Filed under: bailout, Barack Obama, Ben Nelson, big pharma, Communism, Congress, depopulation, Dictatorship, Dissent, elderly, Empire, Eugenics, Fascism, fines, forced health care, forced health insurance, Genocide, government bureaucracy, government control, government regulation, H.R. 3962, Harry Reid, health care insurance, health care reform, health insurance mandate, Healthcare, healthcare rationing, howard dean, insurance bailout, main street, mandatory health care, mandatory health insurance, marxism, medicaid, medical industrial complex, medicare, medicare cuts, Michael Moore, middle class, Nancy Pelosi, nanny state, Nazi, Neolibs, obama, obama care, obama fines, obama tax, obamacare, oligarchy, Oppression, pelosi, Population Control, ralph nader, rationing, Senate, socialism, Taxpayers, Uncategorized, universal health care
Senate to Pass Obama Care by Christmas Eve
NoWorldSystem
December 21, 2009
Guess what’s under Big Government and Insurance Companies’ Christmas tree this year. . . that’s right, mandatory health insurance for Americans!
Senate Democrats secured their 60th vote after Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) declared his support for the draconian health insurance plan; “Change is never easy, but change is what’s necessary in America”.
The Senate voted to ‘kill the debate’ this morning at 1:15 a.m. while you were sleeping. 58 Democrats and 2 Independents favored the cloture while 40 Republicans voted against it. Unfortunately this is a Democrat-dominated Congress so obama-care is likely to pass the Senate by Christmas eve when the final vote will take place.
Obama and Senate Democrats are confident that this menacing legislation will pass, forcing millions of Americans to buy health insurance plans and will significantly cut medicare bringing pain to the elderly; “Let’s bring this long and vigorous debate to an end. Let’s deliver on the promise of health insurance reforms that will make our people healthier, our economy stronger and our future more secure” said Obama. “After a nearly century-long struggle, we are on the cusp of making health-care reform a reality”.
The lame-stream media constantly tries to propose that the Republicans are the only ones dissenting against health care ‘reform’, many on the left including Ralph Nader, Howard Dean and Michael Moore see through the this disastrous piece of legislation for what it truly is; nothing more than government takeover, shutting down the freedom of choice to have health care or not, increasing insurance prices and cutting medicaid and medicare coverage for the elderly.
Ralph Nader “This is what I meant a year ago when I said the next year will determine whether Barack Obama will be an Uncle Tom groveling before the demands of the corporations.”
Howard Dean “You know what this is, is a giant bailout. This is a bailout that makes AIG look cheap. 60 billion dollars a year goes to the insurance companies under this bill now if we can get a public option I think that’s ok but if you don’t have a public option why would you want to stick the taxpayers with yet another bailout. They bailed out the banks they bailed out AIG, this is a trillion dollar bailout.”
Michael Moore “The health insurance companies are going to make an extra $70 billion dollars as a result of Americans being forced to buy their health insurance,” “What company wouldn’t love this bill?”
Government Health Care: The Next Step On the Road to Tyranny and Slavery
Coburn: The Elderly Need to Fear Health Care Reform
ObamaCare: Buy Health Insurance Or Go To Jail
ObamaCare: Just Another Tax On The Middle-Class
Buy ObamaCare or Face Jail or $25,000 Fine
Health Insurance Mandate Includes ‘Tax’ Despite Obama Denial
Government Places Gag-Order On Medicare Companies Concerning Cuts
45% Of Doctors Might Quit If ObamaCare Passes Senate
ObamaCare Gives Dictatorial Powers to ‘Health Choices Commissioner’
Filed under: 9/11 Truth, Barack Obama, big pharma, Bill Clinton, Bio Weapons, biological warfare, catastrophic event, Credit Crisis, dick armey, Dictatorship, Dollar, Dow, Economy, engineered crisis, Fascism, fearmongering, h1n1, h1n1 clinic, h1n1 vaccine, Harry Reid, health and environment, health care, health care reform, Hegelian Dialectic, Hitler, Hoax, HR 3200, Human Experiments, hype, influenza, innoculation, inside job, insurance companies, Media Fear, medicaid, medical care, medical Experiments, medical industrial complex, medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Nazi, Neolibs, obama, obama care, obama deception, obamacare, Pandemic Influenza, pandemic virus, paul broun, Problem Reaction Solution, Propaganda, Rahm Emanuel, socialism, State Sponsored Terrorism, stimulus, stimulus bill, Stimulus Package, swine flu, swine flu pandemic, swine flu vaccine, tax rebates, truth movement, US Economy, Vaccine, virus pandemic, White House
Obama Needs A Crisis Revive Health Care Reform
Bloomberg News
September 6, 2009
President Barack Obama returns to Washington next week in search of one thing that can revive his health-care overhaul: a sense of crisis.
Facing polls showing a drop in his approval, diminished support from independents, factions within his Democratic Party and a united Republican opposition, Obama must recapture the sense of urgency that led to passage of the economic rescue package in February, analysts said.
“At the moment, except for the people without insurance, we’re not in a health-care crisis,” said Stephen Wayne, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Washington. “You do need a crisis to generate movement in Congress and to help build a consensus.”
Obama speaks to labor leaders on Sept. 7 and to a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9 as he attempts to rebuild support for his top domestic priority, one that affects 17 percent of the economy. Lawmakers, trying to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and rein in costs, are considering mandates on employers to provide coverage, new rules for insurers, and creating a government program to compete with private insurers such as Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc.
Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said the administration made unprecedented health-care progress in eight months.
‘Not There Yet’
“We gave Congress a charge, we gave them broad outlines, which is the reason we are farther along than any of the five presidents that have tried,” Emanuel said in an interview yesterday. “We’re not there yet, and this speech is intended to finish the job.”
Presidential speeches historically do little to move public opinion significantly, said George Edwards, author of “The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership.”
“This is almost like a Hail Mary, because they know that they’re substantially behind and the trajectory is negative for them,” Edwards said.
Unlike the financial crisis he inherited, the health-care debate is of Obama’s making and places a different burden on him, Edwards said.
“The best thing in presidential leadership is to recognize and exploit opportunities,” said Edwards. “The White House overestimated the nature of the opportunity.”
Stimulus Debate
Obama’s economic stimulus was debated as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 18 percent from Nov. 4, 2008, to Feb. 13, when Congress approved the legislation. Unemployment had risen to more than 7 percent.
On the stimulus, Obama was able to say “that unless we do X right now, and X is pretty painful and pretty expensive, there is a serious danger in the next few weeks that the entire financial system will come crashing down,” said Bill Galston, a former official in President Bill Clinton’s administration, now a Brookings Institution scholar in Washington.
Emanuel remarked at the time that a crisis was a terrible thing to waste, and Obama pushed for health-care overhaul and energy legislation along with financial and auto bailouts.
Government Will Hype Fall Swine Flu Outbreak To Save Obamacare
Infowars
August 17, 2009
Former Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Armey warns that the government is planning to exploit a hyped swine flu outbreak this fall in order to reinvigorate support behind its failing Obamacare agenda.
Armey is confident that the grass roots backlash against Obamacare will cause the plan to fail, but warns that the government has one last trick up its sleeve which it is preparing to pull in the next few months.
The former House leader told the Financial Times that wavering lawmakers in both parties might be won over by an engineered crisis that the Obama administration is planning to exploit.
“In September or October there will be a hyped up outbreak of the swine flu which they’ll say is as bad as the bubonic plague to scare the bed-wetters to vote for healthcare reform,” said Mr Armey. “That is the only way they can push something on to the American people that the American people don’t want.”
As we reported last week, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun gave a similar warning when he told attendees of a town hall event Tuesday that the Obama administration was planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States.
Speaking at the North Georgia Technical College auditorium, Broun said that the “socialistic elite,” as well as Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were planning to exploit a crisis to create a favorable climate for their stalling political agenda.
“They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he said. “We’ve seen that historically.”
Health authorities as well as Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano have been hyping the inevitability of swine flu’s deadlier return this fall ever since it first appeared in April.
Despite the fact that the virus has proven far less potent than the common flu, governments across the world have been preparing to roll out mass vaccination campaigns which are set to begin next month, despite the fact that the shots will contain mercury and squalene and have also been linked with the killer nerve disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
Filed under: 1st amendment, 2nd Amendment, americorps, anti gun, army, Barack Obama, catastrophic event, civil liberties, civil rights, civilian expenditionary workforce, Communism, Congress, Dictatorship, DoD, Draft, Empire, Fascism, forced labor, gestapo, government control, government regulation, government takeover, Gun Control, Harry Reid, Hitler, human rights, mandatory military service, mandatory national service, mandatory service, mandatory volunteerism, Military, Military Industrial Complex, Nancy Pelosi, nanny state, nation building, national civilian security force, national guard, national service, Nazi, Neolibs, New World Order, NORTHCOM, obama, obama deception, obama youth, occupation, paul broun, Police State, selective service, slavery, socialism, soldiers, Soviet Union, stasi, stasi tactics, town hall, u.s. soldiers, universal civil defense training, universal service, US Constitution, War On Terror
Congressman Warns US Becoming A Totalitarian State
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
September 3, 2009
Republican Congressman Paul Broun has once again warned that the US is being slowly transformed into a fascist police state dictatorship.
Broun, R-Athens, Georgia, told over a thousand people at town hall events Wednesday in Madison and Greene County that elites under Obama are “developing a shadow government that (does not) answer to the American people.”
“He has the three things that are necessary to establish an authoritarian government,” Broun said, citing a national federalized police force, gun control and control over the press.
“And so we need to be ever-vigilant, because freedom is precious.” Broun added.
The Congressman effectively repeated the warning he first made vocal last November when he spoke out against Obama’s plan to create a “national civilian security force,” warning that the program sounded like a 21st century Gestapo and that it was part of a move towards a Marxist dictatorship.
“That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did,” Broun said at the time. “When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.”
“We can’t be lulled into complacency,” Broun said. “You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential of going down that road.”
A report on Broun’s comments in the Athens Banner-Herald states that in the July 2008 speech Obama was actually referring to a proposed expansion of the Americorps volunteer program, not a national security force. However, back in November, Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told the Associated Press that Obama was referring to a proposal for a civilian reserve corps that could handle postwar reconstruction.
This was set in motion in January of this year when The Defense Department announced the establishment of a “civilian expeditionary workforce” that will see American civilians trained and equipped to deploy overseas in support of worldwide military missions.
We have also highlighted the ongoing push to merge the Army Reserves and the National Guard into the “Total Force” of the US military, and to deploy 40,000 troops inside the US under NORTHCOM, to deal with “domestic catastrophe” and “civil unrest and crowd control”.
Last month Congressman Broun also warned attendees of a town hall event that the Obama administration was planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States.
Speaking at the North Georgia Technical College auditorium, Broun said that the “socialistic elite,” as well as Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were planning to exploit a crisis to create a favorable climate for their stalling political agenda.
“They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he said. “We’ve seen that historically.”
Filed under: Barack Obama, catastrophic event, Congress, dick armey, Dictatorship, engineered crisis, Fascism, fearmongering, h1n1, h1n1 clinic, Harry Reid, health and environment, health care, health care reform, Hegelian Dialectic, Hoax, House, HR 3200, hype, medicaid, medical care, medical industrial complex, medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Nazi, Neolibs, obama, obama care, obamacare, Pandemic Influenza, pandemic virus, paul broun, Problem Reaction Solution, Propaganda, socialism, swine flu, swine flu pandemic, virus pandemic
Government Will Hype Swine Flu in the Fall to Save Obamacare, Warns Dick Armey
Former House leader says government is preparing to exploit fear to reinvigorate support behind failing agenda
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
August 17, 2009
Former Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Armey warns that the government is planning to exploit a hyped swine flu outbreak this fall in order to reinvigorate support behind its failing Obamacare agenda.
Armey is confident that the grass roots backlash against Obamacare will cause the plan to fail, but warns that the government has one last trick up its sleeve which it is preparing to pull in the next few months.
The former House leader told the Financial Times that wavering lawmakers in both parties might be won over by an engineered crisis that the Obama administration is planning to exploit.
“In September or October there will be a hyped up outbreak of the swine flu which they’ll say is as bad as the bubonic plague to scare the bed-wetters to vote for healthcare reform,” said Mr Armey. “That is the only way they can push something on to the American people that the American people don’t want.”
As we reported last week, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun gave a similar warning when he told attendees of a town hall event Tuesday that the Obama administration was planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States.
Speaking at the North Georgia Technical College auditorium, Broun said that the “socialistic elite,” as well as Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were planning to exploit a crisis to create a favorable climate for their stalling political agenda.
“They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he said. “We’ve seen that historically.”
Filed under: army, Barack Obama, big pharma, Bio Weapons, biological warfare, civil disobedience, Congress, Coup, Dictatorship, Empire, Eugenics, Fascism, Genocide, georgia, h1n1, Harry Reid, health and environment, Hegelian Dialectic, influenza, mandatory quarantine, mandatory vaccinations, medical industrial complex, militarization, Military, Military Industrial Complex, Nancy Pelosi, national guard, Nazi, NORTHCOM, obama, Oppression, Pandemic Influenza, pandemic virus, paul broun, Police State, Population Control, Posse Comitatus, Problem Reaction Solution, Protest, swine flu, swine flu pandemic, town hall, Troops, virus pandemic
Congressman: Obama Could Use Pandemic To Declare Martial Law
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
August 13, 2009
Georgia Congressman Paul Broun warned attendees of a town hall event Tuesday that the Obama administration was planning to use a pandemic or a natural disaster to implement martial law in the United States.
Speaking at the North Georgia Technical College auditorium, Broun said that the “socialistic elite,” as well as Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, were planning to exploit a crisis to create a favorable climate for their stalling political agenda.
“They’re trying to develop an environment where they can take over,” he said. “We’ve seen that historically.”
Broun’s warning arrives on the back of a letter sent by The National Governors Association to the Pentagon last week, which condemns the military’s plans to usurp domestic control of National Guard and federal forces deployed in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
In December 2008 it was announced that at least 20,000 more active duty soldiers will be placed inside the United States under Northcom to “help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe.”
“Domestic emergency deployment may be “just the first example of a series of expansions in presidential and military authority,” or even an increase in domestic surveillance, warned Anna Christensen of the ACLU’s National Security Project. And Cato Vice President Gene Healy warned of “a creeping militarization” of homeland security.”
The contention that the troops will merely help “recovery efforts” after a major catastrophe is contradicted by the fact that Northcom itself, in a September 8 Army Times article, said the first wave of the deployment, which was put in place on October 1st at Fort Stewart and at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, would be aimed at tackling “civil unrest and crowd control”.
Filed under: 2-party system, 2008 Election, bailout, Barack Obama, bernanke, Big Banks, brad sherman, Britain, C-Span, California, Chicago, China, chris dodd, citigroup, CNBC, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, Dow, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Europe, european union, Fascism, FDIC, Federal Reserve, food crisis, food market, food prices, food shortage, foreclosure, foreign banks, foreign investors, France, general motors, George Bush, Germany, global economy, Globalism, GM, Goldman Sachs, google, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, henry paulson, House, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, interest rate cuts, Japan, jim rogers, joe biden, John McCain, Larry Kudlow, left right paradigm, liquidation, london, marc faber, middle class, mortgage, national socialism, nationalization, neocons, Neolibs, obama, Paulson, Propaganda, Psyops, putin, rate cut, real estate, Russia, Senate, socialism, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, US Treasury, Wachovia, Wall Street, wells fargo | Tags: earmarks, financial markets bill, financial terrorism, great britain, hr 3997, mental health bill, pork, pork barrel, pork barrel earmarks, Pork Barrel Spending, shanghai
Bailout Bill Will Help Chinese Banks, Foreign Banks
Congress Approves Bailout Bill
AP
October 3, 2008
With the economy on the brink and elections looming, Congress approved an unprecedented $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry on Friday and sent it to President Bush for his certain signature.
The final vote, 263-171 in the House, a comfortable margin that was 58 more votes than it garnered on Monday. The vote capped two weeks of tumult in Congress and on Wall Street, punctuated by daily warnings that the country confronted the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression if lawmakers failed to act.
Dow plummets when bailout passes
List of Representatives who Switched from “Nay” to “Yea”
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=1087#.
Food Riots Have Already Begun as Global Grain Prices Skyrocket, Supplies Dwindle
http://www.naturalnews.com/024372.html
California may need emergency $7 billion bailout
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49229820081003
Hoax Bank Closure Story Peddles Bailout Propaganda
http://www.prisonplanet.co..e-story-peddles-bailout-propaganda.html
Fed Officials Considering Further Rate Cuts: Report
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26986621
Former Head of Fed’s Open Market Operations Says Bailout Might Make Things Worse
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2..ad-of-feds-open-market.html
Bailout Would Only Prolong Crisis: Jim Rogers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49SYpcaWHTE
Wells Fargo Buys Wachovia Nixing Citi Deal
http://biz.yahoo.com/..ls_fargo_wachovia.html?.v=8
Report blames U.S. trade gap for 5.6 million lost jobs
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4913E220081002
Putin blames US for world economy crisis
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=71042§ionid=351020602
Bailout bill is 451 pages long
http://news.yahoo.com/s/a..cnWOA64ch9GkocOsJ0lJv24cA
Who’s profiting from the crisis? Goldman Sachs, of course
http://www.marketwatch.c..CDCB7}&print=true&dist=printMidSection
Paulson Bank Rescue Proposal Is ’Crazy,’ O’Neill Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ne..mClVjevU&refer=home
France Wants $500B Rescue For Europe
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article4864032.ece
Faber: U.S. Bailout Won’t Stop Slowdown
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=25070&t=1&c=35&cg=4&mset=1011
IMF Adds Pressure On Congress To Pass Bailout
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/01/banking.useconomy
Google stock plunges more than 93% in “erroneous trading”
http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-39543-118.html
Ford & GM Auto Sales Drop
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_o..OmxGcLJO8EjS5v24cA
Chicago woman buys a house for $1.75
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=71130§ionid=3510213
Ex-bankers on pushing customers to rack up debt
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/pers..dex.html?iref=mpstoryview
US economic dominance over – Russia
IMF Warned Of Full-Blown Crisis
September’s ISM Manufacturing Index “Screams Recession,” Economists Say
SEC Extends Ban On Short Selling
Brazilian president: Brazilian economy solid, U.S. should do their homework
Western World Will Become Less Wealthy
’Car sleepers’ the new US homeless
Filed under: bailout, Bank of America, Barney Frank, Big Banks, China, Congress, credit cards, Credit Crisis, Daily Show, David Rockefeller, DEBT, Derivatives, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, Fascism, Federal Reserve, global economy, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, henry paulson, House, housing market, Hugo Chavez, hyperinflation, Inflation, jon stewart, JP Morgan, Larry Kudlow, Lehman Brothers, liquidation, lou dobbs, Media, middle class, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, Nancy Pelosi, national socialism, nationalization, Nazi, Neolibs, Paulson, putin, real estate, rockefeller, rothschilds, Russia, Senate, socialism, steven colbert, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, US Treasury, Venezuela, Wall Street | Tags: dexia, run on banks
Bailout Bill Fails But May Revive And Pass Anyways
Bloomberg
September 30, 2008
The U.S. Senate will try to salvage a $700 billion financial-rescue package after the measure was defeated in the House of Representatives. The lawmakers won’t have a lot of room to negotiate.
While the legislation will need to be tweaked enough to win over reluctant House Republicans, the lawmakers will risk losing votes from Democrats if they veer too far from the delicate compromise that congressional leaders hammered out with the U.S. Treasury.
“They’re not going to totally revamp the bill,’’ said Pete Davis, president of Davis Capital Investment Ideas in Washington, who spoke to House and Senate leaders yesterday. “They’ll make some minor changes and pass it. This is all about political cover.’’
Paulson: King Paulson or Convict Paulson
Recent News:
Bank of America to close credit cards for approximately 60% of customers? (by Oct 1)
http://mparent7777-1.livejournal.com/1933222.html
House Clears $25 Billion For Carmakers
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/83bfe68c-8a8f-11dd-a76a-0000779fd18c.html
Home builders will ask for $90 billion bailout
http://money.cnn.com/2008/09..ion=2008092608
I’ve watched the economy for 30 years. Now I’m truly scared
http://www.guardian.co…/globaleconomy.creditcrunch
Treasury explains how it came up with $700 billion: We just wanted ‘a really large number.’
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/24/treasury-large-number/
Stocks rallied a day after failed $700B wallstreet bailout
http://money.cnn.com/2008..?postversion=2008093009
US will lose superpower status, claims German minister
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/..-superpower-status-crows-Germany.html
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/coming_derivatives_crisis_150.html
China Banks Told To Stop Lending To U.S. Banks
http://www.reuters.com..PEK16693720080925
Refusing Dollar as “World Currency” Inevitable
http://capital.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1304435〈=EN
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news..efer=home
Putin Promises $50Bln For Banks
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/371301.htm
Dexia bank gets multi-nation $9.2B bailout
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080930/eu_belgium_dexia.html
Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Declined 16.3% in July
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?.d=aEyKpTpk90C0&refer=us
http://newsfromthewest.blogspot.com/2008/05/who-owns-federal-reserve.html
Chavez says U.S. can’t fix financial crisis
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLQ4692420080926
The Hanky Panky Banking Bailout Bill
Rep. Kaptur responds to Bush’s address on failed bailout bill
RBS will get ‘billions’ in US bail-out of economy
Jobless Claims Pushed To 7-Year High
Dow Drops 777 Points
680% Inflation?
Nasdaq tanks, down 6%
California Home Prices Drop Record 41% Amid Defaults
Rumors Trigger Bank Run In Hong Kong
New Home Sales Plunged 11.5% to 17-Year Low
Wachovia Stock Sinks On WaMu News
Filed under: 2-party system, 2008 Election, Ahmadinejad, AIG, Alan Greenspan, bailout, Bank of America, Barack Obama, bernanke, Big Banks, Bill Clinton, China, citibank, Condoleezza Rice, Congress, Credit Crisis, David Rockefeller, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, fannie mae, Fascism, FBI, FDIC, Federal Reserve, foreclosure, freddie mac, George Bush, george soros, global economy, global elite, Globalism, gold, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, henry paulson, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, internationalist, internationalists, Iran, John McCain, JP Morgan, left right paradigm, Lehman Brothers, liquidation, michael mullen, middle class, morgan stanley, mortgage, mortgage companies, mortgage lenders, Nancy Pelosi, nationalization, Nazi, neocons, Neolibs, New World Order, obama, Patriot Act, Paulson, real estate, Robert Gates, rockefeller, Sarkozy, socialism, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, US Treasury, Wachovia, Wall Street, wells fargo, White House | Tags: Commodities Futures Trading Commission, J.P. Morgan Chase, Marcy Kaptur, Peter Defazio, Robert Rubin, run on banks
Bailout: Not $700 Billion, More Like $5 Trillion
Bei Hu
Bloomberg
September 24, 2008
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700 billion plan to buy devalued assets from financial companies is “a joke” because it doesn’t go far enough to calm markets, said Kenichi Ohmae, president of Business Breakthrough Inc.
Ohmae, nicknamed “Mr. Strategy” during his 23 years as a McKinsey & Co. partner, called for a $5 trillion “international facility” to be made available to financial institutions. The system could be modeled on one used by Sweden during its banking crisis in the early 1990s, he said.
“This is a liquidity crisis,” Ohmae said at an investor forum hosted by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, the regional broking arm of Credit Agricole SA, in Hong Kong yesterday. “The liquidity has to be so big that people won’t get panicky.”
Paulson’s proposal to remove hard-to-sell assets clogging the financial system marks the broadest intervention since at least the Great Depression. Asian stocks fell today, following U.S. shares lower as investors questioned whether the effort is enough to prevent a recession.
The plan came after the collapse of 158-year-old Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the government takeover of insurer American International Group Inc. caused financial markets to seize up last week. The calamity was the culmination of a year during which the U.S. housing market slump left banks and securities firms with more than $520 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses.
NO To The Paulson-Bernanke Derivatives Scam Bailout
Webster G. Tarpley
September 24, 2008
WASHINGTON DC – The grand theft bailout now being rammed through Congress by Treasury Secretary Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, and other officials of the Bush regime with the help of accomplices Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and other parliamentarians is a monstrosity for the ages, combining every hideous feature of monetarism, elitism, oligarchism, and sheer feckless incompetence. It is to all intents and purposes a national suicide note of the United States of America, a contract with the devil that absolutely guarantees irrevocable national decline. For any person of goodwill there can be only one impulse at the present moment, and that is to stop this bailout — to block it, to sabotage it, to bottle it up, to load it with killer amendments, and to do everything legally possible to stop this insane design from going through.
IF MCCAIN VOTES AGAINST THE BAILOUT, HE WILL WIN THE PRESIDENCY
In political terms, McCain is now running well to the left of Obama on this issue, with a much stronger populist profile. McCain has attacked the outrageous greed and corruption of Wall Street. Obama does not dare attack Wall Street, since these are his masters. Obama, sounding like Milton Friedman, only attacks Washington. Obama has said that he will support whatever Paulson demands. That is not a surprise, since Paulson represents Goldman Sachs, and Obama is a wholly owned property of Goldman Sachs, which is his single biggest source of campaign contributions. Obama is a creature of Brzezinski, Soros, and Rockefeller, and without them he has no existence; Obama is an abject Wall Street puppet, an agent of finance capital. This week, both senators will have to decide how they vote on the odious derivatives bailout. Obama will surely vote in favor of it, since this is what Wall Street demands. If McCain votes against it, he will most probably propel himself into the White House on the model of Give ‘Em Hell Harry in 1948. Filthy corrupt Democrats like Schumer are already attacking McCain as the new Huey Long. Huey Long, the Louisiana populist of the 1930s, had many positive features, and we could certainly use a good dose of Huey Long in this country to counteract the elitism, oligarchism, condescension, and arrogant snobbery of foundation operatives like Obama. The bailout is already very unpopular 72% of all voters are opposed to it and it will become more and more hated when it becomes clear that it is also a failure. McCain’s course is clear. Will he have the brains and guts to cross Obama’s T on this vital issue?
PAULSON OF GOLDMAN SACHS, WOULD-BE FINANCE DICTATOR
Paulson is a ruthless and brutal eco-freak usurer who learned his trade at the Goldman Sachs stock-jobbing operation. He is now the leading member of the committee of public safety which rules in Washington, and which includes Gates, Rice, and Mullen. He now demands the astronomical sum of 700 billion dollars for the bailout of mortgage-backed derivatives, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, and other poisonous derivatives. Make no mistake — this is not a bailout of homeowners who are threatened with foreclosure; it is a bailout of the lunatic house of cards which desperate bankers have built on these mortgages using derivatives. The entire crisis is not a crisis of subprime mortgages, it is a crisis of the derivatives bubble which was launched by Wendy Gramm of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and Greenspan of the Fed with the connivance of Robert Rubin of Goldman Sachs and Citibank, and others in the Clinton administration, some 15 years ago.
These derivatives now amount to a total worldwide notional value that can be estimated between 1 quadrillion and two quadrillion US dollars. This sum is so large that it dwarfs the total value of the entire planet earth and all those who live here. Compared to the cancerous, bloated, and fictitious mass of derivatives which is at the root of this crisis, the $700 billion demanded by politicians, large as this may seem, is nothing but a drop in the bucket. And a drop in the bailout bucket is what it will be. The mass of world derivatives between $1 and $2 quadrillion represents an insatiable black hole which is capable of putting an end, not just to civilization, but the human life itself. The moral choice could not be clearer: humanity will either destroy the derivatives bubble in our time, or the derivatives bubble will surely destroy humanity. Those are the stakes in the current exercise.
Paulson and Bernanke, both lawyers for the Wall Street jackals, lampreys, vultures and hyenas, argue that the public interest demands a bailout of their cronies at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wachovia, and the other large money center institutions. Before the American public antes up $700 billion just for openers in the game of genocidal poker which run by the infernal croupiers Paulson and Bernanke, we would be very well advised to examine the veracity of this premise.
They Want Mama To Make it All Better! – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
Rep Defazio On The Bailout Package
Recent News:
http://georgewashington2.bl..ke-admits-bailout-is-not-aimed-at.html
Real Estate Bigwig Zell Sees 2009 Recession
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26858394
Bailout Is Financial Equivalent Of The Patriot Act
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/23/business/sorkin.php?pass=true
America Versus the Financial Elite
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/09/america-versus-financial-elite.html
Fed Acted Like a Liquidity Drug Dealer: Economist
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26848829
’Punish’ those responsible for financial crisis: Sarkozy
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQvXaV8mO0SRtfD9FEWqf4Vyrzrg
FBI ‘Probe’ Into Mortgage Giants
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/skynews/20080924/twl-fbi-probe-into-mortgage-giants-3fd0ae9.html
Iran Leader Says American Empire Near Collapse
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iRcJGft_Pr8uMaY1Bz9ieBSwBNTgD93CMVM80
US Fed throws $30 billion into foreign credit markets
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5itOHJbNrxCHKetPtXIPIbY3TalIQ
China Paper Calls For A New Financial Order Without U.S.
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSPEK4365020080917?sp=true
Top Economist Mishkin: Worse Than the Depression
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26850473
Lehman’s Bankruptcy and the Hidden $138 Billion Bailout of JP Morgan
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26850473
Eveillard Says Gold May Surge as Investors Seek ‘Insurance’
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=a8L00oInO1YM&refer=home
Wachovia, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo tumble
http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSN2231756020080922
Goldman, Morgan Stanley Bring Down Curtain on an Era
Goldman Sachs to be regulated by Fed
Fury at U.S. Lehman Brothers’ staff who could net £1.4bn in bonuses as UK employees face bleak future
Europeans on left and right ridicule U.S. money meltdown
Paulson On Verge Of Historic New Powers
Fed To Supervise Goldman And Morgan
Filed under: 9/11, Alan Greenspan, bailout, bernanke, Big Banks, Bill Maher, Central Banks, chris dodd, Communism, Congress, Coup, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dictatorship, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, Empire, fannie mae, Fascism, Federal Reserve, freddie mac, George Bush, global economy, gold, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, henry paulson, House, housing market, hyperinflation, Inflation, Joseph Stiglitz, Lehman Brothers, middle class, mortgage, mortgage companies, Nazi, neocons, Paulson, real estate, SEC, Senate, socialism, Stock Market, subprime, subprime lending, Taxpayers, US Economy, US Treasury, Wall Street | Tags: Frank Razzano, John Steele Gordon, Max Keiser, paul krugman, run on banks, tent cities
U.S. Treasury Proposes $700B Bailout Plan For Wallstreet
Reuters
September 20, 2008
The Bush administration proposed a $700-billion taxpayer-funded plan on Saturday to buy up toxic mortgage-related securities in an urgent effort to calm financial markets and attack the nation’s housing crisis.
Under the program, the U.S. Treasury Department would buy, or commit to buy, “mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States,” said a copy of the Treasury Department’s draft legislation obtained by Reuters.
The department could hire asset managers to handle the securities, which could include residential or commercial mortgages and related instruments that were originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008, the draft said.
Congressional committees were to be briefed on Saturday on the legislation, which could be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate as early as next week.
The plan also calls for raising the federal government’s borrowing authority to $11.315 trillion. The debt limit is currently $10.615 trillion.
The government is moving aggressively to soak up billions of dollars of hard-to-sell mortgage-backed securities and related assets that have been choking world capital markets since the bursting of a historic U.S. home price bubble.
We Have DAYS To Stop the $700 Billion Stick-Up (and Fascist Power Grab)
George Washington’s Blog
September 21, 2008
Congress hopes to pass the $700 Billion bailout bill by Friday, according to an article in Bloomberg.
In case you haven’t heard, the bill would not only stick up American taxpayers for an additional $700 billion, but would literally give Paulson and the government fascist powers.
Don’t believe me?
Well, as the Bloomberg article notes: “The bill would bar courts from reviewing actions taken under its authority.”
Bloomberg includes the following quotes by people who understand the significance of the bill:
It sounds like Paulson is asking to be a financial dictator, for a limited period of time,” said historian John Steele Gordon . . . .
***
The Bush administration seeks “dictatorial power unreviewable by the third branch of government, the courts, to try to resolve the crisis,” said Frank Razzano, a former assistant chief trial attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission now at Pepper Hamilton LLP in Washington. “We are taking a huge leap of faith.”
This power grab is so serious that investigative reporter Larisa Alexandrovna calls it “the final stages of the coup“.
We have days to stop this bill. March on Congress. Educate and motivate everyone around you. Do everything you can to prevent this disaster before it is too late.
Krugman: ’Look, this is really scary. This is really bad, This could be 1931’
Keiser: US dollar “backed by bananas”
Recent News:
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/15/daily63.html
Bush Compares Financial Crisis To 9/11
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/19/bush-economy-terrorist/
Nobel Prize Winning Economist: Crisis As Bad As Great Depression Or Worse
http://www.prisonplanet.com/nobel-p..epression-or-worse.html
The Market is Now Pricing In the Genuine Possibility that the US will Default on Its Debt
http://georgewashington2.blogspot..-pricing-in-genuine.html
Fury at $2.5bn Lehman bonus
http://business.timesonline..nd_finance/article4795072.ece
Almost Armageddon: Markets Were 500 Trades From Meltdown
http://www.nypost.com..armageddon_130110.htm
Bailout plan is vast patronage under cover of martial law
http://www.gata.org/node/6647
Dodd: US financial system near meltdown
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=70011§ionid=3510203
Reid Says `No One Knows What to Do’ to Solve Crisis
http://www.bloomberg.com/..VWYw&refer=home
U.S. to Sell $100 Billion in Bills to Fund Fed Moves
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQ58hpS0fRH8&refer=home
‘Tent Cities’ Spring Up In The US
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/sk..es-spring-up-in-the-us-3fd0ae9.html
Central Banks Offer Extra Funds to Calm Money Markets
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aW2z_iiBnF2E&refer=home
U.S. Turning Into U.S.S.R.A
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=69774§ionid=3510203
Worst Crisis Since ’30s, With No End Yet in Sight
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-..-No-End-Yet-in-Sight
Federal bailout of U.S. auto industry
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2008/09/federal-bailout-of-us-auto-industry.html
The Fed Runs out of Money
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/09/17/16019/the-feds-run-out-of-money/
No bank is safe in this alarming atmosphere
http://business.theage.com..phere-20080917-4inu.html
Dollar Might Get Crushed
Hundreds of Lehman investors protest in Hong Kong
Filed under: 2-party system, Congress, Dictatorship, Empire, Harry Reid, House, left right paradigm, Neolibs, poll, Senate, Taxpayers, Uncategorized, Washington D.C. | Tags: fraud, jim demint, no debate, no vote, obstruction of justice, passed bills, scam, scandal, tom coburn, unread bills
94% of Senate Bills Passed in Secret
CRS Report
July 28, 2008
855 bills have passed the Senate with no debate, no amendments, no votes
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) released a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) finding that 94 percent of bills the Senate has passed in the 110th Congress have been without a vote, debate or a single amendment. The 855 bills that have been secretly passed spend more than $9 billion, though a final total is not available because many of the bills were rushed through before a cost analysis could be performed.
Senator DeMint: “It would surprise many Americans to learn that the ‘World’s Greatest Deliberative Body’ passes the overwhelming majority of legislation without any debate at all. Democrats think they are entitled to pass bills without debate or votes, and they’ve tried to ram them through right before recess to pressure us to give up. But, Senators shouldn’t fear debate on these important bills. It’s in the best traditions of our republic to demand the Senate actually do its job and have a public debate on bills that expand government and increase the burden on taxpayers. Senator Reid can complain all he wants, but Republicans represent millions of Americans whose voices are being silenced by Democrat strong-arm tactics.”
Dr. Coburn: “The U.S. Senate has a nine percent approval rating because the American people believe that much of our work is done in secret with no debate, no transparency and no accountability. This report shows that the reality is worse than the public’s fears. Instead of encouraging open debate, I’m disappointed that Majority Leader Reid often chooses secrecy or demagoguery. For instance, he has depicted my effort to reduce the number of bills that pass the Senate in secret by ten percent as ‘unprecedented obstruction.’ What is unprecedented and ahistorical, however, is the Majority Leader’s view that Senators should have a king-like right to pass massive spending bills in secret with no debate, no amendments and no recorded vote.”
Filed under: 2-party system, Ahmadinejad, AIPAC, airstrikes, Barack Obama, Congress, Coup, Credit Crisis, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, energy, False Flag, gas prices, Great Depression, Greenback, gulf, h.con.res.362, Harry Reid, IAEA, Inflation, Iran, Iran war resolution, Iraq, Israel, John McCain, left right paradigm, Military, military strike, Nancy Pelosi, nation building, NATO, neocons, Neolibs, NIE, Nuke, obama, occupation, Oil, Oman, Petrol, Preemptive Strike, preemptive war, Revolutionary Guards, Shock and Awe, Stock Market, Strait of Hormuz, Tehran, US Economy, War On Terror, WW3, ww4, Zionism | Tags: Gholamhossein Nozari, Hassan Firouzabadi, Kevin J. Cosgriff, Mohammad Ali Jafari, William Gortney
Iran warns of Gulf blitzkrieg, Hormuz closure
AFP
July 5, 2008
Iranian army soldiers march during the Army Day military parade in Tehran – April 18, 2007
Iran’s military chiefs warned on Saturday that the Islamic republic would shut down the Strait of Hormuz vital for oil exports and use “blitzkrieg tactics” in the Gulf if it came under attack.
“All the countries should know that if Iran’s interests in the region are ignored, it is natural that we will not allow others to use it (the strait),” said army chief General Hassan Firouzabadi, quoted by the Fars news agency.
However, Iran’s armed forces joint chief of staff stressed his country’s priority was that the Strait of Hormuz remain open.
Speculation has been rife that Israel could be planning a military strike against Iranian nuclear sites, using force to halt Tehran’s controversial atomic activities.
The chief of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards militia, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, meanwhile, warned that his forces would use “blitzkrieg tactics” in the Gulf if his country came under attack.
“The Guards are equipped with the most advanced missiles that can strike the enemies’ vessels and naval equipment with fatal blows,” Fars quoted the Guards chief as saying.
In case of attack, “blitzkrieg tactics and operations of the Guards’ boats will not leave a chance for the enemies to run away.”
“These words do not mean that the prerequisites of war are being set but these are the strategies that our alert armed forces have prepared for any hypothesis,” he added.
The new commander of the US Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral William Gortney, said on Saturday that the American naval presence in the region was “a very clear message that we are here to maintain security and to provide stability.”
“The chief of naval operations wanted me here, I think, because of my experience,” Gortney, who was navy chief during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, told reporters in Bahrain where the fleet is based.
His predecessor, Vice Admiral Kevin J. Cosgriff, has warned that Fifth Fleet would not allow Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait between Iran and Oman is a vital conduit for energy supplies, with as much as 40 percent of the world’s crude passing through the strategic waterway.
US President George W. Bush has not ruled out using force in the nuclear standoff between Iran and the West, but emphasised that he preferred a diplomatic solution.
Iran insists its atomic drive is peaceful, but Western powers fear Tehran is using the programme to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran Says Attack on Atomic Sites to Be `Start of War’
Bloomberg
July 4, 2008
Iran will view an attack on its nuclear facilities as an act of war and will respond, the head of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
“Any act on Iran will be considered the start of war,” General Mohammad Ali Jaafari told reporters yesterday in response to questions about the threat of an Israeli strike on Iranian atomic sites, according to remarks carried today on the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. Jaafari also said he thought it is unlikely such an attack would be carried out.
The U.S. and many of its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists the program is aimed at producing electricity. Iran today will present its response to incentives from world powers intended to persuade the country to suspend work to enrich uranium, Agence France-Presse reported. The material can fuel a power station or arm a nuclear weapon.
Reports that Israel may attack Iran have boosted oil prices. If attacked, Iran will “impose control” on the Strait of Hormuz, Jaafari said on June 28. About 20 percent of the world’s daily supply of oil passes through the strait. Crude for August delivery rose $5.08, or 3.6 percent, to $145.29 a barrel this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $145.85 a barrel yesterday, the highest since trading began in 1983.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari, who was in Madrid for the World Petroleum Congress, yesterday reiterated his nation’s pledge to respond to any strike.
Impact on Markets
“Iran’s stance in this connection against enemies is clear, vivid and strong,” Nozari told the Iranian news agency before leaving Madrid. “Oil is an energy and industry for peace and its durability depends on peace and security. So, any tension in any region, especially in the Persian Gulf, which is the major supplier of the main part of the world’s energy, will have an impact on the energy market which is principally unpredictable.”
Resolution calls for embargo against Iran
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=62568§ionid=351020104
Israel reassures West: No Iran attack in 2008 (yeah right)
http://www.worldtribune.com/world..C/2008/me_israel0292_07_02.asp
Iran: War or Privatization: All Out War or “Economic Conquest”?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9501
Military chief warns against striking Iran
http://www.chicagotribune.com/n..hani_03jul03,0,3842583.story
Filed under: Barney Frank, central bank, Congress, Credit Crisis, DEBT, Dollar, Economic Collapse, economic depression, Economy, George Bush, Great Depression, Greenback, Harry Reid, housing market, Inflation, infrastructure, real estate, Stimulus Package, Stock Market, tax, tax rebates, Taxpayers, US Economy, White House
Dems Prep Another Stimulus Package, Bush May Veto
Reuters
July 1, 2008
Democrats in the U.S. Congress are gearing up to pass a second election-year economic stimulus package, but unlike the $152 billion measure that passed in February, they are not counting on getting the support of President George W. Bush.
Leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate are discussing with key committee chairmen the shape of another emergency spending bill that would again aim to spur the economy and help those hurt by the economic slowdown, several congressional aides said on Tuesday.
This comes on the heels of this week’s enactment of increased jobless benefits, another Democratic priority.
Infrastructure projects — road and bridge building and other government-funded construction — top the list, according to those aides. At least $8 billion in funds could be sought just for these projects, although aides said there were no firm cost estimates yet for any portion of the legislation.
Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, is hoping such a bill also would help deal with some problems related to the unfolding home mortgage crisis, especially if Bush vetoes a broader bill moving through Congress.
“The second stimulus package should include money to the states and cities to buy foreclosed properties,” Frank told Reuters in a telephone interview.
If a second economic stimulus bill advances and it follows the formula of emergency measures enacted this year, the new stimulus would add to already steep deficits that worry fiscal conservatives.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters, “I think that we’re going to come back at a later time and do other things that are extremely important.” He singled out the need for more money for disaster relief, law enforcement and a program that helps low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills.
Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley, said Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California have held several conversations on possible legislation.
“July might be a little quick to pull it off. September seems more likely” following a month-long August recess, said one House aide, who asked not to be identified.
Last January and February, the White House and congressional Republicans displayed rare bipartisanship when they worked to enact a $152 billion plan, mostly tax rebates, to stimulate the economy by trying to boost consumer spending.
In crafting that package, Democrats gave up, at least temporarily, on a series of initiatives they wanted, from more food stamps for the poor to expanded unemployment benefits and government-funded construction projects.
Bush opposed those add-ons, citing cost concerns.
Filed under: 1984, 2-party system, 2008 Election, 4th amendment, 9/11, 9/11 Truth, amnesty, AT&T, Barack Obama, barbara boxer, Big Brother, chris dodd, civil liberties, civil rights, False Flag, FISA, George Bush, Harry Reid, House, HR 6304, inside job, left right paradigm, Media, Nancy Pelosi, neocons, Neolibs, NSA, obama, Oppression, Police State, Propaganda, Ron Paul, Senate, steny hoyer, Surveillance, telco pac, US Constitution, War On Terror, warrantless search, warrantless wiretap, whistleblower | Tags: Frederick Boucher, Gregory Meeks, James Clyburn, MCI, orrin hatch, Protect America Act, Rahm Emanuel, Russ Feingold, Sprint, Verizon
Why Did 94 House Democrats Change Their Votes on FISA?
(A: Money)
Politico
June 25, 2008
In March, the House passed an amendment that rejected retroactive immunity for telecoms that assisted the NSA in illegal wiretapping. Most of us have wondered what happened to change the minds of 94 Democrats. What happened between June 20 and March 14 to change 94 Democratic hearts and minds?
The answer might well be simple: money. Could it be that simple?
MAPLight.org has published a breakdown of contributions received from Telco PACS by the 94 Dems who experienced the change of heart. [Maplight.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Berkeley, California. Its search engine at MAPLight.org illuminates the connection between Money And Politics (MAP) via an unprecedented database of campaign contributions and legislative outcomes.’]
Here’s the bottom line:
Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint gave PAC contributions averaging:
$8,359 to each Democrat who changed their position to support immunity for Telcos (94 Dems)
$4,987 to each Democrat who remained opposed to immunity for Telcos (116 Dems)88 percent of the Dems who changed to supporting immunity (83 Dems
of the 94) received PAC contributions from Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint
during the last three years (Jan. 2005-Mar. 2008). ( MAPLight.org)
Of course the average amount received is a bit misleading. A few of the very prominent Dems who changed their votes took a lot more than $8000. According to this website,
Nancy Pelosi [CA], Speaker of the House, allegedly received $24,500.
Steny Hoyer [MD] allegedly received $29,000.
James Clyburn [SC] allegedly received $29,500.
Rahm Emanuel [IL] allegedly received $28,000.
Frederick Boucher [VA] allegedly received $27,500.
Gregory Meeks [NY] allegedly received $26,000.
You can see the complete list here.
I guess with campaign finance laws in the state they’re in, we can’t expect them to turn down free money. I would like to believe that there are other reasons why they supported the current incarnation of FISA. I wish I could think of some.
HR 6304 – A Bill To Abolish the 4th Amendment
Hatch compares FISA critics to those ‘who wear tin foil hats and think 9/11 was an inside job.’
Think Progress
June 26, 2008
Speaking today on the Senate floor in favor of the Foreign Service Intelligence Act legislation, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) compared critics of the bill — which include Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), among others — to deluded conspiracy theorists. Hatch mocked the what he called “onerous oversight provisions” included in the bill, and said those who raise the specter of unchecked executive wiretapping power “feed the delusions of those who wear tin foil hats around their house and think that 9/11 was an inside job.”
Those “onerous” oversight provisions Hatch maligns? A ban on “reverse targeting” of Americans and a new requirement of probable cause for surveillance of Americans abroad.
UpdateLate this afternoon, the Senate voted 80-15 to invoke cloture on the FISA bill. Ian Welsh at FDL writes that this “was the real vote” and applauds the 15 senators who “voted for the Bill of Rights.”
http://mparent7777-1.livejournal.com/649045.html
Obama: Immunity not that important. Won’t support filibuster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPljokDWERg
Whistleblower: Spy Bill Will Create Police State
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/att-whistleblow.html
Report: FISA vote may be delayed until July
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news..il-after-july-recess-2008-06-26.html
Obama Adviser On FISA: We’ll Trust The Inspector General To Prevent Surveillance Abuses
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-b..-well-trust_b_108904.html
The Real FISA Vote Passes 80 to 15 With the Presidential Nominees Passing
http://firedoglake.com/2008/06/2..e-presidential-nominees-passing/
Ron Paul: The FISA bill clearly violates the Fourth Amendment
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2008/cr062008h.htm
Filed under: Al Gore, barbara boxer, California, cap-and-trade, carbon credit, carbon credit system, carbon credits, carbon dioxide, carbon ration, Carbon Tax, Co2, energy, environmental taxation, EPA, gas prices, global tax, Global Warming, GOP, Harry Reid, Joe Lieberman, john warner, Neolibs, Oil, Petrol, ration, Senate, tax, WW2 | Tags: s.2191
AP
June 6, 2008
Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a global warming bill that would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases, pushing debate over the world’s biggest environmental concern to next year for a new Congress and president.
Democratic leaders fell a dozen votes short of getting the 60 needed to end a Republican filibuster on the measure and bring the bill up for a vote, prompting Majority Leader Harry Reid to pull the legislation from consideration.
The Senate debate focused on bitter disagreement over the expected economic costs of putting a price on carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas that comes from burning fossil fuels. Opponents said it would lead to higher energy costs.
“It’s just the beginning for us,” proclaimed Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., a chief sponsor of the bill, noting that 54 senators had expressed support of the legislation, although that’s still short of what would be needed to overcome concerted GOP opposition.
“It’s clear a majority of Congress wants to act,” Boxer said at a news conference.
Senate Democrats May Pull Climate Bill
Washington Post
June 6, 2008
If this week’s Senate debate on a proposed cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases was supposed to be a dress rehearsal for climate legislation, things are not looking too good for opening night.
The week has been marked by parliamentary maneuvers and bitter accusations over divergent estimates of the bill’s future costs. On Wednesday, a group of GOP senators asked that the clerk of the Senate read the entire 491-page bill aloud, an extremely rare request. That took more than 10 hours.
Senate To Push Carbon Tax Enslavement Bill
Lee Rogers
Rogue Government
May 29, 2008
The establishment is getting ready to push forward with Joe Lieberman’s proposed carbon credit enslavement bill. The bill otherwise known as America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 or S 2191 will give the Environmental Protection Agency draconian powers to implement a carbon credit system here in the United States. Read my full analysis of the bill here. This is nothing more than a carbon tax and the bill intends to reduce the amount of available carbon credits on a year to year basis starting in the year 2012. This will effectively make it more difficult for small and medium sized businesses to compete with the large multinational corporations who will have the resources to deal with this ridiculous enslavement tax. The threat of man made carbon emissions causing global warming is a documented fraud. Over 31,000 scientists have recently come forward refuting the claims of Al Gore and others who are promoting this lie. The fact that the corporate controlled media can continue to promote this huge lie as propaganda to pass this carbon credit initiative is utterly insane.
According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, debate is scheduled to begin on this legislation next week.
For years the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works was the burial ground for legislation addressing among other things coal powered electricity generation. The U.S. has about a quarter of the world’s known supply of coal and coal is the primary source of electricity in this country. (Hydroelectric power is not as prominent elsewhere as in this region.) It is commonly said that reducing the emissions of coal used to generate electricity is vital to controlling greenhouse gas emissions here. Most seem to believe that this is the cornerstone to any effective policy. In December the committee, with a Democratic majority, passed America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 and the bill will be debated in the Senate next week.
The Republicans are split on this bill. Larry Craig and other Republicans did all he could to prevent the bill from getting out of committee. The bill though is sponsored by Joe Lieberman and John Warner. (Warner is on the committee.)
Even though there is absolutely no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats, it is pretty clear that the establishment is hell bent on pushing this thing through. The majority of Democrats are going to support this bill and if the Republicans are split on this bill, it means it will pass the U.S. Senate relatively easy. It doesn’t matter that the vast majority of Americans oppose the measures in this bill. The establishment wants this carbon credit initiative passed so they can effectively enslave the majority of free humanity.
The GOP has said that they are going to try to form some opposition to this bill, but in reality it will be nothing more than a staged debate. This piece of legislation is going to get passed and any opposition will be for the purposes of the theater played out in the media to make the masses believe that we actually have Senators that represent the people.
San Francisco has already passed a carbon tax on businesses which is just a warm up for what we are going to see across this country if S 2191 gets passed. It is incredibly insane that these people are going forward with an agenda to establish a system of carbon credits on the basis of man made carbon emissions causing global warming. With over 31,000 scientists many with high level degrees refuting the doomsday claims of Al Gore, this global warming crap along with this carbon tax push is becoming more and more of a sick joke.
Carbon’s Power Brokers
http://www.washingtonpost.com..08053002521_pf.html
Let’s Just Call It ‘Cap and Tax’
http://www.newsweek.com/id/139454
Comments On U.S. Carbon Tax Bill
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0229748720080602
Are you ready for WW2-style energy rationing?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/29/carbon_rationing_no/
Filed under: 2008 Election, Afghanistan, austan goolsbee, Barack Obama, Big Brother, bilderberg, biometrics, Blackwater, CFR, Control Grid, cult, David Rockefeller, Dick Cheney, Eugenics, global elite, global government, global police force, global poverty tax, Global Warming, Globalism, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Iraq, jay rockefeller, jihadist, Martial Law, microchip, NAFTA, nation building, Neolibs, New World Order, North American Union, occupation, Pakistan, Pullout, Real ID, Ron Paul, Russ Feingold, Senate, skull & bones, skull and bones, State Sponsored Terrorism, Surveillance, Taliban, trilateral commission, Troops, UN, War On Terror, zbigniew brzezinski
Obama takes name off Iraq withdrawal bill
Huffington Post
February 27, 2008
Over the past year, Sen. Barack Obama has been a vocal supporter of the Feingold-Reid Iraq legislation that sets a strict timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. But when a version of that bill was introduced this past week without a final date for troop removal, the Illinois senator chose not to attach his name to the list of co-sponsors.
Yesterday, Sen. Russ Feingold succeeded for the first time in getting the Senate to begin debating his measure to begin withdrawing troops in 120 days (with exceptions for certain specified missions). Neither of the Democratic presidential candidates was in D.C. to vote in favor of cloture, which allowed the bill to ultimately come to the floor. But only one — Sen. Hillary Clinton — co-sponsored the legislation.
A change in Feingold’s bill — the removal of an end date for troop redeployment in an effort to win wider support — persuaded Obama to not co-sponsor the measure.
“Senator Obama has long said that he would only support Iraq legislation that has an end date for the removal of troops,” an Obama aide told the Huffington Post. As for whether the Senator would ultimately support the bill, the aide said, “it will depend on the final version.”
Barack Obama: The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9P15YZrnv0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro6OIgeGBC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MCy1dRwxzY
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/29/rockefeller-gets-behind-obama/
Obama Intends to Swap One Failed War for Another
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/29/7364/
Austan Goolsbee, Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, told Canada not to worry about Obama’s anti-NAFTA rhetoric
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe..228/20080229?hub=TopStories
Obama’s Blackwater Problem
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/2008..G_R3IIfsdHx3gBawj9wxIF
Filed under: 2-party system, 4th amendment, AT&T, Barack Obama, Big Brother, chris dodd, FISA, George Bush, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, joe biden, left right paradigm, neocons, Neolibs, NSA, Senate, Surveillance, warrentless wiretap, White House
Wide Spy Powers Set To Pass In Senate
Wired
December 17, 2007
The Senate voted by a margin of 76 to 10 to limit debate on a new wiretapping bill Monday, all but ensuring that the Senate will approve amnesty for telecoms that helped the government spy on Americans without court orders and greatly expand the government’s ability to spy using American telecom facilities and communication services.
After the cloture vote, any amendment to the bill will require 60 votes due to rules set by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada).
The bill under debate is the Senate Intelligence version, which grants immunity to telecoms and wide spying powers to the Administration. A competing bill from the Senate Judiciary omitted immunity and included more oversight over new spying powers.
Though Majority Leader Reid said he opposed immunity, he chose to override a hold on the Senate Intelligence bill and to virtually guarantee its success by choosing it over the Judiciary bill as the base bill.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) is trying to object, but Reid counters that the Republicans will filibuster, thus the 60 vote limit is necessary to prevent a filibuster of the whole bill if an amendment was passed with fewer than 60 votes.
Though the Senate set aside 30 hours for debate, Reid wants the bill to be passed Monday, so the Senate can move to take up a massive spending bill on Tuesday.
AT&T: Within Two Weeks of Taking Office, Bush Planned Domestic Spying
John Byrne
Raw Story
December 17, 2007
Nearly 1,300 words into Sunday’s New York Times article revealing new details of the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping program, the lawyer for an AT&T engineer alleges that “within two weeks of taking office, the Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.”
In a New Jersey federal court case, the engineer claims that AT&T sought to create a phone center that would give the NSA access to “all the global phone and e-mail traffic that ran through” a New Jersey network hub.
The former AT&T employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Times said he took part in several discussions with agency officials about the plan.
“The officials, he said, discussed ways to duplicate the Bedminster system in Maryland so the agency “could listen in” with unfettered access to communications that it believed had intelligence value and store them for later review,” Times reporters Eric Lichtblau, James Risen and Scott Shane wrote. “There was no discussion of limiting the monitoring to international communications, he said.”
“At some point,” he told the paper, “I started feeling something isn’t right.”
“Two other AT&T employees who worked on the proposal discounted his claims, saying in interviews that the project had simply sought to improve the N.S.A.’s internal communications systems and was never designed to allow the agency access to outside communications.”
AT&T’s spokesman said they didn’t comment on national security matters, as did a spokesman for Qwest, which was also approached but apparently rebuffed the plan. The lawyer for the engineer and others in the New Jersey case says AT&T’s internal documents would vindicate his clients.
“What he saw,” Bruce Afran, a New Jersey lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told the Times, “was decisive evidence that within two weeks of taking office, the Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.”
The full Times article is here.
Wider Spying Fuels Aid Plan for Telecom Industry
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/1….r+RtvY2Tj5lvUOqA
Chris Dodd Begins Filibuster Of Telecom Immunity
http://www.theseminal.com/2…ibuster-for-the-constitution/
Despite the fact that Obama, Clinton, and Biden said they would support Dodd’s FISA filibuster – these supposed “leaders” skip the wiretap vote
http://rawstory.com/news/2007….ount_filibuster_to_1217.html
Filed under: 2-party system, Afghanistan, DEBT, Economy, George Bush, Harry Reid, House, housing market, Iraq, left right paradigm, nation building, Neolibs, occupation, Senate, steny hoyer, subprime, subprime lending, US Economy, War On Terror
Hill Close To Deal on War Funds
Joshua Partlow
Washington Post
December 8, 2007
House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that President Bush has refused to accept, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday.
In a complicated deal over the war funds, Democrats will include about $11 billion more in domestic spending than Bush has requested, emergency drought relief for the Southeast and legislation to address the subprime mortgage crisis, Hoyer told a meeting of the Washington Post editorial board.
If the bargain were to become law, it would be the third time since Democrats took control of Congress that they would have failed to force Bush to change course in Iraq and continued to fund a war that they have repeatedly vowed to end. But it would also be the clearest instance yet of the president bowing to a Democratic demand for more money for domestic priorities, an increase that he had promised to reject.
“The way you pass appropriations bills is you get agreement among all the relevant players, among which the president with his veto pen is a very relevant player,” Hoyer said. “Everybody knows he has no intention of signing anything without money for Iraq, unfettered, without constraints. I think that’s ultimately going to be the result.”
The Democrats plan to take a three-step approach to completing the deal. House leaders are considering an initial allotment of about $30 billion, ostensibly for the war in Afghanistan and some other military needs, which all sides in the deal recognize could be shifted to fund the Iraq war.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) then would allow Republicans to increase that amount to avert a filibuster of the spending bill in the Senate. The goal of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is $70 billion for the war, more than the $50 billion short-term funding that House Democrats initially proposed but far less than the $196 billion Bush has sought.
Dems Plan Stealth Funding of Iraq Occupation
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007..posal_n_75720.html
Filed under: Bloggers, Coup, False Flag, George Bush, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Iraq, Jim Webb, Karl Rove, Kyl-Lieberman amendment, Lieberman, military strike, nation building, occupation, Propaganda, Psyops, Revolutionary Guards, Robert Byrd, Saber Rattling, Senate, Shock and Awe, War On Terror, ww4
Lieberman: ‘Paranoid, Hyper-Partisan’ ‘Left-Wing Blogs’ Wrote ‘Conspiracy Theories’ On Iran
Think Progress
November 9, 2007
Speaking today at the Johns Hopkins Center for Politics and Foreign Relations, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) accused “left-wing blogs” of making up “conspiracy theories” about the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which passed the Senate last month. It designated part of the Iranian army a terrorist organization. Lieberman called opponents of the amendment “politically paranoid” and “hyper-partisan.”
He also claimed that the “amendment contained nothing” that could be seen “as a green light” for war:
These were absurd arguments. The text of our amendment contained nothing–nothing–that could be construed as a green light for an attack on Iran. To claim that it did was an act of delusion or deception.
On the contrary, by calling for tougher sanctions on Iran, the intention of our amendment was to offer an alternative to war.
Lieberman’s argument is the only “deception” going on. It didn’t take “conspiracy theories” to realize that the amendment would move America closer to war with Iran. In the original version of the bill, which was only changed after pressure from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), language was included that explicitly endorsed the use of “military instruments” against Iran:
4) to support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments, in support of the policy described in paragraph (3) with respect to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies.
Even after the “military instruments” language was removed from the amendment, the final bill still shifted America into a more war-prone posture. As Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) noted at the time, just labeling Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as “a foreign terrorist organization” could “mandate” the military option against Iran:
It could be read as tantamount to a declaration of war. What do we do with terrorist organizations? If they are involved against us, we attack them.
Given the language of the bill and Lieberman’s previous calls for “aggressive military action” against Iran, progressive blogs were hardly “delusional” in warning against the dangers of the amendment. But Lieberman would rather lash out at straw men caricatures of “left-wing blogs” and “hyper-partisans” than deal with legitimate criticism.
Rove Decries ‘Nutty’ ‘Vitriolic’ Bloggers Who Spew ‘Bad Words’
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/09/rove-bloggers/
Hillary’s Testy Iran Kyl-Lieberman Exchange In Iowa
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/th…_vote_prompts_a_h.html
Byrd: Senate’s ‘Saber-Rattling’ Is ‘Sleep-Walking’ America To War With Iran
http://noworldsystem.com/2007/10/05/….merica-to-war-with-iran/
Mike Gravel Grills Hillary for Supporting Iran War Amendment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3gQfz8GC0o
BREAKING: Lieberman-Kyl’s Iran amendment passes
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Find-Freedom.htm?At=024323&From=News
Durbin: Lieberman-Kyl Amendment Is ‘Dangerous,’ ‘Puts Us On Record’ In Support Of Iran War
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/25/durbin-lieb-kyl-amdt/
More Disasterous Iran Legislation On Its Way
http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.c….ous-iran-legislation-on.html
Filed under: 2-party system, David Petraeus, George Bush, Harry Reid, Iraq, left right paradigm, Nancy Pelosi, nation building, neocons, Neolibs, occupation, Pentagon, Pullout, Troops, War On Terror
‘Blank check’ seen headed Bush’s way, despite Democratic promises to change course in Iraq
Nick Juliano
Raw Story
November 5, 2007
Democratic leaders in Congress are quietly preparing to give President Bush essentially everything he wants to keep the Iraq war going for at least another six months without forcing any change in course.
Swept into power on the votes of war-weary Americans last year, Congressional Democrats have so far failed in all their attempts to curtail Bush’s war efforts. As they consider the president’s latest request for $200 billion in supplementary war funding party leaders have pledged not to hand over another “blank check.”
But, as Roll Call reports, a “blank check” is exactly what appears headed for the Pentagon.
“Democratic leaders continue to fear GOP attacks that cutting off or slowing funds would hurt the troops, despite anger among the Democratic base over the party’s failure to use Congress’ power of the purse to end the war,” reports the Capitol Hill newspaper’s Steven T. Dennis.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) have said they won’t consider a supplemental funding bill that doesn’t include timelines for troop withdrawals. But, Dennis reports, “Democrats are quietly preparing to give the president enough spending flexibility to keep the war going anyway,” for as long as six more months.
As adamant as they say they are about tying war funding to deescalation timetables, Democratic leaders appear even more firmly against an overall cut-off of war funds, which critics say may be their only recourse to actually effect a draw-down of troops from Iraq.
“Sure we have the power on anything to stop the money … but the thing we have to do is make sure we do it the right way,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on a liberal radio show last month. “It’s not a question of all or nothing; it’s a question of making sure we do the right thing.”
Congress approved billions in extra funding and stopgap spending resolutions after Gen. David Petraeus’ testimony on Capitol Hill in September. Next up is the regular Defense spending bill, which Democrats are crafting to allow funding to be diverted from regular Pentagon accounts to fund the war, according to Roll Call. Appropriations Chairman John Murtha (D-PA) told the paper that the Defense Department would be able to maintain the war “until May or June” with the extra flexibility.
In the Senate, an aide told the paper that leaders are considering “short bursts” of war funding as Democrats continue to try to persuade war-weary Republicans to break with the president and support course-changing legislation.
Democrats acknowledge frustration among voters, especially the party’s liberal base that has long been calling for an end to America’s adventure in Iraq. Pelosi acknowledged the frustration and said she too was frustrated at the lack of progress toward ending the war.
Whether Democrats will be able to reverse the tide depends on their ability to re-frame the debate and stand firm against funding for anything except redeployment, an aide to a Democratic member of the Out of Iraq Caucus told the paper.
“As long as leadership is not willing to challenge the way the president is hiding behind the troops,” the aide said, “they’re going to continue to get rolled.”
CNN: Price of Iraq war 10 times pre-war predictions
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CNN_Price_of_Iraq_war_10_1102.html
Filed under: Barack Obama, biden, Congress, DEBT, Dennis Kucinich, DoD, Economy, George Bush, Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton, House, Iraq, joe biden, John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, nation building, occupation, Paulson, Ron Paul, sam brownback, Troops, War On Terror
Congress Quietly Approves Billions More for Iraq War
The Nation
September 28, 2007
The Senate agreed on Thursday to increase the federal debt limit by $850 billion — from $8.965 trillion to $9.815 trillion — and then proceeded to approve a stop-gap spending bill that gives the Bush White House at least $9 billion in new funding for its war in Iraq.
Additionally, the administration has been given emergency authority to tap further into a $70 billion “bridge fund” to provide new infusions of money for the occupation while the Congress works on appropriations bills for the Department of Defense and other agencies.
Translation: Under the guise of a stop-gap spending bill that is simply supposed to keep the government running until a long-delayed appropriations process is completed — probably in November — the Congress has just approved a massive increase in war funding.
The move was backed by every senator who cast a vote, save one.
Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, the maverick Democrat who has led the fight to end the war and bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, was on the losing end of the 94-1 vote. (The five senators who did not vote, all presidential candidates who are more involved in campaigning than governing, were Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden and Republicans John McCain and Sam Brownback.)
Said Feingold, “I am disappointed that we are about to begin the 2008 fiscal year without having enacted any of the appropriations bills for that year. I am even more disappointed that we voted on a continuing resolution that provides tens of billions of dollars to continue the misguided war in Iraq but does not include any language to bring that war to a close. We need to keep the federal government operating and make sure our brave troops get all the equipment and supplies they need, but we should not be giving the President a blank check to continue a war that is hurting our national security.”
In the House, the continuing resolution passed by a vote of 404 to 14, with 14 other members not voting.
The “no” votes in the House, all cast by anti-war members, came from one Republican, Ron Paul of Texas, and 13 Democrats: Oregon’s Earl Blumenauer, Missouri’s William Clay, Minnesota’s Keith Ellison, California’s Bob Filner, Massachusetts’ Barney Frank, New York’s Maurice Hinchey, Ohio’s Dennis Kucinich, Washington’s Jim McDermott, New Jersey’s Donald Payne, California’s Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Diane Watson and Lynn Woolsey.
That means that, of the 2008 presidential candidates, only Republican Paul and Democrat Kucinich voted against giving the Bush administration a dramatic — if not particularly well publicized — infusion of new money for the war.
“Each year this war is getting more and more costly — both in the amount of money spent and in the number of lives lost. Now this Congress is providing more funds so the administration can continue down a path of destruction and chaos,” said Kucinich, who noted the essential role of House and Senate Democratic leaders, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in passing the continuing resolution. “The Democratic leadership in Congress needs to take a stand against this President and say they will not give him any more money. That is the only way to end this war and bring our troops home.”
The Senate voted 53-42 to raise the debt ceiling to $9.815 trillion, the fifth increase in the U.S. credit limit since President George W. Bush took office in January 2001. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the higher debt limit earlier this year as part of the overall budget resolution and the legislation now goes to Bush for his signature.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson commended Congress for quickly passing legislation he said “ensures the U.S. government can deliver on promises already made.”
“The Senate’s swift action on the debt limit today helps to protect the full faith and credit of the United States and avoids creating unnecessary uncertainty in the U.S. Treasuries market,” Paulson said in a statement.
The Treasury Department had been pressing Congress to pass the debt increase quickly. Last week Paulson said the government would hit its current $8.965 trillion debt limit on October 1.
But Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, urged lawmakers to reject the debt increase and concentrate on spending cuts instead.
“Families across America don’t have the luxury of loaning themselves any money when they’ve maxed out their credit. But that’s what we’re going to do,” Coburn said.
Lawmakers said the $850 billion increase in borrowing authority, the second largest since Bush took office, should be enough to last the government through next year’s congressional and presidential elections.
U.S. debt stood at about $5.6 trillion at the start of Bush’s presidency.
“Increasing the debt limit is necessary to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States of America,” said Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance panel.
Congress agrees to raise U.S. credit limit
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2742101920070928
U.S. confirms Baghdad air strike
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL291896120070929
Iraq War Spreads US Army Thin, Warns General
http://www.ahora.cu/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4564
Filed under: CFR, Coup, Defense Authorization Act, Dick Cheney, Dick Durbin, False Flag, Harry Reid, Iran, Iraq, Jim Webb, Kyl-Lieberman amendment, Lieberman, Neolibs, Robert Gates, State Sponsored Terrorism, War On Terror, WMD, WW2, ww4
BREAKING: Lieberman-Kyl’s Iran amendment passes
Freedom’s Pheonix
September 27, 2007
By a vote of 76-22, the Senate passed the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, which threatens to “combat, contain and [stop]” Iran via “military instruments.” Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called the amendment “Cheney’s fondest pipe dream” and said it could “read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action.”
UPDATE Before the vote today, changes were made to the original amendment, with paragraphs three and four taken out completely. This paragraph was also added at the end:
“Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated on September 16, 2007 that “I think that the administration believes at this point that continuing to try and deal with the Iranian threat, the Iranian challenge, through diplomatic and economic means is by the preferable approach. That the one we are using. We always say all options are on the table, but clearly, the diplomatic and economic approach is the one that we are pursuing.”
Read the full marked up amendment here.
UPDATE II: The roll call for the vote is here. The following senators voted against the amendment:
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Dodd (D-CT)
Feingold (D-WI)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Sanders (I-VT)
Tester (D-MT)
Webb (D-VA)
Wyden (D-OR)
Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL) didn’t vote.
Durbin: Lieberman-Kyl Amendment Is ‘Dangerous,’ ‘Puts Us On Record’ In Support Of Iran War
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/25/durbin-lieb-kyl-amdt/
Filed under: CFR, Coup, Defense Authorization Act, Dick Durbin, False Flag, Harry Reid, Iran, Iraq, Jim Webb, Kyl-Lieberman amendment, Lieberman, Neolibs, State Sponsored Terrorism, War On Terror, WMD, WW2, ww4
ACTION ALERT:
Call Your Senators and Tell Them to Oppose the Lieberman-Kyl amendment
(800) 862-5530
(800) 833-6354
(866) 340-9281
(866) 220-0044
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
Durbin: Lieberman-Kyl Amendment Is ‘Dangerous,’ ‘Puts Us On Record’ In Support Of Iran War
Think Progress
September 26, 2007
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke forcefully this afternoon on the Senate floor against the Lieberman-Kyl amendment. Durbin described the “sense of the Senate” legislation as a “dangerous effort to put us on the record for the use of military force in Iran.”
Noting that the language of the amendment suggests the use of “military instruments,” Durbin said:
What does that mean? Does that mean we are supporting the invasion of Iran? That we are supporting military tactics against Iran? Shouldn’t we be extra careful in the language of these resolutions when we find that the authorization for force for Iraq has dragged us into a war now in its fifth year, a war longer than World War II with bloody and deadly consequences for the United States and innocent Iraqis.
“I think it is dangerous language,” Durbin said, concluding his statement by saying he will oppose the amendment as it is currently written.
Due to early concerns raised by Sen. Jim Webb, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced this afternoon that the language of the Lieberman-Kyl amendment was being modified. The Senate then released new language, but as Carah Ong notes, the modifications did little to ease fears:
The new language allows for the use of U.S. military instruments inside of Iraq for dealing with Iran, but it still does not contain a measure to prevent a conflict from spilling beyond Iraq’s borders.
Due to the still outstanding concerns raised over the amendment, Reid announced this evening on the Senate floor that Lieberman-Kyl bill “will not have a vote in the near future.” Reid added that negotiations are ongoing and “maybe the night will be bring more clearness to the issue. But right now I think it’s fair to say there will be no votes tonight.”
noworldsystem.com 