Just a side note...

Wow. I guess she wasn't allowed to do it without the old man holding her hand...

Way to go, Republicants...

The Failout Plan - Part Three - Voice of a Dissenter

“Is this the United States Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?” Rep. Dennis Kucinich Rejects $700 Billion Bailout

(see The Failout Plan - Part Two - Who is the Secretary of the Treasury?)

Listen to and/or read what Rep. Kucinich (who voted against the bailout) had to say to about why he voted against this plan.

The Failout Plan - Part Three - What is "Corporate Socialism?"

I'm not a Nader supporter, or really a fan of the man, but here is an article he wrote a few years ago on the topic of "corporate socialism." (originally published in the Washington Post)

'Corporate Socialism'

By Ralph Nader

Thursday, July 18, 2002; Page A29

The relentless expansion of corporate control over our political economy has proven nearly immune to daily reporting by the mainstream media. Corporate crime, fraud and abuse have become like the weather; everyone is talking about the storm but no one seems able to do anything about it. This is largely because expected accountability mechanisms -- including boards of directors, outside accounting and law firms, bankers and brokers, state and federal regulatory agencies and legislatures -- are inert or complicit.

When, year after year, the established corporate watchdogs receive their profits or compensation directly or indirectly from the companies they are supposed to be watching, independent judgment fails, corruption increases and conflicts of interest grow among major CEOs and their cliques. Over time, these institutions, unwilling to reform themselves, strive to transfer the costs of their misdeeds and recklessness onto the larger citizenry. In so doing, big business is in the process of destroying the very capitalism that has provided it with a formidable ideological cover.

Consider the following assumptions of a capitalistic system:

1) Owners are supposed to control what they own. For a century, big business has split ownership (shareholders) from control, which is in the hands of the officers of the corporation and its rubber-stamp board of directors. Investors have been disenfranchised and told to sell their shares if they don't like the way management is running their business. Nowadays, with crooked accounting, inflated profits and self-dealing, it has proven difficult for even large investors to know the truth about their officious managers.

2) Under capitalism, businesses are supposed to sink or swim, which is still very true for small business. But larger industries and companies often have become "too big to fail" and demand that Uncle Sam serve as their all-purpose protector, providing a variety of public guarantees and emergency bailouts. Yes, some wildly looted companies that are expendable, such as Enron, cannot avail themselves of governmental salvation and do go bankrupt or are bought. By and large, however, in industry after industry where two or three companies dominate or presage a domino effect, Washington becomes their backstop.

3) Capitalism is supposed to exhibit a consensual freedom of contract -- a distinct advance over a feudal society. Yet the great majority of contracts for credit, insurance, software, housing, health, employment, products, repairs and other services are standard-form, printed contracts, presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. Going across the proverbial street to a competitor gets you the same contract. Every decade, these "contracts of adhesion," as the lawyers call them, become more intrusive and more insistent on taking away the buyers' constitutional rights to access to courts in favor of binding arbitration or stipulate outright surrender of basic rights and remedies. The courts are of little help in invalidating these impositions by what are essentially private corporate legislatures regulating millions of Americans.

4) Capitalism requires a framework of law and order: The rules of the economic game are to be conceived and enforced on the merits against mayhem, fraud, deception and predatory practices. Easily the most powerful influence over most government departments and agencies are the industries that receive the privileges and immunities, regulatory passes, exemptions, deductions and varied escapes from responsibility that regularly fill the business pages. Only those caught in positions of extreme dereliction ever have reason to expect more than a slap on the wrist for violating legal mandates.

5) Capitalist enterprises are expected to compete on an even playing field. Corporate lobbyists, starting with their abundant cash for political campaigns, have developed a "corporate state" where government lavishes subsidies, inflated contracts, guarantees and research and development and natural resources giveaways on big business -- while denying comparable benefits to individuals and family businesses. We have a government of big business, by big business and for big business, even if more of these businesses are nominally moving their state charters to Bermuda-like tax escapes.

"Corporate socialism" -- the privatization of profit and the socialization of risks and misconduct -- is displacing capitalist canons. This condition prevents an adaptable capitalism, served by equal justice under law, from delivering higher standards of living and enlarging its absorptive capacity for broader community and environmental values. Civic and political movements must call for a decent separation of corporation and state.

In 1938, in the midst of the Great Depression, Congress created the Temporary National Economic Committee to hold hearings around the country, recommend ways to deal with the concentration of economic power and promote a more just economy. World War II stopped this corporate reform momentum. We should not have to wait for a further deterioration from today's gross inequalities of wealth and income to launch a similar commission on the rampant corporatization of our country. At stake is whether civic values of our democratic society will prevail over invasive commercial values.

Ralph Nader is the founder of Public Citizen.

The Failout Plan - Part Two - Who is the Secretary of the Treasury?

Information from the United States Department of Treasury Website

President George W. Bush nominated Henry M. Paulson, Jr. to be the 74th Secretary of the Treasury on June 19, 2006. The United States Senate unanimously confirmed Paulson to the position on June 28, 2006 and he was sworn into office on July 10, 2006 by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. As Treasury Secretary, Paulson is the President's leading policy advisor on a broad range of domestic and international economic issues.

Before coming to Treasury, Paulson was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs since the firm’s initial public offering in 1999. He joined Goldman Sachs Chicago Office in 1974 and rose through the ranks holding several positions including, Managing Partner of the firm’s Chicago office, Co-head of the firm's investment Banking Division, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Co-Senior partner.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Paulson was a member of the White House Domestic Council, serving as Staff Assistant to the President from 1972 to 1973, and as Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon from 1970 to 1972.

Paulson graduated from Dartmouth in 1968, where he majored in English, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and an All Ivy, All East football player. He received an M.B.A. from Harvard in 1970. He and his wife, Wendy, have two children, Amanda and Merritt.

The Failout Plan - Part One

Text of Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan

Published: September 20, 2008 (In the New York Times)

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

TO PURCHASE 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.

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.

Good Job. Roger That.

Check this out!

Tell me what you think...

Another Disgusting Twist in the Palin Tail, er, Tale

This article has me severely disturbed. Women everywhere should be infuriated that she identifies herself as a member of our gender...

What does Sarah Palin have against rape victims? Better yet, what does Sarah Palin have against women???

I'm so mad about this, I don't know where to start. I agree with the writer:

"In the absence of answers, speculation is bubbling in the blogosphere that Wasilla’s policy of billing rape victims may have something to do with Ms. Palin’s extreme opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape. Sexual-assault victims are typically offered an emergency contraception pill, which some people in the anti-choice camp wrongly equate with abortion."

I wonder if Sarah Palin (we'll just call "her" Dexter for the time being) is one of those wackos who thinks that victims of rape "asked for it" or brought the crime upon themselves? He doesn't fancy the idea of abortion in the case of rape (or incest, for that matter), so I guess I can't say it comes as a complete shock that he would punish rape victims by making them pay for assistance in the investigation.

This line is equally disturbing:

"Mr. Croft further noted that right after his measure became law, Wasilla’s local paper reported that Ms. Palin’s handpicked police chief, Charlie Fannon, acknowledged the practice of billing to collect evidence for sexual-assault cases. He complained that the state was requiring the town to spend $5,000 to $14,000 a year to cover the costs. 'I just don’t want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer,' the chief explained."

Hmm... interesting... Why not seek to prevent rape so that nobody has to suffer? How much rape is going on in this measly little town anyway?

Dexter is not depicting the people of Wasilla as the sharpest tools in the shed. They're not even in the shed at this point. They elected a nut job who tried to censor their libraries, essentially charged rape victims a fee for being raped, and deemed it prudent to install a tanning bed in the governor's mansion.

As this whole Dexter thing unravels, I wonder why he's still rearing his ugly head in public. Why haven't the McCain people wised up and realized that this lunatic is further damaging his campaign for presidency?

It's baffling.

Photo of the Day

Muppets + Presidential Debate = A Good Time

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/09/26/opinion/26suboped_ready.html

Quote of the Week

Disclaimer: This is not the Quote of the Week because it is brilliantly irreverent like some of the others. This is the QOTW because it is brilliantly moronic and incoherent.

" . . . where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh -- it's got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that."

Sarah Palin, Slayer of the Moose Knuckle

Read more of this tomfoolery here.

A Good Blog

A friend at work sent this blog over to me today. I think it's a wonderful idea!

Do you think that the polls are lying? Are women REALLY switching over to McCrazy? I disagree... wholeheartedly.

Sorry... This one Might be the Best

This video made my eyes water from trying to hold in my laughter at work today...



Old, Grizzled Third-Party Candidate May Steal Support From McCain

Video of the ... Day? Week?

I dunno what to call this, besides hilarious...


Portrayal Of Obama As Elitist Hailed As Step Forward For African Americans

In Need of a Muse...

So, I'm so tired of looking at that crazy header I created one day as a bored intern. I am in the process of updating my header... Maybe I'll blog later...

Quote of the Week

I just love Obama...

Here's just another reason why.

And here is the Quote of the Week:

He [Obama] finished with a dismissive comment about his opponents.

"These people."

My 100th Post!

I've been contemplating for a few days now what I would like to write about for this 100th blog, and it came to me this morning on my drive to work...

You know, even though I've got this blog that doesn't get a lot of traffic, I can still use it for the greater good. I could have chosen to blog about a pet, entertainment news, partying, the list goes on, but instead I chose to focus on politics (for the most part).

When discussing politics, I think it's important to welcome opinions from both sides of the fence, and even from the cracks in between. Listening to other opinions helps to make for a stronger defense of your own opinion sometimes, and other times, it may open your eyes to a different way of thinking and may even alter your initial opinion.

So? Get to the point, you may be thinking now, or maybe even yelling out loud...

************************************

So, I've been dealing with the slap in the face that is Sarah Palin for nearly two weeks now. I asked myself the other day, does this woman really deserve all of this attention?? Sadly, yes, because I don't think that everyone out there realizes what would befall this great nation should this ticket be chosen to lead this country; however, I feel that the MSM and even bloggers have become too wrapped up in this obsession with Palin that they (we) have allowed other real issues to fall by the wayside. Reading the Daily Kos yesterday, I was reminded of an issue that so affected me last election cycle...

My First Chance to Vote in the General Election... Almost...

Back in my sophomore year of college, I was so excited to get to participate in the political process for the first time ever. Registered as "unaffiliated" in the great state of Maryland (hey, after what happened in 2000 - my sophomore year in high school where my National, State, and Local Government class analyzed the states and came up with Gore winning - why would I affiliate myself with either of the "dominant" political parties?), I was unable to vote in the primaries (we have closed primaries). Since I was attending a college in New York, there was no way I would be able to go home to vote in the elections (we were in the heart of volleyball season, and I was in school), so I applied for an absentee ballot. See, I didn't believe in the whole "I can't make it, so I'm not voting" bull that some of my acquaintances were pulling. My roommate (who is from Florida, ironically) and I were just so excited that we could still participate in our first general election. See, we had faith in the system. We thought that we would receive our absentee ballots, which we'd applied for WELL in advance. The weeks passed, and still no ballots. I called to follow-up, and they had allegedly been sent. Allegedly. Not in actuality.

When the elections finally came, and I STILL hadn't received my absentee ballot, I was beyond peeved. I was furious. I watched in absolute horror as Chimpy took the election once again. I heard about all of the shenanigans that surrounded that election, including the purge of voter lists, random pull-overs by the police for Black voters headed to the polls, etc. It was one of the first times in my life that I realized that the good guy doesn't always win, or at least in this case, the lesser of two evils.

Even though I learned this tough life lesson, I still fight for the good guy. I still fight for my rights. I still believe in voting. I still believe in the political process.

When I read articles about how the voter lists are being purged yet again, I wonder when we are going to see the coverage this issue deserves. It doesn't matter if Sarah Palin is running if nobody is going to be voting anyway. We need to make sure this election is legit, for all of the college students out there voting for the first time, and for the sake of our country's image in the international arena.

I'm praying for you, America!

Holy Apocalypse Batman!

After reading this article on CNN, I realized that I did none of the things I planned to do before dying (which, after reading the article, leads me to believe that it may be on or around this Wednesday). I know one thing... my team better win their first and last match today!

So, yeah. Pretty disturbing. I particularly love this quote from the article:

"You're talking about such incredible power inside both the accelerator and detectors that you never really know until you turn it all on what's going to happen," he said.

How comforting! I can take a few guesses.

1. I will turn to dust.
2. You will turn to dust.
3. The Earth will turn to dust.

I really don't understand why this experiment is necessary. As one person pointed out, "We still don't get it. Millions of people living in poverty, babies dying from preventable diseases. And we spend $9 Billion to learn more about the Big Bang? Shame on us - we deserve to be swallowed by a black hole."

I concur.

Really, is this what we're all about these days? Trying to disprove religion? Last time I checked, humans didn't exist immediately after this alleged Big Bang. What makes us think we'll exist after this loony experiment? Why don't we try to put more money into research that is actually pertinent these days. I dunno, things such as ending the genocide in Sudan (which people thought ended when the Olympics started), finding the cure for cancer, educating people on HIV/AIDS, not electing Republicans -- these are things that matter!

I'd like to see what others think. Comments?

Oh Hell Yes

I, like many other people, am tired of hearing all of this nonsensical talk about people being sexist towards Sarah Palin. I'm sorry. I thought this was called using common sense and figuring out that someone is incapable of being our next president because, let's face it, Big Ol' Mac is on his last breaths (what with battling cancer and being older than Methuselah). Thank you, Mr. Stewart, for demonstrating the REAL double-standard - that if Dems play the gender card, they are whining, but if the GOP plays it, they're keeping it real...

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card

Quote of the Week

There are no Republican "reformers." Just different flavors of crooks. This one just happens to be salmon jerky.

- Daily Kos