Bank Loans, NASA, and Fish Tanks
Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Sheila Bair chastises large banks for tightening their qualification standards for loans.
The emails released by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in response to CEI’s Freedom of Information request show a pattern of climate data misrepresentation at NASA.
Yesterday, the Tennessee house voted to amend a state ban on animals in barbershops. The amendment exempts fish and birds.
1. FINANCE
Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Sheila Bair chastises large banks for tightening their qualification standards for loans.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Fellow Fran Smith on why low qualification standards are what crashed the economy in the first place.
“Didn’t indiscriminate lending and inadequate provision for loan losses contribute to the financial meltdown? In this uncertain climate, isn’t it a good idea for banks to tighten their lending standards and increase their reserves? But, no, stimulating the economy is the game du jour.”
2. ENVIRONMENT
The emails released by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in response to CEI’s Freedom of Information request show a pattern of climate data misrepresentation at NASA.
CEI Experts Available to Comment: Senior Counsel Chris Horner and Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray on the significance of the released emails.
“Although there is no evidence that GISS has destroyed its data, as CRU did in the late 1980s, Dr. Reto Ruedy of GISS admits in an email that ‘[The United States Historical Climate Network] data are not routinely kept up-to-date.’ In another email, he reveals that NASA had inflated its temperature data since 2000 on a questionable basis. ‘[NASA’s] assumption that the adjustments made the older data consistent with future data… may not have been correct,’ he says.”
3. REGULATION
Yesterday, the Tennessee house voted to amend a state ban on animals in barbershops. The amendment exempts fish and birds.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Ryan Young on why the amendment is at least a step in the right direction.
“While fish tank liberalization won’t affect very many people, it is heartening to see legislators repealing laws instead of passing more of them. Legislators looking for other things to repeal can start by looking at other Regulations of the Day.”