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SNL on the bailout
Where did all the money go? SNL explains it all in this controversial CSPAN spoof featuring foreclosed homeowners, greedy yuppies, Nancy Pelosi, Pres. Bush, Barney Frank, Herb and Marion Sandler, and George Soros. Where did all the money go? SNL explains it all in this controversial CSPAN spoof featuring foreclosed homeowners, greedy yuppies, Nan... more
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Army combat unit to deploy on US soil
The United States military's Northern Command, formed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, is dedicating a combat infantry team to deal with catastrophes in the U.S., including terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
The 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry, which was first into Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003, started its controversial assignment Wednesday.
The First Raiders will spend 2009 as the first active-duty military unit attached to the U.S. Northern Command since it was created. They will be based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, and focus primarily on logistics and support for local police and rescue personnel, the Army says.
The plan is drawing skepticism from some observers who are concerned that the unit has been training with equipment generally used in law enforcement, including beanbag bullets, Tasers, spike strips and roadblocks.
That kind of training seems a bit out of line for the unit's designated role as Northern Command's CCMRF (Sea Smurf), or CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force. CBRNE stands for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive incidents.
According to Northern Command's Web site, the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force is a team that will ultimately number about 4,700 personnel from the different military branches that would deploy as the Department of Defense's initial response force.
Its capabilities include search and rescue, decontamination, medical, aviation, communications and logistical support. Each CCMRF will be composed of three functional task forces -- Task Force Operations, Task Force Medical and Task Force Aviation -- that have individual operational focus and mission skills, the Web site says.
The Army says the unit would be deployed to help local, state or federal agencies deal with such incidents, not take the lead. The law enforcement-type training is not connected to its new mission, it says.
Use of active-duty military as a domestic police force has been severely limited since passage of the Posse Comitatus Act following the Civil War.
Bloggers are criticizing the new force, saying that because it has been training in law enforcement tactics it could be be used for domestic law enforcement.
Troops may be trained in non-lethal tactics, but they are not trained for what they may have to deal with in domestic situations, said Gene Healy, a vice president of the conservative think-tank Cato Institute.
Healy said civilian police and, if circumstances are extreme, National Guard troops under the command of state governors should keep the peace.
"Federal troops should always be a last resort, never a first responder," he said.
Critics also point to a General Accounting Office study in 2003 that found that domestic security missions put a strain on a military stretched thin by two simultaneous wars, and that a unit's readiness for combat is reduced if the members have to take time out to respond to an emergency at home.
The U.S. military "is not a Swiss Army knife," ready to fight the Taliban one week, respond to a hurricane the next and put down a major political protest the third week, Healy said.
"We need a lot more in our toolbox in order to deal with angry people on the street," said Col. Barry Johnson of U.S. Army North. The United States military's Northern Command, formed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, is dedicating a combat i... more -
House approves historic bailout bill
Tell us why this is interestingIn four long days, as credit markets froze, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama worked the phones with President Bush. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leaned on the California congressional delegation. The chairmen of General Motors and Chrysler allied with the small-town car dealer and banker in a full-court press on Congress. And in the end, they helped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco, engineer the biggest bailout of the banking system in U.S. history.
The overwhelming 263-171 House vote for the $700 billion rescue erased a stunning defeat Monday that shocked Pelosi and her GOP counterpart, Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio. That defeat, and fear that inaction would lead to a once-in-a-century style economic collapse, set in motion the most extraordinary political alliance witnessed in modern times.
The nation's top leaders quickly rallied their combined forces behind an unprecedented and deeply unpopular government intervention in the U.S. economy, one that offended much of the public and the ideological wings of both parties just one month before a presidential election.
Three Bay Area Democrats switched their votes to yes: St. Helena's Mike Thompson, Petaluma's Lynn Woolsey and Oakland's Barbara Lee.
Riding the powerful political tailwind of a 74-25 bipartisan Senate vote Wednesday night, 24 Republicans and 32 Democrats changed to yes votes. They had spent two days at home hearing horror stories from small and large businesses shut off from bank credit lines and unable to float short-term loans to buy inventories or meet payroll. They heard from retirees who had seen their savings evaporate in the $1.2 trillion stock market plunge that followed the House rejection. And on Friday, they heard the news that 159,000 more Americans had lost their jobs in September.
Calls from Obama
Thompson and Lee got a call from Obama. Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against the use of force after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - and perhaps the one least likely to hand $700 billion to Bush's Treasury secretary - said she was convinced that she could "not afford to risk the potential consequences of inaction. ... I am confident that this is the right vote, even if it's not a popular vote."
Republican nominee John McCain, who announced with fanfare after the crisis broke that he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to broker a resolution, made calls as well. But GOP members and aides said he did not show the urgency of either Bush or Obama in pushing for the bill.
Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., who switched his vote to yes, said he had not heard from McCain but that he had "never talked to so many bank presidents." He heard from General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner, Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce revved up an intense lobbying effort, along with state and local governments who warned that it had become impossible to float bonds or get bridge loans to cover normal spending while awaiting receipt of property and sales tax revenue. Some members were lured by the $150 billion in popular tax breaks added by the Senate. These extended shelter for 26 million upper-middle-income taxpayers from the dreaded alternative minimum tax, as well as popular business tax credits for renewable energy and research and development.
It was Paulson, joined by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who stunned first Bush and then congressional leaders on Sept. 18 with dire alarms that the nation's financial system was on the brink of collapse and would require a huge government intervention. The warning from Bernanke, who in academic life was a leading authority on the Great Depression, was especially persuasive to Pelosi. Tell us why this is interestingIn four long days, as credit markets froze, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama worked the pho... more -
Fiscal Crisis Is Hitting Some States Hard
This Story
PRESSURE AND TURMOIL: With No Plan B, House Reluctantly Passes Politically Risky Measure
Fiscal Crisis Is Hitting Some States Hard
Pelosi: Scrutiny, Accountability Next This Story PRESSURE AND TURMOIL: With No Plan B, House Reluctantly Passes Politically Risky Measure ... more -
The Week in Media
Palin's huge reading list. O'Reilly's non-comparison camparison. Financial ruin's new face. And "Survivor" genitals.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at current.com/infomania. Palin's huge reading list. O'Reilly's non-comparison camparison. Financial ruin's new face. And "Survivor... more -
Support Rallied as House Readies for Its Second Bailout Vote
A tide of lobbyists representing corporate executives, small-business owners, farmers and retirees swamped Capitol Hill yesterday in hopes of pushing an emergency economic rescue plan through Congress, but the fate of the measure remained uncertain as the House prepared for a climactic vote at midday today
Leaders of both parties said they were optimistic that they would be able to marshal more support for the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout than they mustered on Monday, when the House delivered a shocking defeat to the measure and sent the Dow Jones industrial average plummeting 778 points, or about 7 percent.
The market's gut-wrenching reaction offered lawmakers a glimpse of the consequences they could face if they don't approve the bailout package. Since Monday, investors' angst over the fate of the legislation has contributed to a gloomy week on Wall Street. The Dow fell more than 3 percent yesterday, with losses extending beyond the financial services industry to include agriculture, construction and industrial stocks.
Meanwhile, indicators have shown the outlook for the economy to be bleak. Yesterday, the Commerce Department reported that orders for manufactured goods dipped 4 percent in August, the largest decline since October 2006. Last week, new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a seven-year high.
Some analysts say the economy will not pick up until the middle of next year, even if the Bush administration succeeds on Capitol Hill today. And even if Congress approves the bailout, it may be too little, too late to unfreeze global credit markets. The package might not do much to help offset shrinking bank balance sheets or free up capital for nonfinancial companies, experts say.
Alarmed by signs of deterioration in the markets, the Senate on Wednesday rushed to approve a version of the plan revised to appeal to skeptical lawmakers, adding an array of tax cuts and a temporary increase in the cap on federal insurance for bank deposits. Federal regulators have eased accounting rules that some lawmakers say have crippled local banks. And the White House has called in shock troops from a long list of business and consumer groups whose members are sending a message to lawmakers that the financial crisis is real and hitting Main Street hard.
Yesterday, as a trickle of lawmakers declared that they would switch their "no" votes to "yes," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that she would not permit a repeat of Monday's chaotic scene and that she would cancel today's vote rather than watch the measure fail again.
"We're not going to take a bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes," Pelosi said. "I'm optimistic that we will take a bill to the floor." A tide of lobbyists representing corporate executives, small-business owners, farmers and retirees swamped Capitol Hill yesterday in h... more -
No Debate: How Republicans and Democrats control the election process
The Obama and McCain campaigns jointly negotiated a detailed secret contract dictating the terms of all the 2008 debates. This includes who gets to participate, as well as the topics raised during the debates. We speak to Open Debates founder and executive director George Farah.
[audio, text, & video at link] The Obama and McCain campaigns jointly negotiated a detailed secret contract dictating the terms of all the 2008 debates. This include... more -
RALPH NADER AT THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB
RALPH NADER, LIVE
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Flashback: Stimulus plan may lead to Fannie and Freddie bailout
Congress is about to sell us the biggest fraud in American history.
Thanks to Congress, junk bond investors will be able to pawn off their bad debt to Fannie and Freddie, instead of suing the big investment houses for ripping them off. This shift will certainly doom Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so don't be surprised if we, the taxpayers, have to bail out poor Fannie and Freddie - to the tune of more than $1 trillion.
But, as the old adage goes, nothing comes for free. As part of the bill, Congress is set to rush through an increase in the mortgage loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and Federal Housing Administration insurance, too) - from $417,000 to $729,750 - the first step toward a massive financial disaster in which taxpayers will end up paying through the nose.
Here's how we got to this point. Domestic and international investors hold hundreds of billions of dollars in bad debt, because U.S. investment houses sold them junk securities based on often fraudulent mortgages. Many of these mortgages were sold to unqualified buyers under terms that made widespread foreclosures a certainty once the housing market began to fall.
Investment banks and bond rating agencies sat down and tried to figure out how to describe Americans with insufficient incomes and little for a down payment as great credit risks on loans too big for their incomes. The new rules focused on credit scores, because it was a good excuse to avoid looking at income and down payment, factors that would have restricted this moneymaking fiasco.
It's been highly touted as an economic stimulus bill that will help millions of Americans - and has the backing of both President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the coming year, individuals would receive rebates of up to $600 and families up to $1,200. There are other goodies, too, including tax write-offs for small businesses and an expansion of the child tax credit. Congress is about to sell us the biggest fraud in American history. ... more -
Who protected Fannie Mae ?
Who fought the regulators ? Who profited from Fannie Mae and cooked the books ?
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Obama, Fannie Mae #1 Friend in Washington($126,349 in 3 years)
Will Obama return the money ?
What about Franklin Raines $50,000,000.00 and Jamie Gorelick $26,000,000.00 ?
We want real change and leadership by example.....not talk and false promises Will Obama return the money ? What about Franklin Raines $50,000,000.00 and Jamie Gorelick $26,000,000.00 ? ... more -
Foreclosures are key element missing in plan - Eye on the Economy
$700 billion bailout likely to offer little help for struggling homeowners
Hard as it is to believe, even a $700 billion bailout may not be enough to dig the economy and financial markets out of the hole they're in.
By committing such a staggering sum to end the widening financial crisis, Congress and the White House are hoping to deliver a swift knockout punch to the fear gripping the global markets and economy. But to win bipartisan support, key provisions have been watered down or left vague — including any efforts to stop the wave of foreclosures at the heart of the meltdown.
Much of the debate — and opposition to the plan — centered on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s original request for sweeping powers to spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on mortgage-backed securities that are unable to attract other buyers.
***article continues**** $700 billion bailout likely to offer little help for struggling homeowners ... more -
Midnight in the Capitol: ‘Finally,’ a deal - Economy in Turmoil-
Long negotiations about bailout were at turns aggressive and bizarre
The government effort to yank control of the sagging economy from Wall Street began to jell a half-hour before midnight Saturday in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Capitol office.
Even Republicans credit her for the inspiration: An idea for getting back the $700 billion of taxpayer money that will be on the line in what is shaping up as largest government rescue of an industry in the nation's history.
Pelosi proposed that whoever is president five years from now will have to submit a plan for recouping money from the companies who have been helped by any of the $700 billion not already paid back. Republicans had earlier rejected her suggestion to impose a fee on financial transactions to recover the money, calling it a tax increase
****article continues***** Long negotiations about bailout were at turns aggressive and bizarre ... more -
Nancy Pelosi declared Martial Law last night?!?!?!
Rep Michael Burgess speaks on the bailout proceedings, how the Democrats are backing Bush, and how Nancy Pelosi declared Martial Law last night...
I can't find anything about this on the news, anybody else? Rep Michael Burgess speaks on the bailout proceedings, how the Democrats are backing Bush, and how Nancy Pelosi declared Martial Law l... more -
'Breakthrough' reported on bailout deal
WASHINGTON - Key lawmakers in both parties and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made a "breakthrough" on the multibillion-dollar government bailout of distressed financial companies, they said early Sunday.
In a dramatic press conference at the Capitol after midnight, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said there had been a "breakthrough" in the negotiations, and Paulson said that "I think we're there," although details remained to be worked out overnight. Reid said there would be an announcement later Sunday.
"We've made great progress," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after a night of marathon talks. "We have to get it committed to paper so we can formally agree." WASHINGTON - Key lawmakers in both parties and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made a "breakthrough" on the multibillion-do... more -
GOP concerned about Palin
Conservative columnists Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing on the conservative National Review, says “that’s not a crazy suggestion” and that “something’s gotta change.”
Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin’s recent CBS appearance isn’t disqualifying but is certainly alarming. “You can’t continue to have interviews like that and not take on water.”
“I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the same time I haven’t come away from them thinking she doesn’t know s—t,” said Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist. “But she ain’t Dick Cheney, nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.”
There is no doubt that Palin retains a tremendous amount of support among rank-and-file Republicans. She draws huge crowds, continues to raise a lot of money for the McCain campaign and state parties report she has sparked an uptick in the number of volunteers.
Asked about Palin's performance in the CBS interview, a McCain official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said: "She did fine. She's a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate."
But there is also no doubt many Republican insiders are worried she could blow next week’s debate, based on her unexpectedly weak and unsteady media appearances, and hurt the Republican ticket if she does.
What follows is a viewer’s guide to some of Palin’s toughest moments on camera so far.
Speaking this week with CBS’s Katie Couric, Palin seemed caught off-guard by a very predictable question about the status of McCain adviser Rick Davis’s relationship with mortgage lender Freddie Mac. Davis was accused by several news outlets of retaining ties — and profiting off — the companies despite his denials.
Where a more experienced politician might have been able to brush off Couric’s follow-up question, Palin seemed genuinely stumped, repeating the same answer twice and resorting to boilerplate language about the “undue influence of lobbyists.”
And given the chance to describe her foreign policy credentials more fully, Palin recited familiar talking points, telling Gibson that her experience with energy policy was sufficient preparation for dealing with national security issues.
In the same interview, Palin let Gibson lead her into saying it might be necessary to wage war on Russia — a suggestion that most candidates would have avoided making explicitly and that signaled her discomfort in discussing global affairs.
Then, asked this week by Couric to discuss her knowledge of foreign relations — in particular, her assertion that Alaska’s proximity to Russia gave her international experience — Palin tripped herself up explaining her interactions with Alaska’s neighbor to the west.
On the economy, too, Palin has avoided taking clear stances. In a largely friendly interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, Palin spoke in tangled generalities in response to a question about a possible Wall Street bailout — and even preempted her campaign by coming out against it.
On Thursday, Palin finally took questions from her traveling press — but shut things down quickly after Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel asked her whether she would support Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been indicted for corruption, and Rep. Don Young, who is under federal investigation, for reelection.
Unlike her other interviews, at least this time Palin had the option to walk away. Conservative columnists Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean ... more -
Nancy Pelosi Doesn't Need a Timeout to Fix the Economy
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's appearance on a special Meet the Bloggers yesterday proved two things: not only can politicians work together to fix one of the worst economic crises in our country's history, but they can do this while continuing to speak to the American people, keeping them informed and allaying their concerns about what's going on in the halls of Congress.
Unlike Senator John McCain, who suspended his campaign yesterday because he claimed Washington couldn't fix this financial crisis without his "economic expertise," Speaker Pelosi spoke candidly with show host Cenk Uygur about whether the Bush-Paulson bailout plan would work. Though Speaker Pelosi stressed a bipartisan solution to solving the current crisis, she said the "party is over" for Republicans like McCain who have pushed for the deregulation that led to this mess in the first place. Speaker Pelosi called the expansive power for Treasury Secretary Paulson under the bailout plan almost laughable; she questioned the price tag and time frame of the bailout; and she claimed President Bush owed the American people an apology for his bankrupt economic policies during his televised speech last night.
McCain, meanwhile, was busy incurring the mocking wrath of David Letterman for canceling his appearance on "The Late Show" last night and then appearing in an interview with CBS's Katie Couric instead. McCain's suspension of his campaign was a cheap political ploy, aimed at preventing him from slipping further in the polls because of a crisis he and his aides like Rick Davis and Phil Gramm helped create. Why else would he suddenly be so inclined to show up in Congress when he is the most absent member of the Senate? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's appearance on a special Meet the Bloggers yesterday proved two things: not only can politicians work... more -
"privatize the game, nationalize the risk" Nancy Pelosi
applying socialism for the benefit of abusive capitalism
the PRECISE opposite is needed
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:-/ applying socialism for the benefit of abusive capitalism the PRECISE opposite is needed ... more -
Cindy Sheehan supporters are to burn money at Nancy Pelosi's office
Cindy Sheehan for Congress demands that NOT ONE of our tax dollars be used to bail out Wall Street corporate pirates.
Cindy Sheehan for Congress demands a personal bottom-up bail out plan. The Bush crime family plan would cost each and every American (regardless of political party) over 2300.00 to help rescue an irresponsible and greedy industry that is failing because of unregulated speculation and predatory lending and trading practices.
This is our money, people, and if we don't speak up loudly to have our voices heard, we are participating in the biggest robbery in American history. We may as well be driving the get-away car. A crime of historic proportions is about to be perpetrated that you know will go unpunished by the complicit Democrats. The evidence is clear: this incestuous corporate/government co-operation throws it in our face once again that the establishment elite are in it together---against We the People. Nancy Pelosi (D-SF) is not the only Congress member that receives money from these industries or is invested in these same indstries, in a clear conflict of interest!
It is not time for a Bi-partisan solution since we know the two party monopoly is only there to protect itself and its cronies. NO, the time is now for a NON-partisan people's revolution to get to the root of the problem, not throw OUR money at it.
Cindy for Congress is calling for a demonstration tomorrow (9/25) in San Francisco at in front of the Federal Reserve Bank
Where: 101 Market St (Corner of Market and Spear)
When: 4pm to ?
Bring your past-due mortgage bills.
Bring your past-due rent or utility bills.
Bring your student loan and medical bills.
Bring your credit card bills with usurious interest rates and immoral fee structures.
Bring YOUR BILLS to send to Nancy Pelosi in DC so we can demand that WE THE PEOPLE be bailed out. No "stimulous" plans, but a bottom up, effective approach. (See: Cindy Sheehan for Congress and a Progressive Response to the Economic Crisis).
Bring your Monopoly or other play money that we can burn to symbolize our government's burning of its fiat currency in wholly inappropriate response to the economy and to show our opposition to the apparent onset of a hyper-inflation cycle.
Above all, bring your righteous and very appropriate anger.
What this government is planning now is the final collapse of our socio-economic system and WE CANNOT ALLOW THEM TO GET AWAY WITH IT this time!
This is the beginning of WE THE PEOPLE finally standing up and saying:
"Hell, no."
"Not with my money."
"Not with my child's future."
"NOT WITH MY CONSENT!"
Please call the campaign office for more info: 415-621-5027
Cindy for Congress is also developing an online campaign to send our personal bail out bills to Congress. Stay tuned for more info! Cindy Sheehan for Congress demands that NOT ONE of our tax dollars be used to bail out Wall Street corporate pirates. ... more -
Bush urges Congress to OK sweeping plan
President Bush on Friday asked Congress to approve extensive federal intervention in financial markets that he said is both warranted and essential to halt the worst financial crisis in decades. “We must act now,” he said.
“America’s economy is facing unprecedented challenges. We’re responding with unprecedented measures,” Bush declared, standing in the White House Rose Garden with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Shortly after his remarks, Bush called congressional leaders with whom the administration would be negotiating through the weekend to devise a rescue package. He spoke to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. He planned to reach House Republican leader John Boehner later in the day. President Bush on Friday asked Congress to approve extensive federal intervention in financial markets that he said is both warranted ... more
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Nancy Pelosi
