Some progress...

**R13** · March 19th, 2009, 07:32 PM

House passes bill taxing AIG, other bonuses - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com

**R13** · March 23rd, 2009, 02:19 PM

Obama wants exit plan strategy in Afghanistan - White House- msnbc.com

**simple man** · March 23rd, 2009, 04:48 PM

GOP says fixing Bush's screw-up will bankrupt gvmt. Big Deal. Protect the folks that worked for the SS and medical and let the the countries that loaned the US money get it the same way we got our WW II debt. I find it funny that in 3 months it is a real crisis, but while King George was in office it was lie, lie , lie. Kill a few thieves and take their money- it is coming. Cut food stamps and welfare. Sorry. Cut the pay of the federal employees. Just the facts. GOP says this is no laughing matter - The Times Herald News: Norristown, PA and Montgomery County (timesherald.com)

**R13** · March 24th, 2009, 11:36 AM

Obama to beef up Mexico border policy - CNN.com

**Counts** · March 24th, 2009, 04:33 PM

RealClearPolitics - Articles - Dodd's Wife a Former Director of Bermuda-Based IPC Holdings, an AIG Controlled Company

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.)
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Clegg was compensated for her duties to the company, which was managed by a subsidiary of AIG. In 2003, according to a proxy statement, Clegg received $12,000 per year and an additional $1,000 for each Directors' and committee meeting she attended. Clegg served on the Audit and Investment committees during her final year on the board.
IPC paid millions each year to other AIG-related companies for administrative and other services. Clegg was a diligent director. In 2003, the proxy statement report, she attended more than 75% of board and committee meetings. This while she served as the managing partner of Clegg International Consultants, LLC, which she created in 2001, the year she joined the board of IPC. (See Dodd's public financial disclosure reports with the Senate from 2001-2004 here.)
Dodd is likely more familiar with the complicated workings of AIG than he was letting on last week. This week may provide him with another opportunity to refresh his recollections.

**sup-rbeast** · March 25th, 2009, 08:35 AM

AIG?s Campaign Contributions - ProPublica

AIG?s Campaign Contributions
by Sharona Coutts and Ben Protess, ProPublica - October 30, 2008 3:31 pm EDT

We?ve been following the travails of former insurance giant AIG since its sudden transformation from a corporate titan to state-run company in mid-September.

First we reported that the company was still lobbying, despite now being 80 percent government-owned.

Then we wrote about what it was lobbying for. The company was pushing legislators to back away from tighter regulations of the mortgage market ? regulations designed to avoid the problems that have led to the current financial mess. The Senate then rapped the company over the knuckles for that cheekiness and told them to quit their lobbying. We also found out that AIG had been lobbying on a surprising range of issues ? such as a nuclear treaty with India.

Given its determination to continue currying favor with lawmakers, we wondered what AIG was ? and more importantly, still is ? doing to influence Capitol Hill.

First, we checked campaign contributions that AIG employees had made following the bailout. We found that the majority went to Barack Obama. The amount was relatively small ? a total of just under $19,000 up till October 15, which is the most recent data available.

Employees gave a paltry $250 to McCain?s campaign, which could be a sign of anything from their political affiliation to their beliefs about who is likely to win the election. (There?s no law against public employees giving political contributions, according to Fred Wertheimer of pro-democracy group Democracy 21.)

Next, we poked around to see whom their lobbyists (now former lobbyists) had been giving to.

The most recent data for that only gets us to the end of September, but we couldn?t find donations made after the bailout.

Interestingly, through 2007 and this year, AIG?s lobbyists heavily favored the Republicans over the Democrats. They gave $217,000 to Republicans, almost exactly $100,000 more than they gave to Democrats.

John McCain and his campaign were the top recipients, with almost $21,000.

Looks to me like who gets the most lobbyist money from AIG depends on when you decide to point the finger....