|
|
Submit your OVERTIME question now for Bill and his roundtable guests, and selected questions will be answered on the HBO.com website, immediately following the Friday premiere of Real Time on 10/2/09.
Please be aware that concise, single-topic questions have the best chance of being selected.
Refresh the Bill Maher homepage right before midnight if you do not see the "Watch Overtime" video link.
Please note: Video is optimized for use with Windows Media Player. Mac users will need Flip4Mac to view the stream.
|
Posts:
2
Registered:
9/25/09
|
|
(152 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:43 PM
Rate this post:
|
What is your response to the stall in the Senate of the emergency unemployment extension the House passed three weeks ago?
The originally understanding was HR3548 was an "emergency measure" for high unemployment states, to be followed up with a more extensive bill addressing issues in ALL states. Seems that went totally off track as they now are looking at all states rather than the preliminary emergency measure. Sort of like saying - yes, we know New Orleans is underwater, but hold up on aid because there are some flood waters in another area of the country too so we need to address both. So people are dying in New Orleans, so what.
So the bill sits in the Senate, all sorts of other options being batted around, while the hundreds of thousands of unemployed are dealing with foreclosures, evictions, and loss of utilities. The wolf is at the door....and he is not just knocking, he is kicking the door in.
|
|
|
Posts:
2
Registered:
10/2/09
|
|
(151 of 482)
Re: GEORGIAN BANK FAILURE
Oct 2, 2009 6:38 PM
|
Why aren't we hearing more about the continued bank failures taking place throughout the country?
This week the Georgian Bank failed. According to Jonathan Weil, News Columnist for Bloomberg.com: (Oct. 1) " There was a stunning omission from the government?s latest list of ?problem? banks, which ran to 416 lenders, a 15-year high, as of June 30. One outfit not on the list was Georgian Bank, the second-largest Atlanta-based bank, which supposedly had plenty of capital."
He goes on to state that "The FDIC estimates the collapse will cost its insurance fund $892 million, or 45 percent of the bank?s assets. That percentage was almost double the average for this year?s 95 U.S. bank failures, and it was the highest among the 10 largest ones. "
Part of the stimulus program for 2009 was an expansion of the insurance protection covered by the FDIC, but it's my understanding that this expires at the end of 2009. What is the FDIC anticipating for 2010?
Mr. Weil goes on to state that "... the FDIC keeps increasing its estimates for the losses it?s anticipating from future bank failures. In May, the agency said it was expecting $70 billion of losses through 2013. This week, it bumped that to $100 billion. The agency also said its insurance fund would finish the third quarter with a deficit, meaning liabilities exceed assets.
The FDIC, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, will get whatever money it needs to protect depositors. For now, it plans to raise $45 billion by collecting advance payments from the banking industry. Those payments will cover the next three years of premiums that the banks owe.
In effect, the FDIC is taking out a massive, no-interest loan to cover its bills. Borrowing from the future won?t improve its insurance fund?s capital, however, only its liquidity.
The big question is what the FDIC will do next time, should its loss estimates keep rising -- and there?s no reason to believe they won?t. By statute, the insurance fund is supposed to be funded solely by the banking industry. The FDIC could keep borrowing from the banks, directly or through more advances.
The agency could tap its $500 billion credit line with the U.S. Treasury. It still would have to pay back the money with fees from the industry, assuming the banks can?t persuade their minions in Congress to change the law. As it stands, the only way to boost the fund?s capital immediately is by charging the banks a lot more money for their insurance premiums. "
|
|
|
Posts:
1
Registered:
9/18/09
|
|
(150 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09Concpiracy Nut
Oct 2, 2009 6:33 PM
|
|
9/11 Conspiracy nut 2 planes hit two buildings 3 buildings collapse . Who is the conspiracy nut?
|
|
|
Posts:
4
Registered:
8/21/09
|
|
(149 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:32 PM
|
How many times does this have to happen for the USA to finally abolish the death penalty?
Texas pardons inmate freed by DNA
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33117021/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
The only good thing about the story was that he wasn't executed. Too many others haven't been as "lucky".
|
|
|
Posts:
1
Registered:
10/2/09
|
|
(148 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:32 PM
|
Obama and the Race Card
Why is there never a discussion about the fact that Obama is only 1/2 black? His Mother is white and he was raised by her and his grandparents. So, he is just as much white as he is black.
--
Edited by slre26 at 10/02/2009 3:33 PM PDT
|
|
|
Posts:
5
Registered:
10/2/09
|
|
(147 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:25 PM
|
Do you think Obama is stalling on trying to create jobs in order to help get his Health Care Reform passed?
The best way to get health care for about 20% of the Nation that currently doesn't have health insurance is to get them a job! Then we can worry about the rest.
Being unemployed for over 1 1/2 years now, I can't afford health insurance. Luckily I don't have a family that also relies on me having a job to be able to pay for health coverage. But you can probably safely say that for every unemployed person, there is at least 2 people without health care because of the family-factor.
Honestly, what has Obama done to help create new jobs? Give some funding to Green Tech? Which is by no means a quick fix, and will only create a few jobs. The only thing I have seen is that he just re-issued Bush's Stimulus Plan, which was helpful in slowing down the job loss, but by no means stopped it, let alone create additional jobs. (Another 250,000 jobs lost this past month, as they announced today.)
It seems that with Obama's plan is that I'll have health coverage before I have a job.
Fred Madden
|
|
|
Posts:
1
Registered:
10/2/09
|
|
(146 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:25 PM
|
1. Why doesnt President Obama release Leonard Peltier?
The judge in the case even admits that they couldn?t prove he was the shooter and that the evidence was tampered with and coerced testimony.
|
|
|
Posts:
4
Registered:
8/21/09
|
|
(145 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:22 PM
|
Since Baucus and other members of Congress have received so much money from the insurance industry is it safe to say that campaign contributions are nothing more than payoffs? And, if so, what can we do about it.
For more info see http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/2/headlines#6:
Watchdog Groups Expose Healthcare Industry Lobbyist Spending
New details have emerged about how the healthcare industry has been trying to sway the debate in Congress. A study by the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Responsive Politics has uncovered never-before-seen webs of campaign contributions from outside lobbyists and their clients to key members of Congress. Between January 2007 and June 2009, Max Baucus, the chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, collected contributions from thirty-seven outside lobbyists representing the pharmaceutical industry?s chief trade association, PhRMA, as well as thirty-six lobbyists who listed drug maker Amgen as their client. In all, eleven major health and insurance firms had their contributions to Baucus boosted through extra donations from ten or more of their outside lobbyists. Some thirty-two members of Congress got money from ten or more PhRMA lobbyists over the last two-and-a-half years. Amgen?s lobbyists did the same for twenty-four members.
--
Edited by BMo2xl at 10/02/2009 3:22 PM PDT
|
|
|
Posts:
10
Registered:
3/16/07
|
|
(144 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:21 PM
|
|
Well, now that we have agreement in both parties to kill off almost everyone (Dems: old people; GOP: sick people), will it be easier to solve problems like population, hunger and pollution? Yeaaaaaa, more for me! (Just do it soon because I'm not getting any younger and I think I feel a cough coming on!)
|
|
|
Posts:
7
Registered:
8/14/09
|
|
(143 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:06 PM
|
Say, who was that twinky you had on your show last week who figures we need to put missiles into the Czech Republic (not Czechoslovakia, Bill) and Poland because those two countries want them there and they're our allies?
How does he figure those "countries" even want the US to stash its arsenal there? I bet there are plenty of Poles and Czechs who can do without American troops and their CIA pals sneaking into their countries along with those confounded missiles. Have you ever encountered a nation where 100% of the population agree with such foreign schemes (and hey, we're foreigners anywhere in Europe)? Then again, what about our other allies over there? Did they agree to those missiles too? I seriously doubt it. In fact, the Germans got quite uptight the last time the US sneaked its missiles into Germany and later even dropped one (luckily no nuclear warhead was attached at the time). So how does Germany feel about having those US missiles right next door in Poland and the Czech Republic? Or are those allies an old hat now that we have those two new ones?
|
|
|
Posts:
21
Registered:
2/28/08
|
|
(142 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 6:06 PM
|
|
Do you feel it necessary that everyone get vaccinated for swine flu?
|
|
|
Posts:
7
Registered:
8/14/09
|
|
(141 of 482)
Re: Overtime is a boring name
Oct 2, 2009 5:55 PM
|
|
There are lotteries all over Europe and other places. In fact, there's a lottery in Texas too.
|
|
|
Posts:
7
Registered:
8/14/09
|
|
(140 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 5:52 PM
Rate this post:
|
Considering all this xenophobic homeland security paranoia, why did the US even apply to host the Olympics in Chicago?
I'm really relieved that the Olympic Committee had better sense than Obama and Brazil gets to host the games in 2016 so I don't have to hear endless whining about all those foreigners coming into the US and thus presumed "terrorists" sneaking in by the scores.
|
|
|
Posts:
5
Registered:
6/19/09
|
|
(139 of 482)
Re: Submit Questions for Overtime - 10/2/09
Oct 2, 2009 5:50 PM
Rate this post:
|
Why is abuse against women often fluffed with terms like 'domestic disturbance' or 'a crime of passion'?
This is TERRORISM; these are HATE CRIMES; it is ASSAULT.
No more powder puff slaps on the wrist for 'men just being men'.
If I were in charge: Can you spell "EUNUCH"!
Sorry for the caps, I GUESS I AM SHOUTING.
|
|
|
Posts:
72
Registered:
9/18/08
|
|
(138 of 482)
Oct 2, 2009 5:40 PM
Rate this post:
|
Professor Dawkins has described evolution as a kind of "blind watchmaker". Now we are learning how to look inside the watch and read the genes directly. Does he think we should try to use our knowledge of the genes to influence our own evolution?
P.S. I don't think we can ever have perfect knowledge about anything, but I do think we should use what knowledge we do have, try to learn more, and try to do better based on what we do know.
|
|
|
|
|
