Once Again Barbara Lee shows the way….She say, ‘No…’

to the ‘bailout’ proposed by the corrupt, rotten ‘leader$hip’ of the now twice damned Pelosi and ‘Sellout’ Reid as they, along with ‘The Magic Man’ stoop to do Leader Bush’s bidding.

Here is what she said today on the floor of what we now laughingly call, ‘The People’s House’.

Washington D.C.- Today (Sept. 29, 2008) Congresswoman Barbara Lee delivered the following statement on the House floor in opposition to the financial bailout bill considered today. The Congresswoman voted against the bill, which failed by a vote of 205-228.

“Thank you Madame Speaker and thank you Mr. Frank, the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee, for his efforts to improve the administration’s $700 billion blank check proposal.

“As a former member of the House Financial Services Committee for eight years, I can tell you that the situation we find ourselves in is the direct result of the deregulation happy, turn a blind- eye approach of this administration and its allies in Congress.

“Now we see the horrific price of these reckless deregulation policies.  More than 600,000 Americans have lost their jobs since January.  People need jobs to obtain credit and to pay their rent.   They need jobs to pay their mortgages or to put money in their 401k or retirement account.  Millions of people are living paycheck to paycheck, if they have a paycheck.

“Home foreclosures are skyrocketing, and home values are plunging, banks are failing and we are still spending more than $10 billion every month on a war in Iraq that should never have been waged.

“So there is no question that we are confronting an economic and financial crisis.

“But I’m convinced that this bailout plan is not the solution to this mess.

“First, it does little to address the underlying problem – the foreclosure crisis. We need a moratorium on foreclosures and bankruptcy reform to help people stay in their homes.

“Second, this bill should be paid for by the high-flying industry that created this problem.   $700 billion should not be given to Wall Street and the Bush Administration unless those who cause this mess pay for it. We should also prohibit the tax deductibility -and my bill the Income Equity Act  (HR 3876) would do this across the board -  of executive compensation in any company where the highest paid corporate officer is paid more than 25 the times the pay of a bailed-out company’s lowest-paid worker.

“And third, we need an economic stimulus package to deal with the crushing reality of the recession that is hitting people hard and growing every day.

“I cannot vote to reward those predatory and subprime lenders who are creating such havoc in the lives of millions of Americans.

“There is a better way.”

Yep and that way requires hard work, years of it which probably puts it beyond the reach of the Libertarian punks who think we have friends in the ‘Democrat’ Party. Who think Obama is about ‘change’.

We do have some friends in the party but Pelosi…multimillionaire Pelosi ain’t one of them.

I’m Back….

…still some thinking to do but nope I have not changed my opinion about.

Obama.

The ‘Democrat’ Party

Drinking Liberally…

So called ‘fellow progressives’

The real battle is about to begin and I intend to work so that it is not for the crumbs from our masters tables. The nation is on the brink of the abyss with few of talent or principle to lead us. Indeed the times call for a new paradigm.

One sans such ‘leaders’ as George W. Bush, Barrack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, Harry Reid. And no we don’t need suc as Marko Moulitas, Chris Bowers, Jeralyn, Josh Marshall and the rest of the self-appointed, now discredited, ‘leaders’ of  Left Blogistan.

Look for changes here soon.

Do You Ever Wonder Why the Roads in Your Town are Turning into Gravel?

Wonder no more. It’s because ‘some people’ are not paying their fair share of the cost of government. Otherwise known as taxes. I know this story has been in the corporatist press but I thought this post:

Based on IRS records, a recent GAO report indicates that many corporations claimed to owe $0 in U.S. taxes from 1998 – 2005: roughly 28%-53% of large foreign-controlled and 23%-38% of large U.S.-controlled corporations. [The GAO considers a "large" corporation one with at least $250 million in assets or $50 million in gross receipts.] 

From NoQuarter had a lot more detail and so link to it.

There is a growing opportunity for those of us who are economically literate, a tiny minority, to take back the high ground in the never ending debate about taxes, government and what should be done by same. The ‘conservative’ shills who’ve been preaching the Friedman Lunacy for decades are gob-smacked that the ‘trickle down’ theory has at last been proved to be the utter bullshit that it is. There is a desperate air of ‘now what do we do…’  as the third artificial bubble of ‘asset building’, housing, pops following  the dot.com bubble and ‘financialization’ coming from the morons such as Greenspan who’ve been ‘supervising ‘ our economy. As Ol’ Shakespeare opined, ‘The truth will out…’ and now folks are waking up to the realization that while their real income has declined every year since Nixon under the Republican fantasy machine corporations and very wealthy individuals merely extract whatever amounts of cash they need from the U.S. Treasury, that’s us Homer, in the form of  taxes not paid.

This report points a finger at why you, yeah you Homer, ‘can’t’ have healthcare, good schools, well-maintained roads, safe food and on and on…. The next time some low-info fool tells you, ‘Oh, we can’t afford that…’ about some needed social program tell them the following:

‘Of course we can afford that. If corporations and the uber-rich would pay their fair share of taxes instead of bribing Congress to give them a free pass we’d’ have plenty of money to take care of the real, immediate needs of our society.’

And if they start bloviating tell them this:

‘Surely you are not advocating that some, particularly those best able to pay, should be excused from their social obligation to pay their fair share of the costs they helped create are you?’

More on how your are being screwed solely because you are NOT rich in future posts.

I Am Working on Some Energy Posts…Honest!

In fact this is one and it’s about one of the most important events in recent years where….you guessed Democrats, on in particular, did the El Foldo and let Big Oil fuck you jes one more time.

Watch this and see….

Use your Windows Media Player to do so. Sorry, WP coding for this is just stupid…or I am. Take your pick. But watch the damn clip.

A Chance to Vote on the Best Science Cartoon this Year….

not really all that humerous but hey! Beats Senator El Foldo and his flip-floppin’. Clik

here………..

to get to the poll.

Hey! All this yellin’ and screamin’ about Barry….Wright….Sister Beezlebub…Scotty’s new book….Limbaugh….Well, guess what?

The Bush Presidency is a huge success. Click on the chart above to see just
how well he’s done ‘helping’ the nation recover from the Clinton fiasco.

Then….clik this….

as you can see things are so cool I posted a real cool clip for ya!

How you ‘creative class’ folks doin’ Ever thing Kooool?

Thas nice.

When Katie Couric is the only one who ‘gets it’ you know you are dealing with idiots….or worse….

Here is the woman who took Dan Rather’s spot:

‘…Katie Couric impressively argued that the media did fail to do its job — pointing out that the White House threatened networks which were perceived to be too critical with cutting off access to the war and that anyone who questioned the war was deemed unpatriotic and all of that "affected the level of aggressiveness that was exercised by the media"… ‘     

Not so rebutted elder newsman Charlie Gibson:

‘I think the questions were asked. I respectfully disagree with the gentle lady from the Columbia Broadcasting System [group giggles]. I think the questions were asked. . . . I can remember getting in trouble with administration officials for asking questions they didn’t feel comfortable with.

It was just a drumbeat of support from the administration. And it is not our job to debate them; it’s our job to ask the questions.’

Got that? Poor Charlie ‘got into trouble…’ what did they do Charlie make you drink Nescafe instead of your usual Cappuccino at the Presidential Pressers? Say, Charlie you still have all your arms and legs? Feet? Hands? Eyes? No blackouts Charlie? Oh good…everything’s just fine then.

No folks, this may seem like beating a dead dog but…

Clik thru and read the whole Glennzilla piece linked above, complete with video linky goodness, and you will find that since such a great job was, in fact, done on the MSM’s coverage of the run-up to and all that’s happened since in the Iraq conflict that…

Wait for it….

No changes are needed in our great corporatist media. They are doing a fantastic job keeping the people informed and actually deserve some more rewards for their work.

So….

My question to you is: ‘What relationship to the ‘facts’ of the political situation here in America do you think the corporatist press’s work bears to what you would consider reality?’

Here’s a nice poll for ya.

And give this some thought the next time someone sez: ‘Obama is a shoe in in the Fall.’ or ‘There is no way Hillary can win….’ Give these and similar statements another look and ask yourself ;

‘How does he/she, or even me, know that? What does it say that we might even be convinced of said outcome.

Here is the poll………

Have fun and remember….

As long as you think you know a lot…..you don’t really know Jack!

Yo! Keith! This American has a ‘Special Comment’ for yah!

This one’s for you also Mssrs. Kos, Bowers and Marshall. I doubt me that this young lady drives a Beemer or is a member of the ficticious ‘creative class’ but hey! She might do both.
Unlike you she and I are not so wedded to our stereotypes that we no longer recognize ‘so-called reality…’ remember that pals?

This is one reason that Barry’s  mentor Crazy Old Joe wants to….get rid of YouTube. See, the ruling classes, especially the white guys in their $10,000 suits don’t like to be dissed at all. And certainly not by no
young black woman, you dig? Yeah, Joe I know you’re telling everyone it’s to stop the Tehhahists. Puleeeeeeeeeese, puhleeeeeeeese, fuck yourself Joe.

What an Act of Citizenship looks like…..

Ambassador Joe Wilson’s very entertaining talk on Neocons, America, patriotism, and Republican traitors:

And here’s the rest in order:

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Amazing the ‘Boyz on the Blogz’ don’t have time for this. I guess Sister Beezlebub’s plan to have Senator Obama assassinated is taking all their time and attention.

I’ve met Joe Wilson and talked with him. Every American should be proud that we have such men, and women like him, to stand up for our nation’s principles overseas and increasingly important…..

…..here against the face of Fascism which has taken root in our soil and bids to block out the sun of liberty were it not for such as Joe Wilson.

Take a look in the mirror tomorrow morning and ask yourself, ‘What do I intend to do to support such as Ambassador Wilson in the fight against American Fascism, wherever it may be found? What is my answer to B. Franklin’s question?’
Because folks, like it or not, your answers to those questions will determine if you children live free or as slaves.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…..Now this is….Well, Barry do you and McSame want to explain this given your votes to fully fund…..

‘Lil’ George’s excellent adventure in Iraqi land?

We don’t know what we got.”

by tristero

Good morning! Are you sitting down?

In one case, according to documents displayed by Pentagon auditors at the hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, a cash payment of $320.8 million in Iraqi money was authorized on the basis of a single signature and the words “Iraqi Salary Payment” on an invoice. In another, $11.1 million of taxpayer money was paid to IAP, an American contractor, on the basis of a voucher with no indication of what was delivered…

The disclosure that $1.8 billion in Iraqi assets was mishandled comes on top of an earlier finding by an independent federal oversight agency, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, that United States occupation authorities early in the conflict could not account for the disbursement of $8.8 billion in Iraqi oil money and seized assets.

A billion here, a billion there…

And then check this out:

The mysterious payments, whose amounts had not been publicly disclosed, included $68.2 million to the United Kingdom, $45.3 million to Poland and $21.3 million to South Korea. Despite repeated requests, Pentagon auditors said they were unable to determine why the payments were made.

“It sounds like the coalition of the willing is the coalition of the paid — they’re willing to be paid,” said Mr. Waxman

And some more details:

In one instance, a United States Treasury check for $5,674,075.00 was written to pay a company called Al Kasid Specialized Vehicles Trading Company in Baghdad for items that a voucher does not even describe.

In another case, $6,268,320.07 went to the contractor Combat Support Associates with even less explanation. And a scrawl on another piece of paper says only that $8 million had been paid out as “Funds for the Benefit of the Iraqi People.”

But perhaps the masterpiece of elliptic paperwork is the document identified at the top as a “Public Voucher for Purchases and Services Other Than Personal.” It indicates that $320.8 million went for “Iraqi Salary Payment,” with no explanation of what the Iraqis were paid to do.

Whatever it was, the document suggests, each of those Iraqis was handsomely compensated. Under the “quantity” column is the number 1,000, presumably indicating the number of people who were to be paid — to the tune of $320,800 apiece — if the paperwork is to be trusted.

“…if the paperwork is to be trusted.” Now that’s funny. But the joke’s on us.

Tell ya what….
I ain’t laughing.