Corn that’s been through the cow

McClatchy:

Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, culminated more than 10 hours of often-contentious testimony by telling Goldman’s top officer, chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, that the firm had “a fundamental conflict” with its clients’ interests as it exited the home mortgage market in 2006 and 2007.

“And it raises a real ethical issue,” said Levin, the chairman of the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee….

Levin recounted for Blankfein a litany of failed deals from 2006 and 2007 that totaled $3.5 billion in which he said that “clients lost, Goldman profited.”

At another point, Levin repeatedly attacked Blankfein’s contention that the firm was only modestly betting against the housing market. “You were short like crazy,” he said. “You came out ahead in a market that crashed.”

Levin also attacked the firm’s trustworthiness. “You want to be trusted. I’m glad you want to be trusted, but I think you can understand why there’s a lot of folks who have some real doubts.”

Blankfein, who often seemed cowed by Levin’s questioning, consistently repeated the company line that Goldman’s clients understood the complexity of its deals. “The thing(s) we are selling to them are the risks they want.” At other times, Goldman’s CEO and the senators seemed to be talking different languages.

Lots of attention to the shitty deal but the real quote of the day came from Jon Tester, not Carl Levin.

“It seems to me, and it’s not like selling a lame horse or an unsound horse. It’s not like selling a — a can of corn that’s been through a cow and you’re calling it corn when it’s really something else,” said Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat.

Something else indeed and right down there with Republican mailing consultant Walter Lukens dismissing the letter of the law as ankle biting. (There must have been some Wall Streeters on that mailing list because their donations to the GOoPers are way, way up.)

No problemo, Sarah Palin has the solution. I don’t think she’s on the same page as the NY Times, but who in the establishment is?

For serious comments, check out Maha, Michael Winship, David Waldman, David Dayen, Jane Hamsher,

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Wingnuttertopia:

Lege to pay appropriate tribute to Gov. BridgeFail

Breitbart cashing in

Arizona: the meth lab of democracy

Palin tix in Dallas get discounted, still not sold out

Wes Pruden shiting

Beck’s numbers down

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Political stuff:

What Atrios said (because it’s what I’ve been saying)

The truth about North Korea is that no one wants to fuck with them because no one wants to end up being responsible

Giordano on Arizona and Juan Crow

Clarence Page on how the Afrikaners did it

Horton on Obama on Dawn Johnsen

Oklahoma overrides sanity, doubles down on their right to let cops inspect suspicious uteruses

Fake Obama smoking pic good enough for AP

What was once controversial is now just called talk radio

Virginia inching towards drink and carry law

You can’t recuse yourself if you don’t know what the word means

Bachmann being more bached up than usual

Iowa GOoPer wannabe sets new low for offensive racist twaddle

Mick on the coming screwjob

Laura Bush opens up and . . . lies and excusifies (or as TBogg says, Laura Bush killed a man in Midland just to sell her book)

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I wonder how, when you’re saddled with corrupt legacy permanent hires and an obstructionist minority party who won’t let you fill vacancies, you’re supposed to fix the messes left by the last team?

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Picked up the passport card this afternoon. I talked to over ten federal employees before I was done and now I’m out $105 for a picture ID that makes me look even worse than my drivers license.

It could be worse. I could be living in Honduras.

Or Mexico. (Mexico’s revenge.)(Same as St.Paul’s, actually.)(And no, I didn’t realize next year’s MLB All-Star Game will be in Phoenix.)(& more on the bill’s author and former John Ashcroft aide.)

But I think the worst place to be would be Israel (if you’re not Jewish).

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MN:

Uptake gets old digs back at Capitol, no word on MDE’s request for space

Lt. Gov. Annette Meeks? I dunthinso (more)

It’s not just Bob Bennett, Orrin Hatch is in some seriously deep shit as well

GOP House member from SD42 rips on racist poll

Lambert on MAK

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Etc.:

The Mayor is now Coach Mayor, thenkuvermuch

Our lip-sync prez

FDL Pot semi-finals

Vax story

The Exiled’s 2d Schopenhauer Award

Your atheist three minutes of empowerment from Big Daddy M

Pop Noam

If you look up, you might see X37B

Republicans use phony pot petition to switch voters’ party affiliation

NY-made Arizona Iced Tea is boned

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Leaving in the morning. No posts until Sunday.

The comments have been set to tase anyone who leaves overly long comments, more than 37 links in a comment, or a YouTube of a band I don’t like.

Obviously there will be no music set this week but feel free to upload your own and leave the link in the comments at the other blog.

• sgat