Sunday, September 28, 2008
Oh just read the bailout language,.. it's total B.S. !
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/28/bailout-legislation-full_n_130063.html#comments
Fuck this...we are about to be screwed again, by our own government!
Brent Budowsky's article most closely resembles my feelings. I cannot explain how much I feel duped, used and otherwise thwarted. I feel as if my entire life is a lie. I served my country as a civil servant and in the US Army...for this?????
From Brent Budowsky:
For whom the bell tolls
By Brent Budowsky
Posted: 09/22/08 06:38 PM [ET]
I think of my former boss Lloyd Bentsen, who, as a senator and Treasury secretary, drew on his experience as CEO and financier with one iron and inviolable rule.
Bentsen probably knew more about finance than any person who ever served in the Senate. He never made rash decisions. He always insisted that he, and his staff, have total grasp of issues and carefully consider all options.
Today the president, the Fed, the Treasury, the markets and the Congress are violating Bentsen’s cardinal rule and acting at a dangerous moment in the most half-assed manner, in haste and panic, not fully understanding the problem, the solution, or the implications.
1. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson should present Congress with their anticipated calendar for spending the $700 billion they request. Congress should immediately pass one-third of the money with unanimous bipartisan support.
2. Over the next month the administration and Congress should collaborate on executing the program, assessing mid-course corrections, devising reforms of bankruptcy laws, enacting economic stimulus for Main Street and bringing the Group of Seven into the solution.
This would restore common sense and reassure markets, investors and taxpayers while sharing the burden with European and Asian players, lowering the cost to Americans and increasing the chance of success.
The bell tolls today for all of us, but especially, in a historic generational crime, the bell tolls for young people who will pay for the gluttony, misdeeds and incompetence of the adults.
The girl in the baby carriage, the boy on the playground, the high school kids, the college students, the men and women in uniform will pay for the sins and shames of their elders:
A disastrous healthcare system. Pollution and global warming. A trillion-dollar budget deficit . National debt well over $10 trillion. Social Security in crisis. Long-term veterans’ needs that are underfunded by $500 billion or more. An energy disaster that oil drilling will not materially improve while oil markets are corrupted by rampant and extreme speculation. Education that lags in a brutally competitive world.
This is a moral crime by the old against the young. Now, without serious debate, without checks and balances, without understanding the implications of actions, we rush in haste and panic to risk stratospheric sums of taxpayer money and to destroy the capability of the next President and Congress to address grave and unmet needs. Anyone who claims a $700 billion bailout will not mandate an enormous tax increase later is delusional or lying.
We faced a run on the bank by the rich. Then a run on the bank by the banks. Now a raid on the Treasury in which taxpayers are forced to bail out today and finance tomorrow the greed, gluttony and incompetence in the scandal of our times.
Young people are told they are not old enough to drink, but they are young enough to die in wars while our reckless behavior takes precedence over their body armor, Humvees and medical care. Government creates unimaginable debt while giving moral lectures to workers who run up credit card bills to make ends meet.
Those who have the most are not asked what they can do for our country. Those who suffer are forced to pay the cost, for those who made millions while making this mess.
Let’s step back and think about this. For whom does the bell toll? For us.
From Brent Budowsky:
For whom the bell tolls
By Brent Budowsky
Posted: 09/22/08 06:38 PM [ET]
I think of my former boss Lloyd Bentsen, who, as a senator and Treasury secretary, drew on his experience as CEO and financier with one iron and inviolable rule.
Bentsen probably knew more about finance than any person who ever served in the Senate. He never made rash decisions. He always insisted that he, and his staff, have total grasp of issues and carefully consider all options.
Today the president, the Fed, the Treasury, the markets and the Congress are violating Bentsen’s cardinal rule and acting at a dangerous moment in the most half-assed manner, in haste and panic, not fully understanding the problem, the solution, or the implications.
1. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson should present Congress with their anticipated calendar for spending the $700 billion they request. Congress should immediately pass one-third of the money with unanimous bipartisan support.
2. Over the next month the administration and Congress should collaborate on executing the program, assessing mid-course corrections, devising reforms of bankruptcy laws, enacting economic stimulus for Main Street and bringing the Group of Seven into the solution.
This would restore common sense and reassure markets, investors and taxpayers while sharing the burden with European and Asian players, lowering the cost to Americans and increasing the chance of success.
The bell tolls today for all of us, but especially, in a historic generational crime, the bell tolls for young people who will pay for the gluttony, misdeeds and incompetence of the adults.
The girl in the baby carriage, the boy on the playground, the high school kids, the college students, the men and women in uniform will pay for the sins and shames of their elders:
A disastrous healthcare system. Pollution and global warming. A trillion-dollar budget deficit . National debt well over $10 trillion. Social Security in crisis. Long-term veterans’ needs that are underfunded by $500 billion or more. An energy disaster that oil drilling will not materially improve while oil markets are corrupted by rampant and extreme speculation. Education that lags in a brutally competitive world.
This is a moral crime by the old against the young. Now, without serious debate, without checks and balances, without understanding the implications of actions, we rush in haste and panic to risk stratospheric sums of taxpayer money and to destroy the capability of the next President and Congress to address grave and unmet needs. Anyone who claims a $700 billion bailout will not mandate an enormous tax increase later is delusional or lying.
We faced a run on the bank by the rich. Then a run on the bank by the banks. Now a raid on the Treasury in which taxpayers are forced to bail out today and finance tomorrow the greed, gluttony and incompetence in the scandal of our times.
Young people are told they are not old enough to drink, but they are young enough to die in wars while our reckless behavior takes precedence over their body armor, Humvees and medical care. Government creates unimaginable debt while giving moral lectures to workers who run up credit card bills to make ends meet.
Those who have the most are not asked what they can do for our country. Those who suffer are forced to pay the cost, for those who made millions while making this mess.
Let’s step back and think about this. For whom does the bell toll? For us.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Keating 5 anybody?
Fox Cuts Off Guest for Mentioning the Keating Five
By hrebendorf - September 26, 2008, 2:19PM
This is a fun clip. Appearing on Fox & Friends this morning, conservative jackass Michael Reagan, in an attack on Obama and the Democratic leadership, launched into a rant about Enron and Worldcom. Guest Mike Papantonio, rightly figuring they were talking about history, brought up the Keating Five scandal, at which point, host Steve "Douchebag" Doocy immediately tried to shut him down. The producer can even be heard off camera calling for someone to cut Papantonio's mic:
Here is the Fox Video...
_____________________
From Ray Story the transcript:
'Cut his mike,' producer suggests
The Keating Five scandal, and John McCain's role in it, has received relatively little mention in presidential campaign coverage, and at least one Fox News host seems dedicated to keeping it that way.
Appearing Thursday morning on Fox & Friends, radio host Mike Papantonio tried to remind viewers about McCain's intervention with federal regulators on behalf of real estate mogul Charles Keating, who was trying to avoid regulations of a savings and loan he owned during the S&L crisis of the 1980s.
F&F's Steve Doocy told Papantonio to "pipe down," called him "rude" and demanded he "cut it out." A show producer could be overheard saying "cut his mike."
As Papantonio tries one last time to explain the details of the Keating Five scandal, Doocy again cuts him off.
"This is not the History Channel," he says.
Papantonio's apparent crime was interrupting fellow guest Michael Reagan, the conservative radio host, who was arguing that it would be unfair to judge McCain based on his actions 20 years ago.
"It has everything to do with what's happening today," Papantonio said before being told to pipe down.
Regardless of whether Papantonio was being rude, preserving an orderly debate certainly could not have been Doocy's goal in silencing the guest. Not two minutes before his admonition that Papantonio was "being rude," Doocy repeatedly interrupted his guest to deliver talking points that might as well have been written by the McCain campaign.
At least three times Doocy interrupted Papantonio as he argued that McCain's political gambit to "suspend" his campaign and delay Friday's debate was more a response to his flagging poll numbers than an attempt to fix the economic crisis. Doocy wasn't buying it.
"If Barack Obama wants to do so much for the economy, why doesn't he go to his day job and work in the US senate?" he asked Reagan, cutting off Papantonio's argument.
By hrebendorf - September 26, 2008, 2:19PM
This is a fun clip. Appearing on Fox & Friends this morning, conservative jackass Michael Reagan, in an attack on Obama and the Democratic leadership, launched into a rant about Enron and Worldcom. Guest Mike Papantonio, rightly figuring they were talking about history, brought up the Keating Five scandal, at which point, host Steve "Douchebag" Doocy immediately tried to shut him down. The producer can even be heard off camera calling for someone to cut Papantonio's mic:
Here is the Fox Video...
_____________________
From Ray Story the transcript:
'Cut his mike,' producer suggests
The Keating Five scandal, and John McCain's role in it, has received relatively little mention in presidential campaign coverage, and at least one Fox News host seems dedicated to keeping it that way.
Appearing Thursday morning on Fox & Friends, radio host Mike Papantonio tried to remind viewers about McCain's intervention with federal regulators on behalf of real estate mogul Charles Keating, who was trying to avoid regulations of a savings and loan he owned during the S&L crisis of the 1980s.
F&F's Steve Doocy told Papantonio to "pipe down," called him "rude" and demanded he "cut it out." A show producer could be overheard saying "cut his mike."
As Papantonio tries one last time to explain the details of the Keating Five scandal, Doocy again cuts him off.
"This is not the History Channel," he says.
Papantonio's apparent crime was interrupting fellow guest Michael Reagan, the conservative radio host, who was arguing that it would be unfair to judge McCain based on his actions 20 years ago.
"It has everything to do with what's happening today," Papantonio said before being told to pipe down.
Regardless of whether Papantonio was being rude, preserving an orderly debate certainly could not have been Doocy's goal in silencing the guest. Not two minutes before his admonition that Papantonio was "being rude," Doocy repeatedly interrupted his guest to deliver talking points that might as well have been written by the McCain campaign.
At least three times Doocy interrupted Papantonio as he argued that McCain's political gambit to "suspend" his campaign and delay Friday's debate was more a response to his flagging poll numbers than an attempt to fix the economic crisis. Doocy wasn't buying it.
"If Barack Obama wants to do so much for the economy, why doesn't he go to his day job and work in the US senate?" he asked Reagan, cutting off Papantonio's argument.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Stealing America vote by vote
__________________________________________________
I have written many posts on the current financial crisis which can be viewed at The Kendallian Voice, and which I will not repeat here.
Suffice it to say, stop the BS, don't give our tax dollars away without protecting the middle class. We will not stand for this shock disaster capitalism!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Thoughts on the financial crisis we are embroiled in...
We have had long discussions at our house regarding the current financial crisis. We both feel that anything the government rushes into can't be a good thing. We were happy to hear Rep. DeFazio of Oregon on Cspan this morning and called his office to give him our thanks, for saying that more time and more review needed to be done before anything was passed. Then we called Rep. Lamar Smith's office to state our case.
Who did you call today??
Then low and behold, later in the day, THE Goddess of Radio, Randi Rhodes posted her thoughts.....just what we had been saying here at home all morning. Thanks Randi, for putting it so well.
From Randi Rhodes:
This is THE PATRIOT ACT ALL OVER AGAIN. Anything Congress RUSHES through will be THE WRONG RESPONSE and take from you all that you have. Freedom, privacy, money, credit, all of it must go!
The massive "bailout package" has to be paid for.
How? Perhaps a massive tax increase, definitely very tight credit markets for you and for small businesses. There will be bank merger after bank merger which will limit competition for loans and bank services. The Treasury will hire "contractors" through "no bid contracts" to place a "value" on valueless paper and set the price YOU have to pay to settle all the debt. NO one will really know how to price these things. NO one will know what they're doing, but everyone will get INTO THE BUSINESS of buying and selling these worthless assets.
There will be a bail out of both foreign and domestic banks with your tax dollars, and all of this will happened without REGULATIONS or OVERSIGHT .
THE REAL SOLUTION IS THE ONE YOU KNOW. If the markets were regulated NOW and Mortgage holders would be permitted to renegotiate the principal on their home loans this would STOP dead in it's tracks. Every individual with a bad loan could offer to pay 60 cents on the dollar, more or less and keep their home.
If we could make deals with credit card companies to settle our debts this would stop now because we'd have more money in our pockets to prop up the Economy.
If we raised taxes on Billionaires who created this mess and forced them to pay for this, This would stop NOW.
If we lowered taxes on Small Businesses and gave them low cost inventory loans THIS WOULD STOP NOW.
If we lowered taxes on everyone making less than 2M a year, and raised taxes through the roof on those who had profits of over $10 Million this would stop NOW. Small businesses would pop up all over America and people could go back to work, small business would flourish and the taxes we pay at the lower rates would pay down the DEBT.
If we left Iraq NOW we would add 10 Billion a MONTH to the Treasury.
This Government Bailout of banks BEFORE they fail, including FOREIGN BANKS with Taxpayer dollars is PRE EMPTIVE FINANCIAL WAR on the American People. It is the last part of Shock and Awe.
DO NOT SIT IDLY BY. Demand that this stop. DEAD COLD.
What we need and want is REREGULATION of FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS .
Give Homeowners the ability to negotiate home loans, car loans, credit card debt .
Set up a Resolution Trust Corporation to buy back homes we can't afford to keep with a Board of Directors to monitor all purchases and sales.
Immediately force Financial Institutions to stop paying dividends to shareholders.
Sell the hard assets of failed financial institutions, offices, buildings, computers, desks, any real property they owned.
Oversight on the entire Bailout process through a Board of Directors to oversee any acution of company assets.
Charge CEOs with fraud and levy huge fines on those who profited from Fraud and Misery.
Enact a law that states that a CEO can not make more than 144 times the amount the lowest paid worker makes.
Ban NO BID contracts with shadowy people who for a profit will price and sell assets, loans, banks.
Who did you call today??
Then low and behold, later in the day, THE Goddess of Radio, Randi Rhodes posted her thoughts.....just what we had been saying here at home all morning. Thanks Randi, for putting it so well.
From Randi Rhodes:
This is THE PATRIOT ACT ALL OVER AGAIN. Anything Congress RUSHES through will be THE WRONG RESPONSE and take from you all that you have. Freedom, privacy, money, credit, all of it must go!
The massive "bailout package" has to be paid for.
How? Perhaps a massive tax increase, definitely very tight credit markets for you and for small businesses. There will be bank merger after bank merger which will limit competition for loans and bank services. The Treasury will hire "contractors" through "no bid contracts" to place a "value" on valueless paper and set the price YOU have to pay to settle all the debt. NO one will really know how to price these things. NO one will know what they're doing, but everyone will get INTO THE BUSINESS of buying and selling these worthless assets.
There will be a bail out of both foreign and domestic banks with your tax dollars, and all of this will happened without REGULATIONS or OVERSIGHT .
THE REAL SOLUTION IS THE ONE YOU KNOW. If the markets were regulated NOW and Mortgage holders would be permitted to renegotiate the principal on their home loans this would STOP dead in it's tracks. Every individual with a bad loan could offer to pay 60 cents on the dollar, more or less and keep their home.
If we could make deals with credit card companies to settle our debts this would stop now because we'd have more money in our pockets to prop up the Economy.
If we raised taxes on Billionaires who created this mess and forced them to pay for this, This would stop NOW.
If we lowered taxes on Small Businesses and gave them low cost inventory loans THIS WOULD STOP NOW.
If we lowered taxes on everyone making less than 2M a year, and raised taxes through the roof on those who had profits of over $10 Million this would stop NOW. Small businesses would pop up all over America and people could go back to work, small business would flourish and the taxes we pay at the lower rates would pay down the DEBT.
If we left Iraq NOW we would add 10 Billion a MONTH to the Treasury.
This Government Bailout of banks BEFORE they fail, including FOREIGN BANKS with Taxpayer dollars is PRE EMPTIVE FINANCIAL WAR on the American People. It is the last part of Shock and Awe.
DO NOT SIT IDLY BY. Demand that this stop. DEAD COLD.
What we need and want is REREGULATION of FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS .
Give Homeowners the ability to negotiate home loans, car loans, credit card debt .
Set up a Resolution Trust Corporation to buy back homes we can't afford to keep with a Board of Directors to monitor all purchases and sales.
Immediately force Financial Institutions to stop paying dividends to shareholders.
Sell the hard assets of failed financial institutions, offices, buildings, computers, desks, any real property they owned.
Oversight on the entire Bailout process through a Board of Directors to oversee any acution of company assets.
Charge CEOs with fraud and levy huge fines on those who profited from Fraud and Misery.
Enact a law that states that a CEO can not make more than 144 times the amount the lowest paid worker makes.
Ban NO BID contracts with shadowy people who for a profit will price and sell assets, loans, banks.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Police illegally arrest Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!
She went to check on her cameraman and a producer who were taking videos of the protest. Her staffers were swept up by the police, even while wearing press credentials. When Amy went to ask about having her staffers released, she was arrested. Incredible, unbelieveable. What ever happened to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech? The press, as our watchdogs of democracy should not be treated like this, nor should the peaceful protesters. What a fascist state we live in!
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