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November 24 Oh Oh - Here Comes Cummings (Fed Audit)
Thursday, November 19. 2009 This one is definitely worth a read! It appears that Representative Cummings, along with a half-dozen other Representatives, have had enough of The Fed’s games. They are now calling for a FULL CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW of THE ENTIRE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, including A FULL PUBLIC AUDIT. To this I say: It’s about time! (Click for larger images.)
GET ON THE PHONE NOW TO YOUR REP AND RAISE HELL. MOMENTUM ON THIS IS BUILDING, AND IT IS UP TO **US** TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE. November 23 Financial Crisis Investigators Are Taking Wall Street NamesFriday 13 November 2009 Washington - Leaders of a congressional commission investigating the causes of the recent financial crisis are threatening to publicly identify any company or government agency that stalls in voluntarily producing requested documents. Phil Angelides, the chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, told McClatchy in an interview that the panel would investigate the role that Wall Street firms played in causing the crisis to mushroom. McClatchy reported earlier this month that Goldman Sachs, the nation’s premier investment bank, sold more than $40 billion in securities backed by risky mortgages in 2006 and 2007 while secretly betting on a housing market downturn that would depress the value of those securities. After purchasing those bonds from Goldman, pension funds, insurance companies and other institutions are facing bigger losses from the financial meltdown. Angelides, a Democrat, and Republican Bill Thomas, the vice chairman, vowed that they wouldn’t let the subjects of their inquiry “run out the clock on us.” The special commission is patterned after the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, which exhaustively investigated the causes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While Congress gave the financial commission subpoena powers, legislators also required the panel to submit its report by December 2010. To issue a subpoena, a supermajority of at least seven commissioners is required on a panel of six Democrats and four Republicans. Angelides stressed that he is treating Thomas like “a co-chairman” and the two said they are united in their efforts. The panel has begun investigating, but has issued no subpoenas and is starting with voluntary requests for information, Angeles said. “Our biggest concern, and we won’t let people do it, is that there will be some people with trillions of dollars at stake that they want to protect,” he said. “They’ll try to run out the clock on us. Both Bill and I have watches with dates on them, and we understand that we have to move.” “You’d like to think that the threat of the use of the tools we have will get people to comply,” Thomas said. Both men promised to shame those who don’t cooperate voluntarily. “We’re going to be aggressive in our pursuit of information,” Angelides said. “We’ll be more than happy to share with people the names of those who are not forthcoming.” The commission’s reporting deadline next year follows what are expected to be closely contested congressional mid-term elections, and the commission’s probe parallels efforts in Congress to pass the most sweeping revamp of financial regulation since the Great Depression. There’s public and congressional skepticism about the panel, partly because many of the broad contributing factors in the financial meltdown are well known and have been covered in dozens of congressional hearings. These contributing factors include weakened mortgage lending standards, faulty performance of the credit-rating agencies, overextended investment banks, insufficient and at times nonexistent federal regulation, as well as secret, insurance-like bets that encouraged risk taking. In addition, the Federal Reserve Board’s efforts to keep lending rates unusually low for an extended period of time led to an era of cheap borrowing for financial firms and consumers. That fed interest in high-yield mortgage-backed securities and fueled Wall Street’s role in buying $2 trillion in risky mortgages. “Everyone’s got their theories about what went wrong,” Angelides said. “It’s our job, as best as we can as an official government inquiry, to try to bring clarity to the American people. And while there are many theories out there, and while I would say the elites in the country think they know what went wrong, there is not a broad understanding for most Americans about what the heck happened.” The commission faces numerous hurdles, not the least of which is a compressed time frame that weakens some of the benefit of having the power to subpoena documents or witnesses. Thomas, a former California congressman and a former chairman of the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, acknowledged a race against time because “to do a first-rate job, it takes more than 18 months, and now it is 12 months” until the panel must submit its report. To probe a crisis that cost Americans more than $11 trillion in wealth, the commission must work within an $8 million budget to cover staff, offices and investigative expenses while taking on Wall Street giants such as Goldman Sachs. “It’s a small, thin budget. Goldman will probably spend more on attorneys alone,” joked Angelides, a former California state treasurer and rainmaker in California Democratic politics. The commission won an important tool — the ability to have personnel from the Securities and Exchange Commission and bank regulatory agencies available to the panel through next December. “It certainly helps, because it gives us expertise without having to spend dollars, Thomas said. No government agency or Wall Street titan is off limits, the pair insisted. “It would be hard not to drive to the root without looking at the major government agencies. It would be hard not to drive to the root without looking at major Wall Street firms,” Angelides said. “We will obviously look at the most significant players in this marketplace.” Republicans Charged in $10 Million Scandal
By Brad Bumsted and Debra Erdley HARRISBURG — Former House Speaker John Perzel, one of the most powerful members of the General Assembly since 1994, was charged Thursday with 82 felonies for allegedly masterminding a “sophisticated criminal strategy” to spend more than $10 million of taxpayers’ money on political campaigns, Attorney General Tom Corbett said. Most of that money paid for computer technology to help Perzel, a Republican who represents a Northeast Philadelphia district, and other House Republicans win elections, a statewide grand jury concluded. Perzel is charged with theft, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conflict of interest. “By all accounts, Perzel was aggressive in the acquisition and retention of power,” the grand jury report said. “He demanded obedience and loyalty, and punished or eliminated those, whether elected officials or employees, who challenged that power.” Perzel, 59, was charged with nine other Republicans, including a former legislator and Perzel’s former chief of staff, based on recommendations of the 188-page grand jury report, said Corbett, a Republican candidate for governor. Through his attorney, Brian McMonagle of Philadelphia, Perzel released a statement saying he is innocent and questioning Corbett’s motives. “I never used public funds for my personal or political gain. … It smacks of political opportunism at the expense of my reputation, and I am going to fight very aggressively to prove my innocence.” Corbett denied any conflicts in handling the case because he’s a gubernatorial candidate. “I’m not running against any members of the House or Senate,” he said. “I have a job to do, and we’re doing that job.” Brian Preski, 44, a Philadelphia lawyer who headed Perzel’s staff when he was House speaker, was charged with theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Corbett said Perzel gave Preski authority to implement his plan, making Preski a principal conspirator and “arguably one of the most powerful” Republicans in Harrisburg. “It’s clear Brian will be exonerated once he has a day in court,” said his lawyer Hayes Hunt. Former House Appropriations Chairman Brett Feese, 55, who resigned Nov. 3 as chief counsel for House Republicans, is accused of theft, conspiracy, conflict of interest and obstructing justice. His attorney, Joshua Lock of Harrisburg, could not be reached for comment. Feese, of Lycoming County, attempted to thwart the investigation by hiding evidence and manufacturing misleading notes, Corbett said. Investigators conducted hundreds of interviews and reviewed millions of e-mails, faxes, contracts, letters, memos and other documents, before presenting thousands of pages of testimony to the grand jury, Corbett said. The grand jury said House Republicans hindered the investigation, causing significant delays. An obstruction of justice investigation within the House Republican Caucus and three other caucuses continues, Corbett said. In 2004, Perzel’s campaign committee donated $25,000 to Corbett, along with a $1,219 in-kind contribution to pay for a reception. “Even if they’ve helped, and they’ve done something wrong, we go after them,” Corbett said. Corbett said Perzel used “dirty tricks” such as automated phone calls against fellow House Republicans who opposed him, including Rep. Curt Schroder of Chester County and Rep. Will Gabig of Carlisle. “It’s like a modern-day version of the (Watergate) plumbers,” Schroder said. He said voters in his district received anonymous calls in 2006 after he aggressively pushed a property tax reform plan as an alternative to one Perzel backed. Perzel kept a “ghost employee” — his brother-in-law, Samuel “Buzz” Stokes, 66, of Philadelphia — on the House payroll to do campaign work, the grand jury said. From 2000 to 2006, Stokes was paid $196,808 in taxpayers’ money, Corbett said. Stokes is charged with theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. The others charged are Perzel’s chief of staff, Paul Towhey, 38, of Blue Bell; Perzel legislative aide John Zimmerman, 61, of Hummelstown; Perzel campaign aide Don McClintock, 41, of Voorhees, N.J.; Feese aide Jill Seaman, 57, of Dauphin; former Feese and Perzel aide Elmer Bowman, 34, of Red Lion; and former House Republican Information Technology Deputy Director Eric Ruth, 34, of Boca Raton, Fla., who is Perzel’s nephew. The charges are part of a broad, 3-year-old investigation into whether Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate used state resources for political campaigns. In July 2008, Corbett filed charges accusing 12 people with ties to House Democrats, including two former legislators, of using state resources for campaign activity. The charges against Democrats involve $3.6 million in bonuses paid secretly in 2005 and 2006 to legislative staffers, some of whom worked on campaigns. Five of the 12 defendants have agreed to plead guilty. As in the first phase of the investigation, Corbett said, the grand jury uncovered a concerted plan to use taxpayers’ money, employees and resources for political campaigns. But the difference was that Democrats used taxpayer-paid bonuses to reward staffers, and Republicans sunk taxpayers’ money into technology to fuel campaigns, he said. Perzel, a fixture in state politics for three decades, won his first House election in his predominantly Democratic district in Philadelphia in 1978. Ten years later, he won his first leadership position in the Republican Caucus and became Republican Policy Committee chairman. He was elected speaker of the House in 2003, a post he held until 2006. He served as majority leader for nearly a decade before that. Although he won re-election in 2006, he lost his leadership post after staunchly defending the ill-fated 2005 legislative pay raise. But it was his narrow victory in the 2000 election that became a “defining moment” for Perzel, Corbett said, prompting Perzel to seek computer software to get voters to the polls and catalogue data on them at taxpayers’ expense. The Republican Caucus paid almost $9.3 million to GCR & Associates of New Orleans for sophisticated computer work, of which about $4.5 million was for work on campaigns. Under the “Edge” program, the user had a Web-based tool to “mine” voter data. It would produce a database showing voters’ political party, gender, jurisdiction, religion and other details. Perzel wanted to use another program, “Blue Card,” to help him run for governor next year, the grand jury said. Republicans paid Washington-based Aristotle Inc. $6.2 million, mostly for campaign work, Corbett said. Officials from the companies were not charged with wrongdoing and cooperated with the investigation, he said. Perzel, Preski and their wives attempted to enrich themselves by selling information collected by the taxpayer-purchased campaign programs, the grand jury said. The venture apparently was not successful, Corbett said. Legislative staffers spent hundreds of hours preparing fundraising mailers for Perzel, the grand jury said. They were sent to constituents Perzel dubbed “the little people,” who made contributions as low as $5 and $10, Corbett said. Extra information on the accused Brian Preski, 44, of Philadelphia • Legislative aide on various committees from 1995 to 2000, when he became John Perzel’s chief of staff. He left that position in 2007. • Charged with 72 counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Brett Feese, 55, of Muncy • State representative from 1994 to 2006, including stints as chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee beginning in 2003 and majority chairman of House Appropriations Committee beginning in 2004. Did not seek re-election in 2006. • Hired as chief counsel to the House Republican Caucus in 2007. Resigned Nov. 3. • Charged with 62 counts of theft, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conflict of interest. Elmer Bowman, 34, of Red Lion • Former aide to Feese and senior staff member in the House Republican Policy Committee. Resigned last week. • Charged with 48 counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Samuel “Buzz” Stokes, 66, of Philadelphia • Perzel’s brother-in-law and former campaign manager. Was on the House payroll, but allegedly performed little or no legislative work. • Charged with 42 counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Jill Seaman, 57, of Dauphin • Former executive assistant and paralegal for Feese in the House Republican Caucus. • Charged with 46 counts of theft, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conflict of interest. Paul Towhey, 38, of Blue Bell • Perzel’s chief of staff. • Charged with 24 counts of theft, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conflict of interest. Don McClintock, 41, of Voorhees, N.J. • Perzel campaign aide. • Charged with 24 counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. Eric Ruth, 34, of Boca Raton, Fla. • Deputy director of House Republican Information Technology; nephew of Perzel’s wife. • Charged with 48 counts of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest. John Zimmerman, 61, of Hummelstown • Legislative aide to Perzel. • Charged with two counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution and obstruction of justice. — Tribune-Review In World News...US Makes Debut Attendance at Hague War Crimes Court
Posted by admin On November - 22 - 2009
Thu Nov 19, 2009 THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues Stephen Rapp made a debut appearance for the United States at the world’s war crimes court Thursday and said the U.S. remained wary of politically driven prosecutions. The United States is not a signatory to the 2002 Rome treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, and Rapp’s attendance at meetings this week and next is the clearest sign yet of Washington engaging with the court. “Our view has been and remains that should the Rome Statute be amended to include a defined crime of aggression, jurisdiction should follow a Security Council determination that aggression has occurred,” he said. Rapp said however that the United States was keen on “gaining a better understanding of the issues being considered and the workings of the court.” “The court itself has an interest in not being drawn into a political thicket that could threaten its perceived impartiality,” he said. Rapp’s attendance comes after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in August it was a “great regret” the United States was not a full ICC signatory. But Rapp, the former chief prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, said the United States remained concerned about the issue of the crime of aggression since U.S. officials or servicemen and women could risk ICC investigation for their roles in wars due to politically inspired prosecutions. That was one factor behind Washington’s decision not to ratify the Rome Statute. The issue of crimes of aggression is to be addressed next May in Uganda at a review of the Rome Statute. William Pace, one of the conveners of a coalition of groups supporting the ICC, said although the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama was not calling Rapp’s attendance at the ICC meeting a policy change, he welcomed what was “essentially a constructive speech of re-engagement.” “We are not surprised that every permanent member of the United Nations Security Council wants to keep as much control over the power to determine whether an act of aggression has occurred as they interpret the U.N. charter to give them,” he said. But Pace said most other countries do not believe the Security Council’s permanent members should have sole control over determining whether an act of aggression has occurred. Rapp is leading the U.S. delegation attending the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), which is made up of 110 countries that have ratified the court’s founding treaty. The ASP oversees the ICC’s activities. The United States, along with Russia, China and Israel, has not yet ratified the treaty. Elizabeth Evenson, counsel at the international justice program at Human Rights Watch, dismissed the United States’ concerns, stressing the independence of the prosecution and ICC judges. “We are hoping the U.S. will see that there is nothing in the experience of the ICC that would give them the hesitation to think that this is a politically motivated court,” she said. ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE. ---------------------------------------- Posted by admin On November - 22 - 2009
Africa News The Hague - Two former rebel leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo are set to be the first people ever to stand trial for murder before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Only the second case ever to be tried by the ICC, the proceedings starting Tuesday are to see the participation of hundreds of victims against two men - former DR Congolese rebel leaders Germaine Katanga, 31, and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, 39, both of the Lendu tribe - accused of having orchestrated the killing of several hundred civilians from the village of Bogoro in 2003. Bogoro is located in Ituri, a district in the north-east of DR Congo. At the time of the alleged crimes, an ethnic conflict was raging there between the Hema and Lendu tribes. Between January 2002 and December 2003, more than 8,000 civilians died in Ituri. More than 500,000 people were displaced. On February 24, 2003, Lendu militias and cooperating paramilitary groups allegedly attacked the Hema-populated village of Bogoro, killing, plundering and raping around 200 civilians. Survivors were allegedly imprisoned in a building filled with bodies. Women were abducted and sexually enslaved. The Ituri Patriotic Resistance Forces (FRPI) - established by the Ngiti tribe that allied itself with the Lendu - allegedly pillaged and razed the village. Katanga, who allegedly commanded the FRPI and Ngudjolo Chui, alleged commander of the Lendu Nationalist Integrationist Front (FNI), are charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and seven counts of war crimes, including willful killing. They are alleged to have committed these crimes via orders to their subordinates. The two former army commanders are also accused of having used child soldiers - defined as a war crime under the Statute of Rome, the ICC’s founding document. A total of 345 victims are also participating in the trial, represented by two lawyers, Fidel Nsita Luvengika and Jean-Louis Gilissen. In the first ICC trial, which started in January against alleged war criminal former DR Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga, lawyers are representing a total of 93 victims. French-born judge Bruno Cotte, Malinese judge Fatoumata Dembele Diarra and Belgian judge Christine Van den Wyngaert are expected to take several months for the Katanga-Ngudjilo Chui trial. Arrested and transferred to the Netherlands on October 17, 2007, Katanga, who has rejected all charges, first appeared in court on October 22, 2007. Ngudjolo Chui was arrested and transferred to the ICC on February 7, 2008. His case was joined with that of Katanga on March 10, 2008. The Katanga-Ngudjolo Chui case is the second case ever to be tried by the ICC. Both cases it has tried so far stem from investigations into conflicts in the DR Congo. It will be the court’s first murder case. A fourth Congo war crimes suspect, Bosco Ntaganda, military chief of staff of the DR Congolese militia National Congress of the Defense of the People (CNDP), remains at large after a warrant for his arrest was issued on August 22, 2006. In 1994, ethnic conflict erupted in the former Belgian colony of the DR Congo when rebels crossed the border following the genocide in Rwanda. The war formally ended in 2003, but fighting continues in the east of the country. The ICC, an independent, permanent court founded in 1998 and working in cooperation with the United Nations, aims to prosecute the most serious war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since it began operating in 2002, it has investigated war crimes and crimes against humanity in the DR Congo, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Darfur. ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE. ---------------------------------------------------------
ICC TRIAL OF CONGOLESE MILITIAMEN TO REVEAL “THE TRUTH” THE HAGUE — Lawyers for two Congolese militiamen accused of seeking to wipe out a village blocking a strategic route in an ethnic war, on Monday welcomed start of their trial in The Hague this week as a step towards “the truth”. Germain Katanga, 31, and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, 39, are to appear before the International Criminal Court on Tuesday. They stand accused over an attack by their forces on the village of Bogoro in Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeastern Ituri region that killed 200 people in February 2003. “We are all seeking the same thing, we are all seeking the truth,” Katanga’s lawyer, Andreas O’Shea, told journalists on Monday, adding that his client “shares and sympathises with the grief of the victims of the war in the DRC.” The men face ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including using child soldiers to murder, maim and pillage. According to fellow defence lawyer Jean-Pierre Kilenda, co-accused Ngudjolo “is at last happy to … provide the international community with the explanations it has been wanting.” Ngudjolo, he added, was “also a victim” and had had no part in the alleged crimes. “We are hoping that all the evidence … will be able to ascertain the truth.” The prosecution says more than 1,000 fighters of Katanga’s Patriotic Resistance Force (FRPI) and Ngudjolo’s Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) entered Bogoro on February 24 six years ago “with one communicated and agreed goal: to erase the village”. Until the attack, the town had been controlled by rival Thomas Lubanga’s Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), blocking FRPI and FNI fighters and camps from the road to the key city of Bunia. “They (militia) killed more than 200 persons,” prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the press conference. “The women of the Hema community were raped before they were killed. They pillaged the entire village. They kept some women as sex slaves.” Katanga and Ngudjolo are both of Lendu ethnicity, while the Bogoro inhabitants were mostly Hema. Non-governmental bodies claim that inter-ethnic and militia violence in Ituri is about control of the area’s gold mines, and has claimed 60,000 lives since 1999. ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE. ----------------------------------------------------- British Newspaper says Leaked Documents Call Into Question Blair’s Account of Iraq War Buildup Posted by admin On November - 22 - 2009 October 23 New US bill on "too big to fail" fix seen MondayReuters: WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to unveil on Monday a new plan for dealing with troubled financial giants, said a senior U.S. lawmaker, who also mentioned potentially big changes for the insurance industry. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a chief architect of the financial regulation overhaul, declined on Friday to give details on the administration's new bill, which would give the government the power to dismantle large financial companies that get into crises. The new draft bill is expected to take a tougher stance toward troubled financial firms than the administration's original plan, and may take out some language that would allow for temporary bailouts. Giving the government "resolution authority" would serve as a rebuttal to the concept that some firms are too big to fail. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday highlighted the need for this authority as well as other measures to reduce the likelihood that one firm could destabilize the financial system. [ID:nN2394774] President Obama is well aware of how the financial institutions been treating taxpayers now that they are back on their feet... at least they think they are back on their feet. Our economy is still on shaky ground and Wall Street is back to playing the same tricks that got us into this mess in the first place. They are bringing the economy back toward the edge of the precipice. Progressives are asking why he isn't doing it now? Why does he have to wait for another crisis? I think that Obama really couldn't do anything this time because the crisis happened on Bush's watch and TARP was also passed on Bush's watch too. On his watch, however, Obama is not going to be so generous. I predict by the end of 2010, the U.S. will be in another financial crisis and those financial institutions which were deemed "too big to fail" will not be getting a bailout, they will be dismantled into smaller entities so they won't get into that position again.
The Obama Adminstation Team Official Portraits of the Obama Administration. By Anne Leibovitz for Vanity Fair Mouse over to see description. October 17 Obama Threatens Insurers’ Anti-Trust ExemptionSource: The New York Times
WASHINGTON — President Obama mounted a frontal assault on the insurance industry on Saturday, accusing it of airing “deceptive and dishonest ads” to derail his health care legislation and threatening to strip the industry of its longstanding exemption from federal anti-trust laws. In unusually harsh terms, Mr. Obama cast insurance companies as obstacles to change interested only in preserving their own “profits and bonuses” and willing to “bend the truth or break it” to stop his drive to remake the nation’s health care system. The president used his weekly radio and Internet address to push back against industry assertions that legislation will drive up premiums. “It’s smoke and mirrors,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s bogus. And it’s all too familiar. Every time we get close to passing reform, the insurance companies produce these phony studies as a prescription and say, ‘Take one of these, and call us in a decade.’ Well, not this time.” Rather than trying to curb costs and help patients, he said the industry is busy “figuring out how to avoid covering people. And they’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exemption from our anti-trust laws, a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing.” -snip- He went on to attack other critics he described as tools of the industry. “Of course, like clockwork, we’ve seen folks on cable television who know better, waving these industry-funded studies in the air,” he said. “We’ve seen industry insiders — and their apologists — citing these studies as proof of claims that just aren’t true.” Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/us/politics/18address... October 10 Rachel Maddow: The Nobel Peace Prize & Obama Derangement Syndrome Rachel gives a very good summary of what President Obama's Nobel Peace
Prize means. She also puts it in proper perspective by reminding us of
the nightmare we had to endure for the past 8 years and the angry old
man we and the rest of the world dodged last November.
October 09 And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to... (video update) Barack Hussein Obama  From the Huffington Post... OSLO — President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to build momentum behind his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism. Obama said he was surprised and deeply humbled by the honor, and planned to travel to Oslo to accept the prize, which he said he does not see "as a recognition of my own accomplishments," but rather as a recognition of goals he has set for the United States and the world. "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," Obama said. Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking. Some around the world objected to the choice of Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counter-terror strikes in Pakistan and Somalia. Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said their choice could be seen as an early vote of confidence in Obama intended to build global support for his policies. They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change. Aagot Valle, a lawmaker for the Socialist Left party who joined the committee this year, said she hoped the selection would be viewed as "support and a commitment for Obama." "And I hope it will be an inspiration for all those that work with nuclear disarmament and disarmament," she told The Associated Press in a rare interview. Members of the Nobel peace committee usually speak only through its chairman. I am so proud of my President! I guess his desire to work together with the world to help achieve world peace was enough for the Nobel committee. I must admit though that I had mixed feelings when I first heard the news. Things are going so fast and I think that it's too soon to tell if he will be able to accomplish what he wants to do in foreign policy. I am however, having fun at seeing the fury that the Republicans are displaying about this news. Just last week, Matt Drudge and others was cheering and saying that the world has rejected President Obama by not giving Chicago the Olympics. Now the world has given him the most prestigious honor to be given to any person. On the bright side, This award will give him the incentive to work harder to live up to this honor. Alan Grayson EXPLODES on Dems and GOP (video w transcript) I love this guy! Alan Grayson is a no nonsense, gets right to the point, give the bottom-line and what it boils down to congressman who is not a weak-kneed, jelly back Democrat who cannot seem to function without validation from the Republican Party. And he dosen't apologize for it! Here he is again on the House floor giving his trademark no nonsense speech... Transcript: "Madame Speaker, I have words for Democrats and Republicans tonight." "Let's start with the Democrats" "We as a party have spent the last six months, the greatest minds in our party, dwelling on the question, the unbelievably consuming question of how to get Olympia Snowe to vote on health care reform. I want to remind us all that Olympia Snowe was not elected President last year. Olympia Snowe has no veto power in the Senate. Olympia Snowe represents a state with one half of one percent of America's population." "What America wants is health care reform. America doesn't care if it gets 51 votes in the Senate or 60 votes in the Senate or 83 votes in the Senate, in fact America doesn't even care about that, it doesn't care about that at all. What America cares about is this; there are over 1 million Americans who go broke every single year trying to pay their health care bills. America cares a lot about that. America cares about the fact that there are 44,780 Americans who die every single year on account of not having health care, that's 122 every day. America sure cares a lot about that. America cares about the fact that if you have a pre-existing condition, even if you have health insurance, it's not covered. America cares about that a lot. America cares about the fact that you can get all the health care you need as long as you don't need any. America cares about that a lot. But America does not care about procedures, processes, personalities, America doesn't care about that at all." "So we have to remember that as Democrats, we have to remember that what's at stake here is life and death, enormous amounts of money, and people are counting upon us to move ahead. America understands what's good for America. America cares about health care, America cares about jobs, America cares about education, about energy independance, America does not care about processes politicians or personalities or anything like that." "And I have a few words for my Republican friends tonight as well. I guess I do have some Republican friends." "Let me say this; last week I held up this report here and I pointed out that in America there are 44,789 Americans that die every year according to this Harvard report published in this peer reviewed journal because they have no health insurance. That's an extra 44,789 Americans who die who's lives could be saved, and their response was to ask me for an apology." "To ask me for an apology?" "That's right. To ask ME for an apology!" "Well, I'm telling you this; I will not apologize. I will not apologize. I will not apologize for a simple reason; America doesn't care about your feelings. I violated no rules by pulling this report to America's attention, I think a lot of people didn't know about it beforehand. But America DOES care about health care in America." "And if you're against it, then get out of the way. Just get out of the way. You can lead, you can follow or you can get out of the way. And I'm telling you now to get out of the way." "American understands that there is one party in this country that is favor of health care reform and one party that is against it, and they know why." "They understand that if Barack Obama were somehow able to cure hunger in the world the Republicans would blame him for overpopulation" "They understand that if Barack Obama could somehow bring about world peace they would blame him for destroying the defense industry." "In fact, they understand that if Barack Obama has a BLT sandwhich tommorrow for lunch, they will try to ban bacon." "But that's not what America wants, America wants solutions to it's problems and that begins with health care, and that's what I'm speaking for tonight." "I yield back the balance of my time" All I have to say is WOW! October 08 Obama's Administration New Policy On Lobbists Angers those on K Street. Lobbyists Stew After Being Bounced From BoardsBy Keith Koffler, CQ-Roll Call GroupA tide of anger and dismay is rippling down K Street as the Obama administration implements a new policy limiting the roles of lobbyists on federal advisory committees. The policy change, described by the White House as the next step in President Barack Obama ’s drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the 1970s to provide private-sector advice to the government. snip The policy was announced quietly Sept. 23 in a blog post on the White House Web site by the White House special counsel for ethics and government reform — also known as the “ethics czar” — Norm Eisen. “The White House has informed executive agencies and departments that it is our aspiration that federally-registered lobbyists not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions,” Eisen states. He goes on to say that “it is our hope” that lobbyists already on the panels not be reappointed. The Commerce Department and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative took the White House “aspiration” to heart almost immediately, telling members of the panels in a letter last week that lobbyists will no longer be appointed to panels and that those on them will be out as the committees are rechartered in 2010 and 2011. snip “The President recognizes that some lobbyists advocate for public interest goals shared by this Administration,” Eisen wrote. “Nevertheless, the President made a commitment to the American people to reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington.” Good Article, Read more here. Free health care clinics to TARGET conservative democrats in the senate (Video)We can report exclusively tonight, that two major power brokers on the left have told MSNBC that they are encouraging a Senate strategy now, in which the leadership would revoke chairmanships and other leadership positions from any Democrat who sides with a Republican filibuster to block a vote on health reform.
Who might these "major power brokers" be? Rahm? Reid? Maddow wouldn't reveal her sources, but my judgment, having watched her show a lot, is that she's generally not the type to tease this sort of thing lightly. If she says she's got sources, she's got them. She goes on: Regardless of how individual senators would vote ultimately on the bill, committee chairmen or subcommittee chairmen who allowed Republicans to force a 60-vote requirement for passing health care...under this type of strategy would be in danger of losing their chairmanships.
Messing with chairmanships ain't a small thing in the Senate. As Rachel put it: That would be the Senate equivalent of busting a Lieutenant Colonel down to Private.
Her take on this?
This is cracking heads time in the Democratic Party right now. This is arm-twisting, vote-counting, "are you a real Dem" time for the proponents of health reform.
Could this actually be true? Could Senate Dems, who have been spinless be prepared to remove committee chairmanships from any Dem who refused to oppose a Republican filibuster? I trust Rachael Maddow's reporting but this time I won't believe it until I see it. Here's the video. Tell me what you think. Jesus was a... EVEN GOD ENJOYS A GOOD LAUGH! There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black: 1. He called everyone brother. 2. He liked Gospel. 3. He didn't get a fair trial. But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish: 1. He went into His Father's business. 2. He lived at home until he was 33. 3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God. But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian: 1. He talked with His hands. 2. He had wine with His meals. 3. He used olive oil But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian: 1. He never cut His hair. 2. He walked around barefoot all the time. 3. He started a new religion. But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian : 1. He was at peace with nature. 2. He ate a lot of fish. 3. He talked about the Great Spirit. But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish: 1. He never got married. 2. He was always telling stories. 3. He loved green pastures. But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman: 1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was virtually no food. 2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it. 3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do. May 24 Republican Disaster -- The Evangelical/Zionist Anatomy of Meltdown by Frank Shaeffer at the Huffington Post The America most Americans lived in; diverse, open, tolerant and multi-ethnic was the America that the right would hardly even acknowledge. They "loved" an America that didn't exist, and hated the real country we live in. (I go into this in detail in two books; Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All -- or Almost All -- of It Back and also in my forthcoming Patience With God: Faith For People Who Don't Like Religion -- Or Atheism where I lay out an alternative to some very bad choices between the extremes.) So what went wrong with the Republican Party? Believe me, it's all about religion! Two religions (in the broadest sense of the term) have destroyed the Republican Party: evangelical Christianity and Christian/Jewish Zionism. Evangelical Christianity created the Religious Right which forever linked the Republican Party to the antiabortion, anti-sex education, anti-evolution and anti-gay crusades. And both Christian and Jewish Zionism linked the Republican Party to what became the neoconservative movement with its roots in such publications as Commentary magazine and their shrill Israel-can-do-no-wrong anti-Arab agenda. (I knew the late editor of Commentary Norman Podhoretz quite well, and we met several times to build alliances between evangelicals and the far American Zionist far right. When it came to Arabs, I believe he was a real racist.) I would not call Zionism per se a religion, but I'm talking about secular goals pursued with religious fervor. I would call Zionism, American-style a politicized version of a religion. I also argue that the neo-con side got traction when religious Jews became Zionists and when religious Christians (evangelicals) hopped aboard to hasten the "Rapture." And I'd like to point out that American Zionists ally themselves with the Israeli hardliners, but that opinion in Israel is much more diverse and often tolerant than that, as is opinion among Jewish Americans, who do not by and large accept the AIPAC point of view uncritically. The result of the Republican Party being taken over by these religious groups was that we got George W. Bush. His idea of governance was a hands-off, all-government-is-bad-government neglect, combined with an unnecessary war in Iraq inspired by a form of Zionism that sees all Arabs as a threat, Islam as evil, America as an exceptional place duty-bound "by God" to keep the world safe for evangelical Christian "values," on the one hand, and militant Christian and Jewish Zionism on the other. It is a poisonous blend. (It's not just Zionism, or a form of Zionism, that makes Americans hate Arabs. Anti-Arab, anti-Muslim images in America go way back and some right wing evangelicals and Jews merely tap into that racism.) Evangelical/Christian Zionism has been bad for the State of Israel too. It has helped put that country into a permanent defensive crouch in which there is now perhaps no way out from destruction that comes to all people who see everyone else (from the EU to the UN to the Arabs and Iran) as a threat. The building of the illegal West Bank settlements and turning the Gaza Strip into what amounts to a concentration camp, combined with demographic reality will doom the State of Israel if a two state peace agreement is not reached and reached fast. But Christian Zionists have done all they can to undermine peace in the name of fulfilling "biblical prophecy" as have the far right of the Jewish Zionists, people like my old friend Norman Podhoretz. With "friends" like the Christian Zionists -- exemplified by the Reverend John Hagee and many others who "support" Israel while eagerly waiting for the "return of Christ" and the destruction of all "unbelieving Jews" -- Israel needs no enemies. Given that the hard-line American Christian Zionists encouraged the Republican Party to become the party of permanent war to keep the State of Israel "safe" they have actually helped set the stage for its destruction. And therefore the Republicans also opened the door to our national economic ruin as well. The two are linked; eternal war and ruin, because our permanent wars (thinly veiled excuses to "keep Israel safe") are never paid for by increased taxes or a draft. (Disclosure: my son served in the Marines and was deployed.) But attitudes are changing: The results of a new Zogby poll are interesting. They suggest that Obama would have strong support for a US diplomatic effort to forge an Israel-Palestine deal, even if it means tough pressure on Israel. According to the poll, when asked if the United States should "get tough" with Israel in order to back up its call for an end to settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, fully 50 percent of Americans said yes, with just 19 percent saying "do nothing," and 32 percent not sure. Asked whether the interests of Israel and the US are identical, only 28 percent of Obama voters agreed, while 59 percent disagreed. Among McCain voters, it was the reverse: 78 percent of McCain voters said US and Israel interests were identical (!) and 15 percent said they are not. So what did the Republicans become? They are the party of unnecessary wars both actual and cultural and the party of the rich -- those who never serve in the military, just put up flags to "support the troops." The actual war in Iraq was (as everyone knew with a wink and a nod, but few dared say) really about our commitment to Christian and Jewish Zionism as it was "understood" by the born-again fool Bush. The culture war is also an unnecessary and unmitigated war that pitted the "real America" (in other words white mostly uneducated, lower-middle-class evangelical/Catholic working Americans) against everyone else. If you're not a gay-hating, "pro-life," born-again evangelical and/or an ardent Israel-can-do-no-wrong-all-Arabs-are-evil-Jesus-is-coming-back-soon evangelical on the one hand or a neoconservative I-never-met-a-war-I-didn't-like "intellectual" on the other hand, these days you're probably not a Republican. Throw in a college degree or the habit of getting information from any source other than right wing blogs, radio "personalities" like Rush Limbaugh or "authors" like Ann Coulter and you won't be voting Republican again in this lifetime. What's caused the Republican Party's real meltdown? It's that it has ceased to exist as a political party and is instead a dwindling weirdly eclectic collection of uneducated rubes led by a few fearful angry far right thinkers who talk in media sound bites geared to the types of people who watch Fox News. Jack Kemp was not part of this horrible little "party." He was a smart compassionate man. There used to be more Republicans like Kemp. Today the Republican core constituency is the national village idiot. With the election of President Obama America has turned the page on the village idiots. We now have a president who is a religious believer himself, who supports Israel (as I do, by the way), but who well understands -- and articulates beautifully as he just did at Notre Dame talking about abortion -- the fact that authentic faith should be a unifying force instead of a divisive one. That's bad news for religious nuts, be they Christians or Jews. That's good news for America and the world, and maybe for our overstretched military too. The choice for America has always been between inclusive pluralism and exclusion. The kind of religion and Evangelical/Zionist/neoconservative cabal used to take over the interests of the Republican Party is just too small for this big diverse, tolerant and open country of ours. So the Republicans have a choice: become an American political party again serving American interests or continue to serve the narrowly defined religious interests of two angry and fearful Jewish/Evangelical minorities who are themselves bastardized offshoots of their Christian and Jewish traditions. Frank Schaeffer is a writer. He is author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back and also author of the forthcoming Patience With God: Faith For People Who Don't Like Religion (Or Atheism). May 16 Countdown's WTF Moment: Texas Secession (VIDEO)In tonight's installment of Countdown's "WTF Moment," Olbermann takes a realistic look at what would happen if Texas actually followed through on Governor Rick Perry's threat to secede if the federal government doesn't leave Texas alone. Well, between skyrocketing taxes, loss of military protection, sports teams crumbling, massive debt burdens, and the coming political crisis in 2020 (when the projected population of Texas will be 45 percent Hispanic and 38 percent Anglo, and the Hispanics win a ballot initiative to have the new republic join Mexico), the picture doesn't look good. [WATCH]
March 26 Brazil's President Lula: 'White, Blue-Eyed Bankers Have Brought World Economy To Its Knees'Gordon Brown’s efforts to broker an £80billion bailout for world
trade on a trip to Brazil hit a stumbling block tonight when the
country’s President lashed out at ‘white, blue-eyed’ bankers for
bringing the world economy to its knees. Mr Brown watched
on uneasily as his host, President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, launched
a bizarre tirade in which he warned that next week’s G20 summit in
London would be a ‘spicy’ affair. President Lula said it
was completely unfair that the poorest people in the world were
suffering most for the mistakes of wealthy, Western financiers. ‘This was a crisis that was fostered and boosted by irrational behaviour of people that are white, blue-eyed, that before the crisis looked like they knew everything about economics,’ he declared. ‘Now they have demonstrated that they don’t know anything about economics.’ President Lula, head of Brazil’s main left-wing party, said that ‘no black man or woman, no indigenous person, no poor person’ had been in any way culpable for the global banking crisis. ‘I’m not acquainted with any black banker,’ he said. ‘The part of humanity that’s responsible should pay for the crisis. The rest of the article can be found at Mail Online. President Lula have been saying what many of us have been thinking. March 08 D.L. Hughley: Frank Schaeffer not apologizing nor kissing Rush Limbaugh's buttThis video is a MUST SEE I saw this live last night. Shockingly sharp comments by Schaeffer! Schaeffer's background with his father in shaping the beginnings of the political religious right makes his opinions even more valiant and pertinent! Hughley himself does not say anything controversial. I've read that Hughley's show had been "canceled". I read somewhere else that this fact disputed by him in that he wanted to do something from California where his family lives, and he will be given some other role at CNN. Too bad, I was just beginning to warm up to the show. March 05 Jon Stewart Hits CNBC... Hard Last night, on the show, Jon Stewart ran through old clips of CNBC getting everything wrong about the economy at every possible turn. It was pretty good... < This show won't end CNBC, but it should discredit the blowhards that's on the air. You can watch the show in it's entirety at http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=220250 February 15 An Open Letter to President Obama About the Republicans (From a Former Republican) This open letter to Obama was written by Frank Schaeffer, a former Republican insider and a loyal Obama Supporter, giving advice and some caution about the nature of the GOP and how to handle them. by Frank Schaeffer at the Huffington Post Dear President Obama: As a former lifelong Republican, son of a co-founder of the Religious Right; my late evangelical leader father, Francis Schaeffer, I'm in a unique position to tell you a few things about the Republicans from inside perspective. (As you know I left that movement in the mid 1980s.) The lack of cooperation you're getting from the Republican Party will continue. ... the Republican Party is controlled by two ideological groups. First, is the Religious Right. Second, are the neoconservatives. Both groups share one thing in common: they are driven by fear and paranoia. Between them there is no Republican "center" for you to appeal to, just two versions of hate-filled extremes. The Religious Right supply the kind of people who at McCain and Palin rallies were yelling things such as "kill him" about you. That's the constituency to which your hand was extended when looking for compromise on your financial bailout bill. There's only one thing that makes sense for you now. Mr. President, you need to forget a bipartisan approach and get on with the business of governing by winning each battle. You will never be able to work with the Republicans because they hate you. Believe me, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are the norm not the exception. James Dobson and the rest are praying for you to fail. The neoconservatives are gnashing their teeth and waiting for you to "sell out Israel" or "show weakness" in Afghanistan, whatever, so they can declare you a traitor. What those [Republican] senators and congressmen are telling you is not what their rabid core constituents are telling them. Their loyalty is to a fundamentalist Christian ideology on the one hand and American exceptionalism of perpetual warfare and hatred and fear of the "other" on the other hand. Between the neoconservatives and evangelical Religious Right Republicans you have no friends. The good news is that most Americans support you. And if you will just get in the face of the Republican Party and call their bluff you'll be surprised how many individual ordinary Republicans will support you, not to mention the rest of us. America is sick of the Republicans. The Democratic Party won for a reason: the Republicans failed and
have taken us all down with them! You're doing your presidency and
America no favor by extending an open hand to the perpetually knotted
fist of what has become the embittered lunatic fringe of our country.
They would rather go down in flames than "compromise" their ideology. Yeah, Ideology that brought the "Dark Ages" and the "Salem Witch Trials". As you showed us again at your press conference of Feb 9, you are a brilliant, articulate and decent man. Your Republican opponents are not decent people but ideologues bent on destroying you. To quote the biblical adage sir, don't cast your pearls before swine. This is not all of the letter. You can read the rest at the Huffington Post. There are many Republicans who are moderates (i.e. Colon Powell, Charlie Crist) but the NeoCons and the Religious Right are the party's center of power. Unfortunately, most moderates seem to be afraid of (i.e. Judd Gregg) those guys to a point that they can't do what they know is right. Senator Arlen Specter, who voted for the stimulus, said "that more of his colleagues would have joined were they not afraid of the political consequences." I hope that Obama reads the letter and realize that this bipartianship fetish he has is going to do more harm than good. February 08 What the GOP’s list shows
CNN reported that the GOP put out a list of what they call wasteful provisions in
the Senate’s version of Obama’s $800+ billion stimulus bill that Obama
has put forward. Their list is composed of proposed spending bills that
don’t have immediate impacts, but would greatly reduce long term costs.
The list they composed shows a lack of foresight, patience, and
fundamental grasp of economics. It displays their age-old desire for
immediate gratification, and the inability to understand consequences. This is just a partial list. You can read the rest of the list here GOP claim: $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings is a waste. The Republicans have strong-armed the Democrats to have education taken completely out of the Stimulus Package because, in their opinion doesn't create jobs. They are so small-minded that they have a very hard time seeing the big picture. Education not only lifts people out of poverty, it helps people get the skills they need to get jobs and establish new businesses.Reality: Our government now pays the highest energy bill in the world. We need to upgrade our federal buildings. Amongst other things, this would pay for replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. The federal government consumes about 32 percent more energy per square foot than the rest of the nation. This ends up being about $5 billion per year to power half a million buildings and facilities. With Obama’s $6 billion investment taxpayers would save $1 billion annually for decades to come. Our guess: The GOP doesn’t care if we save money in the long run, so long as today they can have more money GOP claim: $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges is a waste. Reality: Education is a cure-all. It lifts people out of poverty and allows them to be contributing members of society. Additionally, modernizing our work force to compete with the rest of the world is essential to our Gross Domestic Product. Our guess: Education has never been a priority of the GOP, as education begets liberal thought. GOP claim: $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs is a waste. Seeking entertainment is a primary cause of petty crime amongst youth, which is why the adage “idle hands are the devil’s work shop” is so true. Any study conducted in this field shows that even impoverished people commit far less violent crimes if they have a job. This is because jobs not only provide income, but also give workers feelings of meaning, existence, and being part of a system that’s rewarding them for their work. Not only does this help form the foundation to becoming a productive member of society, but incarceration costs go down (housing a criminal costs ~$20,000 per bed per year), but law enforcement costs go down as well. Our guess: The GOP is the same party that fought against a minimum wage increase. Helping workers has never been their priority, to the point where they will fight against it when given the opportunity to help The list continues for several dozen items, but they’re all pretty much the same. The GOP refuses to spend a dollar today if they can’t see that dollar today — even if it means saving a hundred dollars tomorrow. When I was growing up, the Carter Adminstration started the CEDAR program in which each summer, underprivileged kids had an opportunity to work and make money. It kept them off the street, out of trouble and at the same they learned the value of work. It ended when Regan came into office. Like I have been saying before. President Obama made a mistake by inviting the Republicans to meddle into the Stimlus Package because it has empowered them. These guys in Washington are the most decietful, cold-blooded, hard-hearted people I have ever seen. They lack empathy and compassion and no amount of charm or grace that the President can give will be able break through all that ice. Republicans are using their vote as well as the economic condition in this country as leverage to get some of the same ideas that got us into this mess added into the stimlus which is going to reduce its impact to the economy. |
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