Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea
A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict
Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush
The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld
The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder
Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law
United States v. George W. Bush et al.
The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism
Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush
The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens
The Case for Impeachment
Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney
George W. Bush versus the U.S. Constitution: The Downing Street Memos and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Cover-ups in the Iraq War and Illegal Domestic Spying
Verdict and Findings of Fact
Impeach Bush: A Funny Li'l Graphical Novel About the Worstest Pres'dent in the History of Forevar
Pretensions to Empire: Notes on the Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration
The Twilight of Democracy: The Bush Plan for America
Text & Analysis of Treasury’s Financial-Bailout Proposal to Congress
Treasury’s Financial-Bailout Proposal to Congress
by Steven A Reisler
This is far more important than anything else happening right now and if the Bush administration has its way, they will ram another $&^*((&$&^# piece of "emergency legislation" down your throats (with the Democrats usual meek acquiescence, of course). The last piece of legislation that was passed during an "emergency" at breakneck speed: the oxymoronically named "Patriot Act" right after 9/11.
The press keeps yakking about the 700 billion dollar bail out of Wall Street, but very few are letting you actually read the proposal itself. It's short and... bitter. Even non-lawyers can read it quickly. Read it and weep. Comments follow after the full text. I've bolded certain sections of special concern.
The following is the legislative proposal from Treasury Department for authority to buy mortgage-related assets:
Section 1. Short Title.
This Act may be cited as ____________________.
Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Authority to Purchase.–The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.
(b) Necessary Actions.–The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:
(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;
(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;
(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;
(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and
(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.
Sec. 3. Considerations.
In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for–
(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and
(2) protecting the taxpayer.
Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.
Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.
Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.
(a) Exercise of Rights.–The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.
(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.
(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.
(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.–The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.
Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.
The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time
Sec. 7. Funding.
For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.
Sec. 8. Review.
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.
The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.
Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.
Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000. [That's 11 Trillion 315 Billion dollars]
Sec. 11. Credit Reform.
The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.
Sec. 12. Definitions.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.–The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.
(2) Secretary.–The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.
(3) United States.–The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.
********
ANALYSIS
Citizens of the United States: You have about 24 hours to contact your Congress Critters and DEMAND that this piece of legislative CRAP not be enacted in ANY FORM WHATSOEVER. If you are active in any presidential candidates' campaign, you need to contact their spineless representatives and tell them that you demand they oppose this garbage.
The salient points:
1. This is a blank check to the Treasury Department to bailout Wall Street at ANY PRICE whatsoever. IT IS NOT limited to $700 billion dollars because it reads that the limit is $700 billion "AT ANY ONE TIME". That means, the Treasury can suck up $700 billion time after time after time, so long as it is only doing it $700 billion at a time.
2. YOU are paying for this. The legislation makes it an automatic right of the Treasury to do this buyout by appropriating your taxpayer money WITHOUT even going through Congress for spending authority (THIS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL). Note that the federal money to pay for all this (that is YOUR money) is "appropriated" when Treasury spends the money!!! No need for a budget or for a Congressional appropriation! They spend the money and it is automatically charged to the government accounts and YOU get stuck with the bill. You have no right of redress, no one to complain to, no oversight, no input, just the obligation to pay pay pay. In 1776 folks revolted against the British empire for less than this.
3. The proposal states that nothing that Treasury does to bail out Wall Street will be reviewable in the courts!! What!! They get to do whatever they freaking want to do and there will be absolutely no checks or balances whatsoever, except...
4. Treasury has to report every three months to a couple of friendly banking committees in Congress (right... the same a-holes who gave us this mess), and the Secretary of the Treasury has to "take into consideration" effects on the taxpayers. Thanks, Hank, I'm sure you will take all of us "into consideration"... for about a split second... as you bail out your buds on the Street.
5. The Government has told you they didn't have the money for SOCIAL SECURITY or for NATIONAL HEALTH CARE or for EDUCATION or for LIBRARIES or for FORESTS or NATIONAL PARKS or ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION or for PROTECTING the QUALITY of our FOOD or for the JUSTICE SYSTEM or HOUSING, SOCIAL SERVICES, or anything worthwhile that serves the common good. NOW you suddenly have trillions of dollars to use to bail out the toads in the financial sector? The only way that works is through a massive devaluation of the currency (that spells hyper-inflation) and through the imposition of crippling taxes and costs of the working and middle classes. And you will pay and pay and pay for decades unknown into the future.
As a lawyer, I can tell you that this is the most amazingly ambiguous, incredibly obnoxious, sweeping and unconstitutional rip off of the public since the beginning of the Republic. It is a blatant power grab. This is a guaranteed ball and chain for future Americans for generations to come and it will certainly drag the standard of living for most Americans down to the lowest imaginable levels.
It's your life. It's your money. It's your future. It's your government. This will be pushed like lightning through Congress. Now, get off your fanny and do something.
www.VelvetRevolution.us
Wow that's pretty amazing.
I feel like an Iraqi when the Bush Crime Gang said they were going to liberate them. Frankly, yea, I'm a little scared of being rescued by this band of thieves. What's the opposition party doing? Going to the party, no doubt.
We write and call our congresscritters but they do not seem to hear. If things get really bad, when they whole world is against us. Maybe then they will notice.
The rich boys are taking care of themselves as the "crisis" engulfs us. Have we forgotten about impeachment? Of yea,it's off the table in Nancy-land.
4Peace
The country is so in the soup
The other party is mostly blaming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack, because they are thought of as examples of the Democratic party trying to look out for the little guy [rabble]. Another scary thing is that the congress plans to settle this problem by next Friday! After all they have to go home this year and talk the people into voting for them for another term.
You can watch the hearings, if you can stand it, on C-SPAN 3, now.
I contacted by Congress Critters
I sent the following to all of my Representatives. I am not holding my breath, but I hope it may get to them.
I will try to keep this short and sweet. I do hope you read the legislation that the Government is trying to pass. I myself have filed for Bankruptcy and will probably still lose my house because all three jobs I have now will be closing by the end of the year and there are no jobs in Palm Beach County to be had.
However, to give the Secretary to authority to purchase unlimited amounts of debt, with no recourse if he screws up, is not good Government or Business sense.
I don't know where you stand on regulation of the Banking system. We are in this mess because there was not regulation for years. They "self-regulated" themselves into a mess and now they want a handout.
The Section that has me Most worried, because the whole thing has me worried, is Section 8. The fact that this gentleman was in the banking industry for years while this was going on and now wants a bail-out for his friends without his being accountable for his decisions is unbelievable! Non-reviewable! By any Court of Law or agency! This cannot be allowed to happen.
Thank you for your time and I hope you make the right decision.
I guess we shall see....
Financial Bailout Proposal
As patriotic Americans we must respect the President of USA (the Boss is never wrong) and all government officials to whom he delegates his duties because we elected the President and members of Congress and Senate. President of USA is not a saint (we didn't elect a saint), he is a human being like all of us...he is allowd to make mistakes like any one of us...good and/or bad, he is one of us. So, give the President enough rope and see what will happen in the end. Keep your fingers crossed. Touch wood.
In my calculations which are quite accurate, the amount of $700 Billions is grossly inadequate (under funding the project assures failure of the project)to fix the problems currently facing American economy (the fact of the matter is, that there should be No limit on the amount of Bailout because nobody knows the amount it will take to solve the current financial problem)...it is supported by this fact...when a reporter asked Mr. Paulson "at How much this bailout will cost the US tax payer? Mr. Paulson replied "I don't know"...there is no maximum limit...the President of USA gave me a blank check...I am authorized by the President of USA to spend whatever amount it takes to fix the financial problems of USA...just as Mr Gates, the defence secretary, has a blank check...to spend whatever it takes to win the perpetual wars (in space, in the oceans and on the ground) the USA is involved in. When the President of USA is behind me, I don't have to answer to anybody. The last 8 years are wintness that everybody bows to the wishes of the President of USA.
Another solution: How about requiring all sovereign funds/state banks/foreign banks in the world to deposit money in the USA (treasury, banks)? They don't know what to do with their money but we sure do know what to do with that and a whole lot more money (look at how US is doing a great job managing Iraq's oil wealth). USA is already a self appointed policeman of the universe. It is a great idea to make USA, a self apppointed deposit taker of the universe...That will solve all the financial problems of US economy.
Future Vice President of democratic party made a profound statemnt in which he said that "If you are a patriotic American you would/should voluntarily and happily pay maximum income tax."...that means if you don't pay maximum income tax voluntarily and happily, then you are not a patriotic American. Wow...let's see how many Americans pay maximum tax voluntarily and happily...and if every patriotic American (and we are all patriotic Americans)pays maximum income tax voluntarily and happily then there is no need for Tax Preparers and Accountants/CPAs, Tax Attorneys...let's get rid of all of them (parasites).
If we follow the above plans put forward by the American President, Mr. paulson and Mr. gates...all the problem facing America will be solved...Make sure that you write the blank check for financial bail out of 2008 and in few years (around 2017 as we did in Savings & Loan bailout) we will come back for another bailout (we give you enough time to work hard and make money and get ready for the next bailout). You just write the check...we do all the hard/dirty work. You can't get a better deal than that, Can you?
simple solution
Like the mousetrap, clothes pin and other great inventions, the best solutions are usually the simplest. We Americans have been divided into so many different groups it has become easy for politicians to conquer us. Just tell the black guy the white guy hates him while whipering in the white guy's ear about how lazy the black guy is. Tell everybody the Mexican are taking over, and that we can't drill for oil without destroying our shoreline or some caribou even though the rest of the world has been drilling away for a generation or more. And all the while hold your hand out for the $3 billion in lobbyist money spent annually buying off members of congress of both parties.
As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a nickel's worth of difference between democrats and republicans; one group rips us off through taxes and the other by stacking the deck in favor of their billionaire buddies. The philosophical argument between democrats and republicans is merely a smokescreen designed to divert you from the real business of looting the treasury to reward donors and cronies.
If enough Americans adopted the policy of simply voting against the incumbent in every election, things would change in a hurry. Big money would not invest in losing candidates and it would no longer cost $10 million to buy a senate seat or $5 million for a House seat. Good people from all walks of life could be persuaded to participate in government instead of the greedy bloodsucking lawyers that populate congress now(hey, no offense to the lawyer who wrote the above).
Think about this and then try it if it makes sense to you. Pass this philosophy on to your friends and VOTE!!!