a military official from the NATO-led command in Afghanistan.
Other routes from Pakistan to the war zone remain open, Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Thursday. Lapan said it was too soon to assess the impact of closing this crucial route.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad is talking with Pakistan to resolve the situation.
Supply convoys are all-important for the Afghan war effort, and officials from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were trying to persuade Pakistan to lift the ban. Coalition forces rely heavily on convoys from Pakistan to bring in supplies and gear.
ISAF said in a statement Thursday that its forces saw what they thought were insurgents trying to fire mortars at a coalition base in the Dand Patan District of Afghanistan's Paktiya province, near the Pakistani border.
An air weapons team targeted the suspected insurgents' firing position, located inside Afghanistan along the border area, and the aircraft entered Pakistani airspace briefly "as they engaged this initial target," the ISAF statement said.
After this strike, the "aircraft received what the crews assessed as effective small arms fire from individuals just across the border in Pakistan" and the ISAF aircraft, operating in self-defense, entered into Pakistani airspace and killed "several armed individuals."
Later, Pakistani military officials told ISAF that coalition aircraft struck its border forces.
"ISAF and Pakistani forces are reviewing the operational reporting to verify the exact location of the two engagements and the facts in this case, and we will work together to fully investigate this incident.
"Both sides have in mind that it is the insurgents, operating on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and violating the territorial sovereignty of both countries, that we are focused on fighting," the ISAF statement said.
ISAF issued "sincere condolences to the Pakistani military and the families of those who were killed or injured."
The Pakistani government said two helicopters from Afghanistan appeared to have crossed the border into Pakistan in the Mandata Kandaho, Ali Mangola area of the upper Kurram Agency and engaged an outpost of Frontier Corps through cannon fire.
The post, manned by six soldiers, is located 200 meters inside Pakistan, and troops fired their rifles to indicate that the helicopters were crossing into Pakistani territory.
Instead of heeding the warning, the choppers fired two missiles and destroyed the post, killing the three soldiers and injuring three others.
"This is the third incident of its kind during past one week. In the wake of the last incident on 27 September, contact was made at the highest military level and the incident was regretted by the USA," the government said.
NATO helicopters crossed into Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan in pursuit of insurgents over the weekend, killing 49 people, a spokesman told CNN Monday.
Crossing the border did not violate the International Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, Maj. Michael Johnson said.
Pakistan is very sensitive about U.S.-led military operations on its territory and issued a strong protest Monday.
Pakistan called the incursions "a clear violation and breach" of U.N. rules for foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The United Nations "mandate terminates/finishes at the Afghanistan border. There are no agreed hot pursuit rules," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
A senior administration official in the tribal region's Khyber Agency told CNN Thursday that Pakistan had temporarily stopped NATO supplies from entering Afghanistan in the area of Takhta Baig, which is located about 45 km (28 miles) from the border with Afghanistan.
The official asked to not be named because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
A commander of international forces in the western part of Afghanistan said Thursday that Pakistan's recent ban on use of supply routes is "not a problem" for troops in his area of the country.
Italian Gen. Claudio Berto, talking to reporters in the Pentagon via satellite from Afghanistan, said, "In my point of view, it's not a problem, we are really far away from Pakistan, and if you mean the goods for the soldier, they're coming through other borders, for example Turkmenistan. And we have no problem with this issue."