Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Tucson is in Shock


As a paramedic who used to work in Tucson (a quarter century ago), I
know the UA Trauma Center very well. Without question, it's the best
place Gabby Giffords and her colleagues could have been taken.

From the shooting till she arrived at UA was 37 minutes, a remarkable
scene time given 6 dead and 13 wounded (I think I have those numbers
correct.) My mom, who lives in Gabby's district, says the doctor's are
"cautiously optimistic." Gabby is responsive to pain, squeezing
fingers and so on, and the bullet to her head went in and out CLEANLY
without doing the damage which it could have. The good news in all
this seems to be that the shooter (my opinion, purely from what I've
read so far; I could well be wrong) wasn't using hollow-point bullets
(which expand dramatically on contact.) If he had been, I assure you
there'd be even more dead and that a head shot would have been fatal.

People in Tucson are in shock. Mom says she had 15+ calls yesterday
from around the country, and 10 today. Everyone is just sitting there,
stunned, unable to think of anything else. The little girl who was
killed was only nine years old; she was there as a reward for winning
a class election in her own grade. She was all excited because she was
going to get to hang out with Gaby and see how government works in
real life...

Tucson is in shock.

Gaby and a number of others, continue to fight for their lives.
There's more...

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Health Care Deal Close, and Unicorns and Rainbows for Everyone!


Pelosi says that the senate and house are close to resolving and presenting a final bill. But she says just a few small things remain up for discussion including the public option and abortion provisions... yeah right... just those two teeny tiny issues that are so easy to agree on.

I have to admit I have completely lost hope for the public option. I don't get congress. 75% of americans wanted it. There was plenty of political support for it. But no. we can't seem to get anything that is just plain good for the american people. It was an OPTION folks. We were not asking to mandate a public plan, but offering to give people a chance to choose it and make the insurance companies actually compete for health care dollars. What a bad idea. feh. I am sick and tired of the whole thing.

There's more...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Health Care Heroes


Please send a message today
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/activities/181

make sure we keep our progressive house members strong so we don't lose the last chance we have for reform... the public option. Go here today and make your voice heard. We need to be as loud as those obnoxious townhall disruptors. But in a positive way.

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/activities/181

Please take this action asap.



update; here is a list of the heroes, if your guy or gal is on there- call them asap and show your support

P.S. Here's the list of healthcare heroes:

Albio Sires (NJ-13)
Alcee Hastings (FL-23)
Andre Carson (IN-07)
Barbara Lee (CA-09)
Barney Frank (MA-14)
Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Bill Delahunt (MA-10)
Bill Pascrell (NJ-08)
Bob Filner (CA-51)
Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)
Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)

Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Chellie Pingree (MN-01)
Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Diane Watson (CA-33)
Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Donna Edwards (MD-04)
Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Ed Towns (NY-10)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Elijah Cummings (MD-07)
Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Eric Massa (NY-29)

Pete Stark (CA-13)
Grace Napolitano (CA-38)
Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Jackie Spier (CA-12)
Jerry Nadler (NY-08)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Jim McGovern (MA-03)
John Conyers (MI-14)
John Olver (MA-01)
John Tierney (MA-06)
J! ohn Yarmuth (KY-03)
Jose Serrano (NY-16)
Judy Chu (CA-32)

Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Laura Richardson (CA-37)
Linda Sanchez (CA-39)
Lloyd Doggett (TX-25)
Lucille Roybal-Alard (CA-34)
Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Mel Watts (NC-12)
Michael Honda (CA-15)

Mike Capuano (MA-08)
Nydia Valezquez (NY-12)
Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Phil Hare (IL-17)
Raul Grijalva (AZ-07)
Robert Wexler (FL-19)
Rush Holt (NJ-12)
Sam Farr (CA-17)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
William Lacy Clay (M0-01)
Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
There's more...

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Pathetic Gesture in FDA Legistlation Puts People Last


The House passed a very weak and pathetic food safety bill. It was supposed to help the FDA get some teeth, resources and authority after the beef, spinach, pepper and peanut calamities of the last 2 years. It was supposed to help prevent food borne illness from spreading. Food borne illness that killed kids and seniors in the case of the peanut paste recall. We should be trumpeting this, except...

WASHINGTON -- The House passed legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration more authority and resources to prevent food-borne illnesses after a string of outbreaks involving peanuts, spinach, hot peppers and other foods.

The 283-142 vote came after lawmakers from rural districts won concessions that would exempt farms from paying a registration fee, curb the FDA's access to farm records and limit its ability to set production standards to only the foods most likely to be contaminated.

The legislation also exempts farms and food facilities regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Senate isn't expected to act on similar legislation until later this year.


So let me get this straight, the FDA can't...
inspect farms
inspect farm records
and is limited in setting any production standards for farms and food facilities
and can only inspect foods and facilities that are most likely to be bad? And who determines that?

Meanwhile big industrial food companies grow and grow, factory farms are free to keep up their unhealthy practices. Be ready for a new recall or scandal soon ladies and gents. This bill will do very little to change anything, and the system as it stands in unsustainable.

cross posted from FL
There's more...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

NY 20 Is Too Close To Call


Scott Murphy ended his special election day just around 60 votes higher than his republican opponent. It will come down to the absentee ballots and maybe even a recount. Murphy did very well considering that the GOP voter registration in the 20th is much higher than the Democratic Party registrations.

A mere 65 votes separated the two candidates late Tuesday in a Congressional contest in upstate New York that received national attention and was widely seen as a referendum on the Obama administration’s economic recovery efforts.

With all precincts reporting, the Democrat, Scott Murphy, a 39-year-old venture capitalist, led 77,344 to 77,279 over his Republican rival, Assemblyman James N. Tedisco, 58, for the seat vacated by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, a Democrat. The turnout was surprisingly strong for a special election.

But 10,055 absentee ballots were issued — and 5,907 received so far, state election officials said — meaning the election cannot be decided until the paper ballots are counted. Moreover, it is likely that the count may not begin until at least April 6, said Bob Brehm, a spokesman for the State Board of Elections.- NYTimes


In what is becoming a typical move, the Republicans already filed a challenge in court. Actually they prepared to file it even before election day, and are already seeking to overturn the will of the voters as they are trying to do in the Coleman Franken race. So we have another nail biter and I don't think we'll see the NY20th congressional seat filled before the end of this month.
There's more...

Monday, March 30, 2009

NY's 20th District, The Last Chance Today


The special election for the congressional seat for the NY20th is tomorrow, Tuesday 3/31. Our guy is Scott Murphy. Their guy is a real evil, jerk Tedisco. This is a rather conservative area- so Scott is not as left as I like, but he has a good sense of justice and community.

President Obama has endorsed Scott and set out emails to the OFA and DNC lists but we need a bunch of help in this last 24 hours.

If you are in the district, make sure you find your polling place and vote.

If you are not a New Yorker or not in the 20th we still need your help. This race is going to be tight tight tight, it will all be GOTV (get out the vote) so if you have even 10 spare minutes today and tomorrow- use the DCCC's phone banking set up and make some calls. The system is easy to use and with skype etc. you can make calls for free. Give them a hand!

There's more...

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Tom Geoghegan for Congress

photo by Chelsea Ross

In exciting news for progressives we have found out that liberal champion, fantastic writer and all around great guy Tom Geoghegan will run for Congress to take the recently vacated seat in the Illinois Fifth District, formerly occupied by Rahm Emmanuel. This guy is for real. He will be a terrific progressive voice to join folks like Donna Edwards.

From Wikipedia:

Thomas Geoghegan (b. 1949, Cincinnati, Ohio) is a Chicago labor lawyer and author.

He is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. He has represented the United Mine Workers, Teamsters for a Democratic Union, and currently works at Despres, Schwartz & Geoghegan. He has been a staff writer and contributing writer to The New Republic and his work has also appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Dissent, The American Prospect, and The Nation. His commentary has been featured on National Public Radio, Nightline, The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, CNBC, and PBS's WTTW-11.

No website yet but you can join the Facebook group.

And you can check out his books:

Which Side Are You On?: Trying to Be For Labor When It's Flat On Its Back (FSG), ISBN 0-374-28919-0

The Secret Lives of Citizens: Pursuing the Promise of American Life (Pantheon Books), ISBN 0-679-42153-X

In America's Court: How a Civil Lawyer Who Likes to Settle Stumbled into a Criminal Trial (New Press), ISBN 1-56584-732-6

The Law in Shambles (Prickly Paradigm), ISBN 0-9728196-9-X

See You in Court: How the Right Made America a Lawsuit Nation (New Press), ISBN 978-1-59558-099-3


And if you are as enthusiastic as I am about his run you can contribute to:

Tom Geoghegan for Congress
PO Box 1145
Chicago, IL 60690

crossposted from Fighting Liberals
There's more...

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Darcy Burner Thanks Netroots



Race To Close To Call


Burner has been ahead all night. Earlier this morning, Reichert pulled ahead for the first time with a 376 vote lead out of 136,706 counted (roughly half of the total.)

The race will likely take till sometime Friday to count all the ballots.

All continue to give great coverage of Darcy's race to win the Washington 8th.
Highly recommended.

I think -- think -- we're going to pull this out but at less than the 1% I originally predicted; now I think it will be withing the margin of litigation. If my source is correct, the precincts being reported for Reichert which finally, barely, gave him a few votes over Darcy, came from his largest base precincts, while Darcy's largest base precincts have yet to be reported.

But I'm not certain. This is single-source (not confirmed). Rather than sit on it, I'm passing it to you as single-source and letting you evaluate it along with me. Just keep clearly in your thinking that this is NOT sourced as fact.

Reichert of course is predicting he will win. And he has good historical cause; both of his prior victories match this pattern... slime your opponent in the final ten days, then come from behind after the polls close for the win. In the 2006 race, Reichert came from behind, eventually winning both King County (Seattle) by roughly 300 votes, and Pierce County (Tacoma) by over 7,000.

With only half the total votes currently counted, Darcy needs to increase the margin she's winning by in King County, to make up for how much they don't like her in Pierce County.

This Washington 8th race remains neck and neck.
There's more...

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Get Out The Vote



All Politics Is Local

Tip O'Neil said that many years ago.

This election, we're seeing an wave of change sweep across the United States at a level which happens roughly every 70-80 years. Yet still, the election is taking place LOCALLY.

Here in Washington State, the fight is different than the fight in New York State, which is different than the fight in California, which is different than Texas or Pennsylvania or Florida or Ohio.

It is GOTV time.

Obama is going to win. We're going to win the Senate in a big way, and run the table in the House.

The question is, HOW BIG WILL BE OUR VICTORY?

All politics is local. It is up to each one of us now through November 4 to

  • donate as much money as we can
  • call everyone we know
  • doorbell for local campaigns, and again,
  • donate as much money as we can.

This is the most important election any of us will see in our lifetimes.

I'm not kidding about this. This is the most important election since FDR in 1932, 76 years ago. Another election of this importance won't happen for another full lifetime. All of us voting today with rare exceptions (my three daughters and Sara's daughter, all voting in their first presidential elections) will be passed by the time the next election of this magnitude comes along, say in 2084. (Kyle would be 94.)

It's time to go all in. Whatever you're holding back, throw it on the table.

To the extent we win 10 days from now, we are positioned to set up the next lifetime with a progressive agenda which will determine the future for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Every single person we elect matters.

Don't hold anything back.

Get out the vote.
There's more...

Friday, October 24, 2008

Murtha In a Fight for his House Seat After Comments on Race as Factor in the Election


Long serving congressman John Murtha is suddenly in a pitched battle to hold onto his house seat. To me, it sounds like he is being punished for speaking the truth. Seems that the drop in his support is all related to comments that race was playing a big roll in the close numbers between Obama and McCain in Western Pa. Apparently his consituents did not like being called out on some of there reasons for choosing McCain over Obama.

Murtha's hold on House seat slips By Mike Wereschagin and David M. Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Two veteran warriors battling to represent the 12th Congressional District appear locked in the closest race in the district in years.

Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll's 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over Murtha's statement that some of his constituents are racist.

Stanley Shemanski, 67, a retired meat cutter who lives in Apollo, said he's undecided about the congressional race. He doesn't know much about Russell, but he's upset with Murtha's comment that racism in the district could hurt Democrat Barack Obama's chances.

"I didn't like that at all. He shouldn't have said it," Shemanski said.

Most of all, the national economy concerns him. "I'm retired, but my daughter, she works for the bank, and I'm worried about that."

Yet, poll participant Melissa Stoltz, 38, of Johnstown said she is backing Murtha because she likes his political views.

"He has the experience, and he is a former Marine. I was a Marine," said Stoltz, a caseworker. "Murtha's done a good job. I think he's really stuck up for your basic, every-run-of-the-day, normal person."

Murtha, 76, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, apologized for the racism remark, saying he meant to say that skin color is a factor in the battle for the presidency between Obama and Republican John McCain. Trying to add context to his remarks, Murtha later said many in Western Pennsylvania were "rednecks" several years ago.

Russell, 46, a Republican who served in the Iraq war, jumped on the remarks. McCain, in a campaign stop Tuesday in Moon, said he "could not disagree with those critics more," without mentioning Murtha by name.

About 54 percent of voters among those polled say it's time for someone else to represent them in Congress. About 35 percent say Murtha deserves to be re-elected.

"The most important variable here is that a decisive majority say it's time for a new person," said Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research. He attributed some of the unhappiness with Murtha to the congressman's recent comments.

Send Murtha some support and help us maintain this important house seat.
There's more...

Donating to Darcy



Three Polls In a Row Show Darcy Ahead of Reichert

Republicans do what Republicans Do...

Reichert LIES about Darcy; Seattle Times Bites on Lie
Local Media BREAKS LAW, Gives Reichert $500,000+ in Illegal TV
Local Radio, Newspaper and TV Help Reichert SLIME Darcy
Also... Sun Rises in East

YOUR MONEY IS NEEDED NOW FOR DARCY TO FIGHT BACK


Twelve days.

Twelve days of slugging it out over the airwaves.

Darcy needs enough money to stop this last minute LIE from Reichert and his big-media big-money backers.

Matt Stoller
and here also, mcjoan, and David Goldstein make clear what bullshit these lying liars are slinging.

This is the toughest Congressional race in the country.

Why?

Because Darcy IS the face of the Netroots Caucus. She MAKES SENSE.

Darcy, more than anyone running nationwide, is ONE OF US.

In hard economic times Darcy is a political investment in our future.

I just kicked in another $250 for Darcy. I trust her. I respect her. I know her and the people she trusts.

Darcy Burner is the real deal. Count on it.

Darcy Burner outside her home which has just burned down. July 1, 2008. photo Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times.
Darcy Burner outside her home which has just burned down. July 1, 2008.
photo Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times.


If you're going to Donate To Darcy, NOW IS THE TIME.

Her campaign needs the money NOW. Thank you.

There's more...

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Presidental Debate #2: CBS Poll of Undecideds


Obama Wins Debate #2 With Undecided, says CBS News

Polling of 400 uncommitted voters gives victory to Obama.

"SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT of uncommitted voters think Obama would make the right decisions about the economy."
--CBS News Poll


CBS News

Thirty-nine percent of the 400 uncommitted voters surveyed identified Barack Obama as tonight's winner; 27 percent said John McCain won, while 35 percent saw the debate as a draw.

After the debate, 68 percent of uncommitted voters said that they think Obama will make the right decisions on the economy, compared to 54 percent who said that before the debate. Fewer thought McCain would do so – 49 percent after the debate, and 41 percent before.

Before the debate, 60 percent thought Obama understands voters’ needs and problems; that rose to 80 percent after the debate. For McCain, 35 percent felt he understands voters’ needs before the debate, and 46 percent thought so afterwards.

There is some good news for McCain, who still dominates Obama when it comes to perceptions of readiness to be president. Before the debate, 42 percent thought Obama was prepared for the job, and that percentage rose to 57 percent after the debate. But 80 percent felt McCain was prepared for the job before the debate, and 84 percent thought so afterwards.
This debate was not the blowout Presidential Debate #1 and the Vice Presidential Debate were. However...

Obama got the job done.

This was McCain's last real chance to turn the race around. He failed.

Watch how the polling moves over the next few days.

Watch these numbers shift over the next three days; it will take three full days for the numbers to reflect tonight's debate.
Gallop

The nine percentage point lead in Oct. 4-6 tracking matches Obama's highest to date for the campaign, and the highest for either candidate. Obama led McCain by 49% to 40% near the tail end of his international trip in late July. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)

Obama has now held a statistically significant lead since Sept. 24-26 polling and has not trailed McCain since Sept. 13-15, roughly coinciding with the intensification of the financial crisis
ELECTORAL VOTE is all that matters.

OPEN THREAD for electoral politics. Also Senate and Congress.
There's more...

Monday, September 29, 2008

Three Raids on the U.S. Economy

Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575). The Adoration of the Shepherds. Oil on Panel. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575). The Adoration of the Shepherds. Oil on Panel. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Stealing from the Poor, Working Class and Middle Class and
Giving to the Owning Class


This is EXACTLY like Iraq all over again. (Thank you Diane.)

It is a con, a series of lies designed to screw us out of our money.

The Bush/Cheney administration has committed three major thefts on the U.S., to benefit themselves personally, and the richest one percent of Americans.

Many members of the Senate and Congress are directly included. Due to the lack of Campaign Finance Reform, all members of Congress and the Senate (excepting the rare birds who refuse PAC money) have a vested interest in all three of these thefts, as they receive campaign contributions from the OWNING CLASS in exchange for stealing from the U.S. Even the good Democrats, almost all of them, win in this game.

It's a rigged game, everyone plays thanks to Income Tax, and everyone but the richest 1% and Congress, loses.

Here is how it works...


THEFT #1 - TAX REFUND TO THE RICH

The moment Bush/Cheney came into office (on 527 votes in Florida AFTER the Supreme Court stopped the rest of the votes from being counted), they demanded the surplus the United States had in our treasury, be given to the wealthiest Americans in the form of tax rebates. That surplus was there not from the rich; it was there because the middle-class has paid and because President Clinton had managed the country well in a good economy (the Internet boom.)

Bush got his way. (We did not yet know he was a thief... unless you'd read Molly's books.) Taxes were cut for the rich. People like you and I got back a few hundred bucks. The rich got hundreds of thousands to millions and tens of millions of dollars.

It was theft on a grand scale. They stole from the poor, working and the middle-class and gave to the OWNING CLASS with a little extra to the upper class (and not too damn much. The Owning Class want the money for themselves, and fuck the hindmost. Truly, fuck the hindmost. The Owning Class are into anal a lot as well. Something about being tops and bottoms just turns them on, big time. Someone should write a paper. I'm sure there is at least several doctoral thesis' there.)

The TAXES THEFT is now complete. It will expire in a year or so, assuming it isn't renewed, assuming the Democrats don't roll over like puppies when the Republicans give their mating call, "Tax stimulus, tax stimulus..."

Theft #1, the Taxes Theft, along with the war in Iraq, financed entirely Off Budget with emergency appropriations and by stealing from the militaries seed corn, that is by raiding their capital equipment and stored goods without appropriating ANYTHING to replace all of the seed corn or the rapid exit of an entire generation of trained mid-level NCOs and mid-level officers, eliminated the entire surplus and gave us the deficit.

The borrowing also gave us market sector swings which allowed people in the know to make FORTUNES. That is, if you had inside knowledge, even general direction that was CERTAIN of what was planned, you could make FORTUNES... As Cheney's "blind trust" did several years ago when it moved all of Cheney's money out of the dollar and into Euros and off-shore investments, with the exception of course of gold, oil and oil-based stocks which as sectors continue to rise. "Blind trust" my ass.


THEFT #2 -- IRAQ WAR

This theft (on false data and lies) caused:

  1. Oil Prices to sky-rocket; personal stock of self, friends, family, and colleagues going UP, including entire market sectors; inflation, gold, euros, and so on; contributions given in return but who the hell needs them when there are direct stock market rewards not to mention (for Cheney) a million-dollar a year salary plus benefits
  2. Military contracts to cronies, and campaign contributions and campaign support given in return
  3. Direct loot through untraceable funds shipped to Iraq; bribes and support given in return, not to mention looting an entire country on military flights sent all over the world

That thousands of soldiers died, 50,000 were wounded, and hundreds of thousands if not a million Iraqis have died and been wounded... fuck them.

The rich got richer and the poor got butchered. The purpose of the POOR, WORKING & MIDDLE CLASS, is to go where the UPPER CLASS tells them to go and do what they are told no matter what it is, so that the OWNING CLASS makes money. So mote it be forever and ever, in Allah and Jesus' name, Amen.

Thefts #1 & #2 are fundamentally DONE. (No pun intended.)


THEFT #3 -- REAL ESTATE/BANK FRAUD

The third and final raid is now being completed -- the raid on real estate and the banking system.

The first half of this theft is DONE.

The first half of this theft was a massive run-up of housing prices through fraud.

Property and home prices were intentionally over-stated. This allowed everyone in the financial systems -- the banks, brokerages, hedge funds, savings and loans, EVERYONE -- to make money four to five to 10 to 20 times as properties from homes to commercial real-estate, but especially HOMES were purchased and flipped with over-stated values without any vetting. (Sound familiar?)

Then the properties and the homes sitting on them were reduced to a deed of trust or other financial instrument, which itself was then broken up into strange and weird financial papers which almost no one understood.
Wikipedia

Traditionally, banks lent money to homeowners for their mortgage and retained the risk of default, called credit risk. However, due to financial innovations, banks can now sell rights to the mortgage payments and related credit risk to investors, through a process called securitization. The securities the investors purchase are called mortgage backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO). This new "originate to distribute" banking model means credit risk has been distributed broadly to investors, with a series of consequential impacts. There are four primary categories of risk involved: credit risk, asset price risk, liquidity risk, and counterparty risk. Each of these risk types is described separately in the background information.

There's more...
These obligations were then washed through multiple financial institutions -- indeed, that was the purpose of these obligations, to wash the underlying non-vetted and poorly secured obligations so no one would truly be responsible when the whole house of cards collapsed -- and sold eventually to EVERYONE, even to the ordinary investor through these new-finagled financial instruments to the point that damn near every bank and indeed, most likely even portions of your 401K, has become vulnerable all the way down.

Part of the reason for making this final theft the theft of home and property values, is the Bush/Cheney administration had already raided the Stock Market through Theft #2. If you failed to see that one coming and moved your 401K to the right stocks, you got hosed.

Worse, the destruction of the U.S. economy had been going on since Theft #1 via the war economy. Normally in a war, we pass taxes. Not this time. This time President Bush told people to go shopping and stole the surplus for the super-rich with so-called tax rebates -- really just taking tax payments made into the system by the middle-class and giving them directly to the mega-rich. Accordingly, the U.S. economy was in a recession already.

The surplus had been stolen. The stock market had been stolen. All that was left was people's homes. So the Bush/Cheney administration set out to steal it as well. Theft #3.

Many people in the middle-class, especially the upper middle-class and even the lower parts of the upper-class, anyone who is not in the OWNING CLASS, knew that their homes, especially any homes purchased in the last five to six years, had not been properly assessed. They didn't care. All they cared about was getting a home. The market was going up, and people wanted in.

This was part of what was good for this theft -- people who have lied on their application, are not quick to complain when things go bad. They worry they too may be called to account for having participated in the great robbing of American wealth. But this theft was planned and executed high above everyone. It was designed and planned to con everyone, leaving everyone out in the cold except the super-rich, the bankers themselves.

The way to sting EVERYONE, is to scare the hell out of everyone. Convince them they are dead meat if they don't do PRECISELY what you say.

In the end, after all the trading and dealing, and after all the fortunes already made in the first half of the Theft #3, only three points matter in the back half:
  1. People's homes are vastly over-valued AND the people know they are complicit in the over-valuation.
  2. The entire economy is ready to crash because of all the loans to China to finance the war and because we have no surplus due to the war and the tax giveaway -- thefts #1 & #2.
  3. And finally, the banks are unstable because their financial core now rests on a pack of real estate and housing valuations which are lies -- the first half of theft #3.

Based on this, the Bush/Cheney administration are scaring the hell out of everyone, and demanding the Middle Class pay out RIGHT FUCKING NOW:
  • $250 billion right now
  • $100 billion on the say-so of the Treasury secretary (with a report to the President)
  • $350 billion on the request of the Treasury secretary with the approval of the President, so long as Congress does NOT veto within 15 days with 2/3 majority; which will NEVER happen.

Or they'll shoot the economy in the head.

'Cause that's how you work a con. SCARE people into shutting up and doing EXACTLY what you say.

At a minimum, the Middle-Class is now on the hook for $350 billion before Bush leaves office.

Probably we're on the hook for all $700 billion because Congress lacks the balls to stop the last $350 billion, especially if Paulson/Bush hit them with the call note say, 20 days before the election.

It takes TWO-THIRDS of BOTH houses of Congress to veto. In other words, the last $350 BILLION is cash we are on the hook for, WHENEVER Bush/Paulson call for it. Period. Full stop.

We've already been screwed with the first half of the con.

This is the second half of Theft #3 -- ripping the money out of the Treasury to pay off the bankers. This is money which has already made fortunes 5-10 times in the rising real estate markets.

Now, that they have made as much money as possible from the housing market on the way up -- and stashed it away -- they are intentionally and deliberately, JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION WHEN EVERYONE WILL PANIC THE MOST (because if they fuck it up, they will get thrown out of office; and the Bush/Cheney people don't care... They're LEAVING office, so they're ripping everything out of the White House and Country they can, all the way down to the wiring in the White House bathrooms).

Now that Bush/Cheney and the OWNING CLASS have made a fortune from the real estate market on the way up... they have pulled the plug, and are going to make a fortune ($700 Billion to be precise, plus interest) ...on the way down.

This is just one more round of "fleece the suckers." This is Theft #3.

Congratulations, and thank you for playing.
  • Theft #1 -- TAX REFUND TO THE RICH
  • Theft #2 -- IRAQ WAR
  • Theft #3 -- REAL ESTATE/BANK FRAUD

If we let Congress pass this bill, if we let Bush/Cheney steal from us one more time...

There will be NO money left for President Obama to put in Health Care, College funding, or help people in there old age with suplemental Medicare or Veteran's Benefits. ALL the money will be gone from people like you and I; Bush is stealing it for the OWNING CLASS.

Four months from now, the richest 1% will own damn near all of the United States, with China, Japan, and the Saudis owning the rest.

You and I will be in debt the rest of our lives, and our children and grandchildren will be DEBT SLAVES to Bush, Cheney, and McCain's children, to pay off the debt.

Is that what you want? Your children working as debt slaves?

Obama will be President In Name Only -- holding the bag for Bush's THEFTS, the largest thefts of any government in history.

This bill must NOT pass.

Everything we have said it needs, the Democrats gave away to the Republicans.

THIS BILL WILL RUIN YOUR FUTURE, the future of your family, the future of your community and country.
Call, write, REACH your Senators and Congressman/Congresswoman now (and not by email; they ignore email.)

This is the single most important bill to come before Congress in your lifetime, unless you were alive in December, 1941. It was then that the resolution of WAR passed because it was necessary to fight evil for the future of the world.

It is necessary now that this bill NOT pass, that we NOT give away the next 30 years of our future, just as it was necessary 67 years ago that the United States went to war.

This bill is EVIL. Stop it. Anyway you have to, anyway you can.

Do what it takes. Make. It. Happen.

Vote NO on the Bailout. Vote NO now.
There's more...

Friday, September 26, 2008

Presidential Debate #1: CBS Poll of Undecideds


Obama Wins Debate #1 With Undecided, says CBS News

Polling of 500 uncommitted voters gives a clear victory to Obama.

"SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT of uncommitted voters think Obama would make the right decisions about the economy."
--CBS News Poll


CBS News

Forty percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. Twenty-two percent thought John McCain won. Thirty-eight percent saw it as a draw.

Forty-six percent of uncommitted voters said their opinion of Obama got better tonight.

Sixty-eight percent of uncommitted voters think Obama would make the right decisions about the economy. Forty-one percent think McCain would.
Obama is winning.

Watch how the polling moves over the next few days.

Electoral-Vote.com

Well known, well respected, been around for a while.

Hominid Views
University of Washington Statistics Professor
I know and respect him. Good guy. I like his numbers.

Watch out these numbers shift over the next three days; it will take three full days for the numbers to reflect tonight's debate.

Remember -- it's ELECTORAL VOTE that matters. One vote is all it takes (except in two states) to win that state. National polls don't mean anything, not really. This is 50 state races for President.

Use this post as an OPEN THREAD for electoral politics. Also talk Senate and Congressional races.


Update 10:15 pm
:

The above snap poll confirms Sen. Barack Obama is going to win the election.

Obama base: 40%
McCain base: 35%
Uncommitted: 25%

Over the next month that 25% will break out...
Obama: 10%
McCain: 5%
Uncommitted: 10%

With one week left the numbers will be:

Obama: 50%
McCain 40%
Undecided: 10%
  • Obama needs to win at 60% to win the election.
  • Or the Bradley Effect (people saying they'll vote for a Black, but not) gets him.
  • Or voter fraud by Republicans (caging, electronic vote flipping, voter ID, and so on)
Each State is its own election. Obama doesn't need 60% NATIONALLY. He needs 60% in the States he's going to win for certain.

The final 10% undecideds will break out the same as the snap poll 40/25:

Obama 40%
McCain 25%

The last 35% of the 10% undecideds splits the same, 25/10 which gives us a total of:

Obama 65%
McCain 35%
of the final 10%

Which is:

Obama 6.5%
McCain 3.5%

Obama 50+6.5%=56.50%
McCain 40+3.5%=43.50%
------------------------
100.00%

TEN PERCENTAGE POINTS nationally over McCain expressed in 50 individual states, some of which Obama will blow out by 30-40 points, others where he will lose by 30-40 points, translates into a 100 point Electoral Vote victory, roughly 370 EV for Obama.

Sen. Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States.
There's more...

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Call Your Senator/Congress Person Today

Tell Congress to WAIT to pass ANYTHING.

  • Not $700 Billion anything.
  • Start slow -- $150 Billion... $50 Billion a month * 3 months.
  • 30% haircut, but really it needs to be based on the neighborhoods.
  • The government OWNS the process, not the crooks who screwed us already.
  • No more payouts to CEOs. No way, no how, never again.

Ian Welsh has the plan. READ IT ALL.
Firedoglake

Why the Dodd Bill Won’t Bail the Economy Out And How To Make It Do So

Why? Well, first of all it's paying too much for mortgages. 15% off current prices is less than most properties are going to drop. I know folks don't want to hear that, but a return to trend is more than that. 30% would be a reasonable number, but the proper way to do it is to figure out what housing prices in an area would have been without a bubble and pay slightly less than that, though that's slightly punitive. But then, why not be slightly punitive? No reason why the government shouldn't make a bit of a profit on bailing out banks. They already booked their profits and gave them to their executives, after all.

To work, a bill has to establish a reasonable floor for house prices. If it doesn't 700 billion won't be enough, there are trillions of dollars of securities based on mortgages out there, and as prices continue to decline, they will go under and have to be bought. Either the government blinks and refuses to borrow and spend trillions to do it, in which case all the 700 billion did is buy a bit of time and bail some CEOs out, or it goes all in and winds up borrowing trillions. Not only does this money go straight to oil inflation and probably general inflation, and crash the dollar, but if it succeeds in holding housing prices higher than they really should be it leaves the US with a cost structure that is too high, and thus not competitive. Ie., expect offshoring to resume, and get ready for that vacuum cleaner to suck your job overseas.

On top of that since every dollar of spare money is being used for nothing but holding up housing prices, there will be no money for business borrowing by real businesses (those that make things), which means there will be no job recovery and no real export recovery. There will also be less and less credit for consumer spending, which will reduce demand (though, what the hell, you won't have any money anyway.)

There's more...
Read it ALL please. Ian is always worth reading.

Now that it looks as if we're not going to rush to a vote any second, start printing Ian's articles and MAIL THEM to your Senator and Congress Person. Even consider hand-delivering them to their office if you can. FedEx them. Get them there marked "PERSONAL".

If you have any in, now is the time to use it. This is simple stuff. Don't let the Rich Kewl Kids make one last grab for the money. That is precisely what those fuckers are trying to do; screw us with our pants on, taking money from the Middle Class (the working class and poor don't have enough money to make it worth it) -- our homes and what's left of our 401K's) -- and hand it directly to the Owning Class. Pack it in place with laws, and ka-WHAMO, it's done. Bush retires and the Owning Class has Fucked everyone else for the next 30 years.

We would need a full-scale revolt, another Boston Tea Party to fix things if this gets by. Which can be done, but oh wow, costly. Better to get it right the first time, as Roosevelt did over Hoover.

As Sara Robinson keeps pointing out... as futurists and historians ALL keep pointing out... as Minstrel Boy keeps pointing out... Roughly once every human life cycle -- that's a saeculum, or "a natural century", approximately one hundred years -- the conservatives get full control of our money. THIS is what happens.

The Great Depression is still within memory for many of us through our parents and grand-parents. The Civil War is even within memory through the stories our grand-parents and great-grand parents told our parents which they passed down to us orally and in family histories and books which meant something personally. If we remember and pay attention, we KNOW what happens when we let the conservatives, the "Republicans", whatever name they are calling themselves this fracking time around, we know what happens when the OWNING CLASS gets their hands on Middle-Class money.

The steal it. They flat out steal it, because they believe they are the SONS (never daughters) of KINGS, with the right to rule. Our place, they believe, is to do what we are told and to serve them. They own everything by right of Kingship, therefore anything they do is always okay.

Truly they believe this.

They believed this before the Civil War.

They believed this before the Great Depression and World War II, when Prescott Bush was selling pig iron to the Nazis.

They believe it now when George W. Bush is selling American jobs to India and Mexico, and American dollars to China and Japan, while giving our real estate and 401Ks to the Owning Class in exchange for what? For requiring us... as we approach Middle Age and Elderhood, the Middle Class and our children and grand-children in exchange for losing all our assets, have the privilege of working our asses off for the next 30 years to pay the bill and interest to Bush's children and grand-children.

Because Bush is the Grandson of Prescott Bush, he is Owning Class and we're not, and this is How the World Works. Money trickles UP; Work trickles DOWN. Don't like it? There's always the Army. Trust me, we're going to be using it a lot.

We should be happy we're being allowed to even work to pay off what we owe. We only get that much because we're white, i.e.: human.

The colored are being kicked out of the country or tortured. 'Cause as the former First Lady says, the only good brown person is in the fields. And don't even get her going about the blacks (that isn't the word she used.) Unless we're talking Golf. Or shoe shines. Or maybe music. What with that natural rhythm.

Anyway.

Call your Senator/Congressman today. Before George W. Bush asks James Dobson to have God destroy another great American City because of the ho-mo-sex-uals. Hey, be glad it's Dobson he's asking, not the Bin Laden family.

(NO, I'm not a fracking 911 conspiracy theorist; I'm just having fun. Jeezze. Zero possible way it could be kept a secret. No way, no how.)

Unless of course, you want to work for the Bush family for 30 years. Assuming you are white. If you're a person of color, feel free to ignore everything I said. Because your ass is gone anyway. Unless Congress stops this bill.

Call your Senators.
Call Congress (general number.)
Call your Congress person.

Here's Roll Call (with look-up for Senate/Congress.)

Rock and Roll. Don't let this go down as set up.
Just do not.
There's more...

Monday, September 22, 2008

Please Respond Immediately Forthwith In Confidence

Dear American:

I cordially correspond today to request you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude which is most seriously important.



I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused urgent need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion USD. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.



I am working with Mr. Phil Gramm, lobbyist for UBS, who (God willing) will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a former U.S. congressional leader and the architect of the PALIN / McCain Financial Doctrine, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. As such, you can be assured that this transaction is 100% safe.



This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred. For this inconvenience you will be rewarded with grand fees of 1/1,000,000th of 1% of possible profits due to off shore laundering of skim funds due to reprinting of said funds.



Please reply with mother's maiden name, routing and account numbers of all of your bank account, IRA, 401K, pension funds, gold and silver accounts, serial numbers of any weapons you own, and college fund accounts and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.



Please Respond Immediately Forthwith In Confidence.



Yours Faithfully and Sincerely,

Minister of Treasury Paulson


h/t Melina and Richard.



Now, let's get real.


Here's Ian Welsh.
Firedoglake

Chris Dodd Stares Down Paulson

So there was "Goldman" Hank, holding a gun on the economy and staring Congress down. "Give me the 700 billion, or the economy gets it!" he threatened. For two days it looked like he was going to get away with it, 700 billion dollars to spend on the Wall Street gang, the boys who'd already shot the economy up so bad it was in danger of bleeding to death.

Then Marshal Dodd came swinging through doors, shotgun in hand, and said "not so fast Hank. Put the gun down, and back away from the economy. We're going to do this my way."

For a moment calm reigned, then from off one side came a high pitched squeak, "you just put down that gun Dodd," said Bush as he leveled his blunderbuss "the Veto" at Dodd, "and you let my good friend Hank walk away with the money or I'll use this gun." He swivelled and instead of aiming it at Dodd, put its muzzle right against the economy's head. "I'll do it. Don't think I won't! I've killed an economy before!"

Hand still on the trigger, Dodd glanced over at Reid. The old man's fighting days, some said, were long gone. Dodd hoped Reid had one big fight left in him. If he didn't, the economy was done, and Paulson would get away, scot-free.

So yeah, the Dodd plan. Good plan. Buying up mortgages for 15% less than the current market value of the house, then reissuing a clean mortgage to homeowners helps the banks while still giving them a slight haircut (but only slight, odds are home prices will drop more than 15% before the slide is over.) It helps homeowners stay in their houses. It sets a market price so that banks know what mortgages are worth and thus what the derivatives based on houses are worth. And giving the mortgages bought to the FDIC, one of the few agencies that Bush didn't cripple, is genius.

Giving the government stock equal to the value of any bailout for the company is also only fair. If they get bailed out, taxpayers should have a chance to get their money back. If they don't like that, well, beggars, and they are beggars, shouldn't be choosers.

There's more...
If that wasn't enough, Ian kicks it again.
Firedoglake

What the Dodd Bill Needs To Be Complete

As much as I think the Dodd bill is a significant improvement over the Paulson power grab, and I do, it is missing a number of important things.

First, as Kay Hagan points out, the review portion seems to be missing teeth. If the review board doesn't like what the Secretary is doing, what can it do about it? Also, she's right that it needs to meet once a week, not once a month. This crisis is moving too fast for once a month.

Second, there doesn't seem to be any provision for paying for this beyond praying it'll eventually pay for itself. I don't see any good reason not to add in Bernie Sanders suggestion of a 10% surcharge tax on the Americans who earn over a million a year. They're the ones who benefited from the last 8 years, who benefited from the policies which caused this disaster, they're the ones who should pay to clean up the mess.

Next, the bill (Section 10) allows for insurance of money market funds but doesn't appear to require that if they fail anyway, they be taken over by the FDIC. This needs to be a bedrock principle, if you blow up your business, the government gets it, you don't get to keep it when in a free market you'd be bankrupt.

I also don't see any real re-regulation of the industry in this bill. That needs to occur, and it needs to be in the bill, because once Wall Street has their bailout they will fight against being properly regulated tooth and nail. This needs to include very strict rules not allowing the use of default insurance any more, getting rid of most different types of swaps, regulations limiting the use of securitization and limits on how debt in general can be sold. (In particular, debt should probably not be able to be sold more than once, and originators should be forced to keep at least half on their books to avoid them selling stuff they know is crap.)

Dodd needs to add an organization which has the right to regulate banks. This needs to be in badly.

There's more...
Call your Senator. They flat out ignore emails and there isn't time to write. CALL. Call today.

Look, I know we ask you sometimes to write or call about this or that. THIS IS THE NEXT 20 YEARS OF YOUR LIFE, FOLKS.

FUCK the Presidential elections. Fuck the Supreme Court.
DIS DA REVOLUTION, MAN.

Right fracking now.

Thirty, forty years, some of us have waited. Here it is. Today. RIGHT NOW.
We screw this up, we are slave fucking labor working for the MAN.
I mean the words I'm using.

Get on the phone.
Call your friends.
Call your family.
Call everyone you know.

Tell them to tell their Senators and Congressman...

HOLD THE LINE. Do not give an inch to the Republicans.
No one fucking inch.
  • Support Dodd's plan.
  • They broke it. They lose control of what happens now.
  • No unelected official in charge.
  • The government owns what it pays for.
  • Middle-class people get their mortgages relieved also.
  • Bankruptcy Judges can grant mortgage relief.
  • People over $1 million can pay a 10% surcharge -- they've been making millions on our labor, fair is fair.
  • Congress has oversight ongoingly. End of discussion.
  • Screw up, go to jail. This is not "get out of jail free" boys. It's save the country, not you.
  • And no fucking golden parachutes for CEOs, no way, no how.
  • Make them pay.
HOLD THE LINE...
Or your grandchildren will still be paying these Republican crooks.
Pick up the phone -- make the call.
There's more...

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Democrat of Ohio

Death

United States Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones has died.

Cleveland.com

Tubbs Jones Family, Huron Hospital and Cleveland Clinic

August 20, 2008 - 6:40 p.m.

"Throughout the course of the day and into this evening, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones' medical condition declined. Medical doctors and neurosurgeons from Huron Hospital and Cleveland Clinic sadly report that at 6:12 p.m. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones died.

She dedicated her life in public service to helping others and will continue to do so through organ donations.

Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time."
The Washington Post

Tubbs Jones was 58 and had served in the House since 1998, representing East Cleveland and the city's suburbs. She was the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, and she had been chairwoman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus:

"I was stunned by the news today of the passing of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. There is a great gap where she stood on behalf of affordable health care, women's issues, access to quality education and fairness in voting.

"Whether you were a presidential candidate, a colleague debating on the floor or a friend passing time, you wanted her on your team for her quick legal mind, tenacious debating skills, her infectious humor and that thousand watt smile. My heart is heavy. She was larger than life and we will all greatly miss the Gentlewoman from Cleveland. My prayers are with her family, friends and staff."

And this from a statement by House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.):

"I'm lucky enough to say that Stephanie was more than a colleague - she was a friend. Her son Merv was a student in my mother-in-law's fifth grade classroom and I was honored when she invited me to visit her home state and meet with Ohio Democrats. I'm grateful that I will have the memory of her boundless spirit and energy and my thoughts and prayers are with the Jones family during this difficult time."

Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) speaks to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland, May 8, 2006. photo Mark Duncan/AP.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) speaks to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections
in Cleveland, May 8, 2006. photo Mark Duncan/AP.

The New York Times

Congress officially ratified President Bush's election victory on Thursday, but not before Democrats lodged a formal challenge to the electoral votes from Ohio, forcing an extraordinary two-hour debate that began the 109th Congress on a sharp note of partisan acrimony.

It was only the second such challenge to a presidential race since 1877. Even the bitter contest in 2000 between President Bush and Al Gore did not produce a formal challenge to the results from Florida, the site of a 36-day standoff. Although House members objected, no senator joined in, as is required under federal law.

But on Thursday, a single senator - Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who was sworn in Tuesday for a third term - joined Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Democrat of Ohio, in objecting to Ohio's 20 electoral votes for Mr. Bush, citing voting irregularities in the state.

Lawmakers convened in the House chamber precisely at 1 p.m., as prescribed by federal law, with Vice President Dick Cheney presiding. In a ceremony as old as the Constitution, four Congressional pages accompanied Mr. Cheney, carrying two wooden boxes that each held a stack of sealed manila envelopes with the results of the Electoral College votes in the states.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) challenges ratification of Bush election, January 6, 2005. photo Stephen Crowley/New York Times.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) challenges ratification of Bush election, January 6, 2005.
photo Stephen Crowley/New York Times.


Mr. Cheney read the names aloud in alphabetical order. When he came to Ohio, Ms. Jones and about a dozen other House members silently rose, as did Mrs. Boxer. Politely but firmly, Ms. Jones said she had an objection.

"And I do have a senator," she declared.
In the days to come, Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones will have many Senators, and hundreds of thousands of friends, lining up to say goodbye.

Fare-thee-well, Congresswoman.

Thank you for your service and your bravery.
There's more...

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Nancy Pelosi...

Nancy is telling me we passed the Surveil America bill (FISA), so that we can be sure we can investigate what Bush's administration did. That was the trade for immunity.

Believe that?

There's more...

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Note to self

U.S. Constitution

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
No longer operative.
There's more...

Friday, May 23, 2008

Rematch


The Farm Bill is going to be voted on again... And then vetoed again probably, and then we will fight for an override again.

This is not deja vu. In some sort of freak clerical error, the version that was voted on was missing 32 pages in the copies sent to congress. So the vote is invalid. The bill needs to be printed and circulated again and then voted again etc. and so forth.

The Republicans of course took this opportunity to grandstand and complain about the mistake and the bad leadership of the Democratic Congress, and the Democrats of course had to defend their tired staffers for being human. (As if this whole last 7 years had not been fraught with Republican mistakes, blunders and tragic disasters.)

So we are not done with the 2007 Farm Bill yet. Please stand by.

There's more...