“… I guarantee you we are safer today, our interests are more secure today than they were any time during the eight years” of the Bush administration.

Just how stupid this is is proved by some terrifying examples below the fold, and makes me deeply concerned that Obama et al. are not sufficiently concerned and proactive:

How in the hell can you claim that, Joe? No one – no one – can predict what might be ’round the bend.

Further, besides our perilous economic circumstances, our military is stretched to the breaking point and Obama feels he can’t even afford to send the number of troops that the military itself is requesting be dispatched to Afghanistan.

A couple weeks ago, everyone was atwitter over the crises in Mexico, filled with fear that drug cartel gangs would invade our country and create murder and mayhem. (Of course, as soon as the media had done their stories, and checked out of the border cities’ Marriotts, that story died and nobody’s worrying about that crisis anymore.)

But the point is that we don’t know what might occur tomorrow, or what crisis might seize and hold the attention of the nation.

We have North Korea firing off a missile with complete freedom and no penalties, proving Obama’s weakness in relying on the United Nations and not taking strong U.S. action.

We have Iran building redundant underground (bunker-bomb-proof) nuclear facilities across its nation so that no attack can end their program to build a nuclear bomb. If Iran gets the bomb, do you think that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and perhaps other nations might not be far behind? And you’re CLAIMING that we’re “safer today”???

For example, there’s this highly disturbing story from Lou Dobbs’s blog at CNN, under “Issues That Matter“:

Red Storm Rising: Selling Nuclear Material to Iran
The Manhattan district attorney has uncovered a plot by a Chinese national to sell millions of dollars in potential nuclear material to Iran. The Chinese national used a false identity and set up four fake companies to do business with six Iranian shell firms. Several banks in New York were used, unwittingly, to make the deals.

And how about this terrifying doozy?!?!?!

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies, Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2009:

WASHINGTON — Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven’t sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

“The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid,” said a senior intelligence official. “So have the Russians.”

The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn’t target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. “There are intrusions, and they are growing,” the former official said, referring to electrical systems. “There were a lot last year.” … READ ALL of the well-research, highly disturbing Wall Street Journal article and check out the related posts and stories listed at Memeorandum.

Joe, shut the f–k up. And take a look around our own country. This report isn’t good news: “Boom in Gun Sales Fueled by Politics and the Economy.” That’s on your watch, Joe.

While you’re jawing, Joe, here’s the worker working to truly make us safer:

From the State Dept.’s announcement on this important collaboration, given both countries’ number of seaports:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully signed on April 7, 2009, an arrangement for cooperation on nonproliferation assistance. This arrangement supports collaborative work between the United States and New Zealand to secure nuclear and radioactive materials that could be used in a nuclear or radiological weapon and to detect and deter illicit trafficking in these materials by improving monitoring capabilities at priority border crossings, airports, and seaports. …

Also check out DipNotes, the State Department’s blog, with numerous entries about Hillary’s progressive steps around the world.

Oh, readers, here’s the video if you must punish yourself:

Former Australian Prime Minister and Treasurer Paul Keating

Well, Mr. Keating has spoken again and I am listening to him very closely as I strongly believe I am more educated and informed as a result. Our domestic officials and media outlets should take heed.

In an article published in this past Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald, Obama’s Economic Saviour Savaged as Keating Let’s Rip. Keating offers a piercing review of then Treasury Officer Geithner’s structuring of an IMF led rescue plan of the Southeast Asian crisis in 1997-98.

For those unaware, many countries in SE Asia had massive infusions of foreign capital in the form of debt to facilitate infrastructure development. Geithner and then IMF Chief Michael Camdessus structured a plan that injected $200 billion dollars in the form of IMF loans to refloat the economy. Keating maintains that Geithner and Camdessus totally misdiagnosed the problem and in turn the solution.

Keating further maintains that the manner in which that package was handled dramatically impacted the way Asian countries have managed their finances since. The massive surpluses emanating from that region have been a major factor in the massive capital inflows into the U.S. over the last ten years. We do not need to replay that disaster.

I sincerely appreciate the integrity displayed by Paul Keating in connecting the dots.

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!!

LD

**Cross-posted from my blog, Sense on Cents. Come by and visit!

Just to help put a broader perspective on the problems of America and the Earth in general, here’s a video entitled “ANDROMEDA” that focuses on the Cosmos, of which the Earth is such an infinitesimally small part. Whatever happens on the surface of our planet, it continues to spin through space just as it has been doing for millions and millions of years. From that point of view, nothing has changed.

Some other things that have not changed, in spite of the recession and the election, are:

* America (and the world in general) has the same productive capabilities that existed before the onset of the recession. While many companies are being forced to lay off workers because of the downturn in demand for their products, and some may close, what remains is the innate ability to produce these and newer products.

* Technology continues to advance, even in a recession and without a Grand Project like Star Wars to accelerate it, and new technological advances will help to increase productive capabilities, as well as help increase energy production and conservation, improve household and personal appliances, and manufacturing possibilities.

* America’s housing and general real estate portfolio remains the same as it was before the recession, even though the generally depressed economic circumstances have reduced the perceived value of the nation’s properties. I emphasize the word “perceived” because such values are always relative, influenced by psychology and fashion (”location, location, location”) as well as general economic circumstances, rather than the intrinsic cost of developing properties. America still has the greatest real estate in the world with the best “location” in being in the United States itself. It also has the most affordable housing if you compare it with most other advanced countries. Property prices, as well as stock prices for many companies, are now artificially low.

* America retains its greatest twin strengths – its infrastructure and its ability to mobilize people and resources more effectively than any other country in the world.

* The USA remains the most resilient country in the world with the hardest-working people. Whether or not that resilience will be dampened by political decisions remains to be seen.

* The country’s permanent, residual strengths vastly outweigh any temporary weaknesses or imbalances.

The markets and economy remain turbulent. Economies overseas are also in the midst of stormy weather.

Banks are flooded with bad loans. The auto industry is praying for an Obama lifeline!

Residential housing and commercial real estate continue to take on water.

Where can you go to get away and make some “sense” of this madness? Central Station has a train departing at 9am that will take your questions and comments on the markets, economy, and world of finance at large.

Your conductor, LD, is not a professional financial planner but is a Wall Street veteran.

Bring your coffee, invite a friend, settle down as you’re amongst friends here. Selling nothing other than honest opinions and advice. We’ll be departing momentarily…….so….

Aaaaaaaaaal Aboard!!

Senator Clinton Calls for New Stimulus to Boost Economy and Help Those Hardest Hit by Recession, Calls for Investments in Infrastructure, Green Jobs, Mortgage Relief, Aid to Cities and States, and Extending Unemployment Insurance

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called for a comprehensive new stimulus package to jump start the ailing economy. In a letter to President Bush and Senate leaders, Senator Clinton outlined a series of measures that would protect those Americans hit hardest by the recession and put the nation on the road to recovery.

The text of her letter to the President follows:

November 11, 2008

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Our economy has lost more than one million jobs this year alone. The scope and scale of the economic challenges facing the American people are vast. Businesses, large and small, are struggling to secure financing to survive. Families cannot find affordable mortgages and consumer loans. The housing crisis, which has already wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars in home equity and even more in investment losses, grows deeper every day, with another wave of foreclosures looming.

The State of New York is the epicenter of this crisis. New York projects that more than 160,000 New Yorkers will lose their jobs as a result of the economic downturn. A recent analysis estimates that New York City will lose almost 30,000 construction jobs by 2010, in addition to the tens of thousands of jobs already lost to turmoil on Wall Street.

We are in a recession which demands decisive action. I believe that in order to stimulate this economy, we need to get people working, earning, and building – not just spending. We have borrowed hundreds of billions that have gone to banks and financial institutions and borrowed tens of billions more to energize the economy, yet the economic downturn has continued and the financial turmoil has worsened. What is clear is that any action we take – especially as we borrow more money to do so – must pay off in the near and long term. That is what America does best: we can address this crisis while preparing for our future.

However, we do have immediate needs that cannot wait between now and when the next Congress and the next President takes office. And although your Administration has voiced skepticism about the need for a stimulus bill, I believe that the current conditions call for a coordinated response now.

The most recent jobs report, indicating another 240,000 jobs lost last month and the worst unemployment rate in 14 years, shows that steps need to be taken to shore up the safety net as millions of Americans continue the search for work. Expanding Unemployment Insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would not only provide relief to those hit hardest by our economic downturn, it would also spur economic activity as this money is immediately spent. New York alone has hundreds of thousands of people who will face the unemployment line and the loss of their food assistance during this economic downturn.

In the midst of one of the greatest fiscal crises to hit our states, an increase in the Medicaid FMAP rate would help prevent further and deeper cuts to health care and other essential services like education, child care and public safety. Rising demand for health insurance coverage through Medicaid due to increasing job loss is straining state budgets, and the federal government should act to help ease this growing burden on our states.

It is also increasingly clear that we need to take steps now that not only mitigate the fallout, but also begin putting the nation on the path towards recovery. That is why I believe the stimulus we pursue should focus on rebuilding our infrastructure and building a new, clean energy economy. Stimulus should focus on putting people back to work by investing in infrastructure and green jobs. That is how we can restore our prosperity today and ensure it in the future.

So I am proposing, among other steps, that we speed investments in infrastructure, including $410 million in New York roads, bridges, and transit systems, as well as training for new jobs in the clean energy economy, or “green collar jobs.” A federal investment in our infrastructure serves the dual purpose of modernizing our country’s deteriorating roads, bridges, and transit systems while stimulating the economy. Investing in these projects will create tens of thousands of good paying jobs. More than 40 highway, transit and rail projects are “shovel-ready” in New York alone.

I am also proposing an investment in training programs to prepare a new green workforce for the clean energy jobs of the future. I believe we can create at least five million green collar jobs – and we can speed the creation of those jobs while also training displaced workers to fill them in the very short term.

The next wave of foreclosures looms, and we should address it immediately. It is critical that we modify unworkable mortgages into clear and stable terms if we are to prevent the bottom of the housing market from falling even further. I have proposed HOME, the Home Owners Mortgage Enterprise, based on the successful program enacted during the New Deal which not only saved one million homes but also turned a profit for the Treasury. We should continue focusing on initiatives large and bold enough to meet the scale of the challenges presented by the faltering housing market.

The road to recovery will be difficult. But it is imperative that we take these urgent and important steps to kick-start the economy and hasten a return to prosperity that is shared and strengthens the middle class. I ask that you work with congressional leaders in developing a comprehensive stimulus package that the Congress can pass next week to reach your desk immediately thereafter.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

cc: Majority Leader Harry Reid
Senator Robert C. Byrd
Senator Daniel Inouye

Take a good look. That’s leadership: the difference between a work horse and a show horse. Not for glory. No headlines. For the American people. It is still heartbreaking that we are being deprived of someone so caring and capable at the helm.

I know some are angry that Senator Clinton went out and campaigned for Barack Obama. But before anyone starts any Hillary bashing, this woman has been fighting on behalf of the Democratic Party for over 35 years. Severely outspent, in debt, with the press lynching her daily and her own party actively pushing and rigging it for the other guy, she did what she had to do to live to fight another day. Furthermore, she kept her word to the American people to fight for the Democratic nominee and a Democratic agenda.

I know that President-elect Obama has reversed himself on his policies and associations at lightning fast speed, so giving his word may not mean anything. But I do know to her, it means everything. It may seem an irritating quality at times. If I give my word, I don’t break it. Ever. My word is my bond.

Furthermore, had Hillary behaved any differently and shunned the Party, rest assured her crucifixion would have followed. Just witness the disgraceful treatment Governor Palin is receiving as we speak if you doubt this.

I will not second guess her. I just observe that Hillary is still out there “putting her shoes on” and doing her job. And while I may wish she had acted differently these last couple of months, I am certainly glad to have her earnest and dedicated voice in the Senate, still working on our behalf.

Notice, too, Senator Clinton is asking for action to be taken immediately, unlike Obama who is basically saying ‘it’s Bush’s mess ’til I get here in a couple of months.’ Where are his immediate solutions? Suggestions? He is not even planning on attending the emergency economic summit later in the week, but sending surrogates in his stead. If I were set to take over in a couple of months — I’d want to show up and keep my ears open and learn something.

People are hurting right now. It doesn’t matter which administration gets the credit. Help is required for the American people. Scorekeeping is not the issue. Hillary gets that.

Thank you so much Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Dean, Senator Reid, Senators Byrd, Kerry, Kennedy, McCaskill, Rockefeller and the rest of the backstabbers for throwing this good lady under the bus and instead, leaving us with Mr. Hopey Changey who seems to think it’s more important he choose a puppy for his daughters right now.

How’s that working out for ya’?

“Hillary took to the floor of the Senate today to lay out her plan for halting the economic meltdown, and her Senate staff has the video of her speech up online. … [L]isten to what she’s got to say. She’s speaking about what needs to be done NOW to address the economic meltdown taking place up on Wall Street this week. She talks in detail for over 20 minutes and dammit, it just breaks my heart that someone this capable and brilliant isn’t headed to the White House this fall.”

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: Ricki Lieberman and Ann, a No Quarter reader, strongly suggest you compare the video that NancyA has posted below with, ahem, Barack Obama’s video on “solving our financial crisis.” Obama urges everyone to “watch the ad and share it with everyone you know.” Uh, Barack, I think we’ll be sharing Hillary’s video that NancyA put up below.

…………………………………………………………

NANCYA’s post: While Senators John McCain and Barack Obama were auditioning for who could best handle a national economic emergency, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton released the following statement from her office in Washington, DC. As usual Senator Clinton understands the dangers of this “once in a century” crisis. She calls it “the greatest market upheaval since the Great Depression”. She did the following:

…called for swift and strong action to stem the growing credit crisis on Wall Street. Assailing the Bush Administration for ignoring repeated warnings of the growing crisis and failing to provide adequate oversight of an increasingly complicated market, Senator Clinton offered a series of bold, specific proposals, including creating a new version of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) to restore confidence in the market, curbing the most damaging and manipulative trading practices, providing relief to homeowners facing foreclosure, and reasserting competent federal oversight.

She outlined several proposals. Here is a list of her proposals:

* Create a new entity to buy up and quarantine toxic mortgage securities that are dragging down the markets which would allow the markets to stabilize. Last spring Senator Clinton was among the first to call for a new entity modeled after the successful Depression-era Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) or the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) created after the Savings and Loan crisis.

In response, Senator Clinton outlined a series of proposals to address the crisis, a crisis she warned about during the primary:

* Place a temporary moratorium on the most abusive stock transactions, many of which involve the “short-selling” of stocks. Yesterday, Senator Clinton wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging such a moratorium, saying it would provide breathing room for the markets to recover, for investors to make accurate assessments of companies and for regulators to assess what trading practices should be permanently banned.

* Convene an emergency economic summit to show the American people their government is working together. Bringing together leaders in the administration and Congress with lenders, consumer advocates, non profits, financial institutions, and all stakeholders will allow a coordinated response to the crisis.

* Aggressively pursue and encourage mortgage modifications. Senator Clinton has introduced legislation to remove barriers to mortgage modification and to encourage lenders to voluntarily work with borrowers to keep them current on payments and in their homes.

* Restore competent federal oversight of the increasingly complicated financial markets. The rapid evolution of the securities and banking industry overwhelmed the current regulatory framework, resulting in a “shadow banking system” that operates outside of oversight and without accountability.

* Require transparency and accountability on executive pay. Senator Clinton has proposed the Corporate Executive Compensation Accountability and Transparency Act to impose new transparency rules on executive pay, end the accounting techniques that hide compensation, and provide shareholders a say in executive compensation packages.

* Ensure the accountability of financial institutions borrowing money from the Federal Reserve’s new lending facilities. Taxpayers deserve to know that the companies they are bailing out are on the road to recovery and aren’t throwing more good money after bad.

Here is video of her remarks to the Senate yesterday:

The transcript of Senator Clinton’s remarks follows.

Senator Clinton: Thank You, Mr. President. We have seen the financial landscape in our country reshaped over night. The titans of Wall Street have been rendered insolvent or even bankrupt. These are firms that survived the Great Depression, World Wars, the attacks of September 11th, but were no match for a mounting credit crisis allowed to escalate in the shadows of our financial system. The Federal Government has taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bear Stearns had to be rescued by J.P. Morgan Chase after the federal government guaranteed J.P. Morgan’s investment. And while they’re in talks to keep part of the company viable, Lehman Brothers has declared the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Merrill Lynch has been purchased by Bank of America and the Federal Government has agreed to rescue AIG. This past Monday we saw the largest drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 9/11. Now even money market funds are affected. For only the second time in our history, one has been valued at less than 100 cents on the dollar. Alan Greenspan has called this a once-in-a-century event. In my state of New York, tens of thousands of hard-working employees have lost their jobs. And the livelihoods of tens of thousands more who depend on Wall Street’s economy are threatened as well.

New York City and New York State, already facing serious economic and fiscal challenges, will now be forced to contend with a battered Wall Street, the lifeblood of our state’s economy. And the sudden collapse of these firms and the government takeover of some have shaken our markets and buffeted the economy as a whole.

Many are now asking, What’s next?

I know that New Yorkers and Americans are deeply concerned and more than a little bewildered. As our markets have grown more complex and interconnected globally, so too have the crises that have emerged. And we are still sorting out the details.

One of the consequences of the secrecy and lack of oversight under the Bush Administration is that we do not know what we do not know. But it is important to recognize what we do know about what went wrong so that we can assess what needs to be done right now to make it right.

What we have seen over the course of the last eight years is an administration that refused to recognize the threats lurking in our economy, no matter what lurked just beneath the surface or what problems were facing middle class families.

Now, we know that many CEO’s are paying lower tax rates than their receptionists. We know that President Bush and those who carry his mantle seek to lower those taxes even further. Middle class families have seen their wages decline even as the cost of living has skyrocketed. This administration has the worst job creation record in 70 years. Millions of families were locked into ballooning and unaffordable adjustable-rate loans as this administration stood by denying there was a crisis. Regulators and regulations designed to keep pace with the markets have been steadily chipped away by Washington Republicans even as companies experimented to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars in ever more complex and risky financial instruments.

Now, we were reassured that the risk was too diversified and investments too sophisticated to put our economy in jeopardy. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the cracks were showing as the value of mortgage-based securities slipped day by day by day. And the President and his supporters in Congress repeatedly chanted – and still chant the mantra today – that the fundamentals of our economy are strong.

The administration waxed philosophical when middle class families started facing foreclosures at record levels. The administration and their allies derided my proposals over the last two years to offer assistance to troubled homeowners seeking refinancing as a bailout. They dismissed my concerns and the concerns of millions of Americans even as the storm clouds gathered. They said they didn’t believe the government should intervene and provide borrowers an affordable opportunity to avoid foreclosure. Even when I and others warned the Bush Administration repeatedly from the start of this crisis that decisive action was demanded immediately to help families stay in their homes, that that was the best way to stave off a deepening economic crisis, their only responses were predictions for a soft landing and that the crisis could be contained.

Well, as I traveled throughout our country, I could see that no soft landing was forthcoming.

Many families, hundreds and even thousands of miles from Wall Street, were having their lives turned upside-down by the home mortgage crisis, and the ripple effects being felt throughout the economy, as a consequence of the broken economic policies of the last eight years.

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration waited until this past summer to admit that massive housing relief was necessary. The administration finally supported in concept much of what I had proposed: mortgage modifications, freezes for unreasonable mortgage rate increases, and an expanded role for the Federal Housing authority.

But their response was half-hearted, without adequate resources or a commitment to enforcement. And so the home mortgage crisis slowly but surely eroded the value of risky debt instruments upon which Wall Street firms were depending. The house of houses of cards began to fall. My proposals, as well as those of others, were greeted as too much, too soon. Now we are forced to reckon with too little, too late.

When giant Wall Street firms revealed their dire straits and turned to this administration for the exact same help as we had sought for middle-class families — discounted loans, loan modifications and government-backed lending to weather the storm, Adam Smith was nowhere in sight.

Taxpayers have loaned these banks upwards of half a trillion dollars. And after years of laissez-faire policies for the middle class, the Bush Administration has acted on behalf of Wall Street with the largest and most significant federal interventions in the history of our modern financial system. The largest banks in the world can have closed-door meetings with the White House and the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to discuss their bailout options, but millions of homeowners with mortgages worth more than their homes, or who are facing default and foreclosure, don’t have the same opportunity.

And this administration seems to be once again paralyzed.

Now, I represent both the workers and the homeowners and the investment firms. I wish we had taken action long before this for the sake of all of my constituents, but now we must have a concerted, focused effort. I don’t believe we can wait until the next president. I am extremely hopeful and optimistic that we will have a president who will work with us to resolve our economic challenges, but I don’t think we can wait.

However, I do believe we can avoid a deepening crisis. We can take steps right now to address the root causes of what is taking place in our economy to stem the tide of foreclosures and mortgage defaults and the aggregating consequences in the credit markets on Wall Street and throughout the global economy.

But we must cast aside the haphazard, half-hearted approach of this administration and bring every stakeholder to the table to seek out and implement the right solutions. We must be as vigilant on behalf of homeowners and middle class families as we are on behalf of Wall Street firms. We must chart a new course based on the facts at hand, not the ideology at work for eight long years. We’ve tried being reactive. It’s time now to be decisive.

No options should be off the fable, certainly not because they don’t fit into a narrow ideological prism that this administration abandoned — for some — at the first signs of trouble. Ideologues in Washington or in the market who thought that the only danger to the marketplace was the Federal Government are now going hat in hand to that same government seeking help to stay afloat.

So to those who suggest that the steps taken thus far are enough, let me be clear: we may need to take even more significant steps to avoid a self-sustaining cycle of depressed home prices and foreclosures with the consequent effects on the entire marketplace.

We’ve already pumped hundreds of billions of dollars of liquidity into the markets but we still cannot see the end of this crisis. The biggest problem now is that our entire financial market is anchored down by the mortgage securities that are untouchable. We’ve seen the banks and the financial institutions that had the largest exposures to these instruments among the first to fail. But now we’ve begun to see some of the mightiest institutions, even those making a profit, fall by the wayside, the market thrown into upheaval, and others the target of predatory short sellers.

The Federal Reserve has used virtually every arrow in its quiver, from rate cuts, opening its lending windows and in desperation has even created some new arrows through its new lending facilities. By some estimates, the Fed has put out more than a half a trillion dollars through discounted loans, bailouts and takeovers to stabilize the market and the economy. While necessary to prevent even deeper disaster, we’ve seen that the benefits of these actions have had limited effects.

This situation reminds me of that old fable, where people are standing by the side of a river and they keep seeing babies being rushed down the river in the current and they desperately reach out trying to save as many babies as possible. Day after day they’re reaching out. They get new tools, they build a bridge, they get a ladder, they’re constantly trying to get to those babies. They’re hoping that they can save as many, until finally somebody walks up and says, “Who’s throwing them in? Go upriver, find out what the real problem is and stop that!”

The real problem has always been the way our home mortgage system got totally out of whack with new kinds of instruments that were sold many times over with very little regard to the realities of life, human nature, and the inevitable ups and downs in the economy, with the results that until we reach in and fix the home mortgage crisis, we can bail out everybody from here till kingdom come, we will not get a handle on this economic crisis.

So here’s what I believe we should do.

First, in light of historic bank failures, even with the largest federal intervention in the history of the mortgage market, we need a government entity, a modern-day Homeowners Loan Corporation, referred to as HOLC — H-O-L-C — or we need to build on the Resolution Trust Corporation created to help deal with the Savings and Loan Crisis.

Now, I personally believe and was among the very first to suggest that a HOLC, a Homeowners Loan Corporation, could be a preferable way of unfreezing and beginning to fix our struggling mortgage market. Some of my colleagues and many other respected economists and government officials have called for the creation of an entity like the Resolution Trust Corporation, which was created after the Savings and Loan crisis to liquidate in an orderly way the virtually worthless assets that the failed S&L’s held.

Just yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, Paul Volker, and Eugene Ludwig and Nicholas Brady made such a proposal. They said a HOLC, an RTC, we’ve got to come up with an entity that will assume these debts and burdens and begin to work our way out.

Last spring when I called for a modern version of the HOLC, that’s the Depression-era entity that bought up old mortgages and issued new, more affordable ones in their stead, most people did not pay much attention. But I think it’s important to note that by the time the HOLC closed its books, that agency had turned a small profit and helped over a million people keep their homes. And this was 70 years ago. Our population has grown dramatically. So, obviously, if we did it right, we would be able to save a lot of homes. And I think if it is administered correctly it could be actually a net expenditure or even winner for the federal government.

Now, with the FHA reforms that I have long championed adopted this summer in our Omnibus Housing Bill, the FHA could be already a modern Homeownership Lender Corporation. But we need to look to new ways to revive and if necessary create a new market for mortgage securities based on sound accounting, transparent recordkeeping and responsible lending.

A new government entity like the HOLC with a focus on attacking the source of the problem can serve the purpose of clearing a lot of those toxic mortgage securities from the market. We know there will not be any semblance of a normal or orderly marketplace until we have found a way to resolve these mortgage securities that are metastasizing in the bottom of our markets. By taking this paper out of the market and quarantining it in this new entity we will be able to give the market breathing room to recover. We will also be able to set the stage for an orderly sale of these securities and in turn allow some of them to recover and actually regain some of their value. Perhaps just as importantly, not only would our financial markets stabilize but so would our housing markets.

This is an extraordinary measure but it is not without precedent. This is the greatest market upheaval since the Great Depression. We are, indeed, in a crisis, and in times of crisis there are opportunities for leadership. Congress could show the American people that leadership working with the President by embracing this bold proposal.

Second, I’m calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to take immediate action to address the abusive and manipulative short-selling practices that are rattling the markets, threatening firms and jobs and sending shockwaves across the broader economy. I commend the SEC for yesterday tightening rules against manipulative short-selling. The SEC’s rulings are a positive step in curbing the heightened volatility casting uncertainty on domestic markets and financial institutions. However, the Commission did not go far enough.

As a Senator from New York, I have a special duty to represent the workers of the financial services industry and to try with all my might to retain New York City as the financial capital of the world. The abuses that have disrupted the markets today will impact the lives of so many far beyond New York.

So I think it’s necessary for the SEC to take steps similar to the emergency rule it imposed this past July when the Commission concluded that there now exists a substantial threat of sudden and excessive fluctuations of security prices generally, and disruption in the functioning of the securities markets that could threaten fair and orderly markets.

Conditions now pose a greater threat than they did in July, and several of the institutions that the Commission sought to insulate from abuse do not even exist or certainly not in the in the same form that they did two months ago.

So we need to stay a step ahead, not a step behind. So I urge the Commission, as I expressed yesterday in a letter to Chairman Cox, to move toward a temporary moratorium on all of the abusive and manipulative short-sale practices associated with substantial financial firms like those the Commission identified in July. A temporary moratorium would allow the marketplace to take a step back, take a deep breath, and it would allow the Commission and other regulators to identify and weed out the sources of these abusive transactions.

Moreover the Commission should give close consideration to the many calls for the immediate restoration of the uptick rule, whose repeal has been linked to the recent market volatility and proliferation. I know there are technical problems in terms of moving toward digitized trading but we ought to be able to figure out how to handle those.

Third, I’m calling on President Bush to convene an economic summit right now that brings together leaders in the administration, the Congress, with lenders, consumer advocates, nonprofits, financial institutions and all the stakeholders. Such a summit, I believe, would restore confidence, demonstrate that the entire country is focused on solving the problem we face.

Fourth, I want to propose, once again, that we aggressively pursue and encourage mortgage modifications. I’ve introduced such legislation. I believe it’s important. Ten million homeowners are under water today carrying more than $2 trillion in mortgage debt. That is a huge anchor on our markets and economy. Modification, done right, is a strategy that serves lenders and borrowers as well as the broader markets.

Fifth, it is clear that for too long the rapid evolution of the securities and banking industry overwhelmed our regulatory framework resulting in an entire shadow banking system that operated outside of oversight and without accountability. It’s not enough just to shift responsibility or move lines on a flowchart. We need a new regulatory framework. We’ve been living off of the one from the Great Depression. Now is the time to create a new framework.

Six, I proposed the Corporate Executive Compensation Accountability and Transparency Act to impose new transparency rules on executive pay and the accounting techniques, the high compensation, and provide shareholders a say in executive compensation packages.

Finally, and seventh, I’m proposing that we require any financial institutions borrowing money from the Federal Reserve’s new lending facilities to open their books and ensure accountability and transparency to identify unsound practices. These banks and other entities have tapped the Fed’s new lending windows levels for over $300 billion in capital. They’ve shifted a lot of that risk onto the backs of our taxpayers. These are unprecedented interventions and we should make sure that these companies aren’t using taxpayer dollars to subsidize golden parachutes or risky investments, throwing your good money after bad. If we’re bailing you out we deserve to know exactly your liabilities. And you have to be part of this new regulatory framework.

This crisis has not abated. It’s time for us to start acting like Americans again. There isn’t anything we can’t solve once we put our minds to it. For that we need leadership. I know that our leader, Senator Reid, has said that the Senate will remain in pro forma session. We are ready to work with the administration, to work with the other stakeholders to change course and end the failed economic policies and failure of regulatory oversight that brought us to this point.

Now there’s much more, Madam President, that we need to do. Individuals have to take responsibility. We know that. But in this dynamic environment we must work together to stabilize the market, tackle the root causes that have festered too long, and restore confidence in our economy.

We’ll weather this storm but let’s do it sooner instead of later. Let’s try to save as many boats in the water right now instead of cleaning up the wreckage on the banks. I believe we can do that, and I thank you, Madam President, for your attention, and I hope that we’ll be able to start seeing action very soon. Thank you, and I yield the floor.

After watching the video of her remarks and reading the transcript, I sit here wondering why she isn’t our Democratic presidential candidate. And I remember the sadness and hole in my heart that I felt when I returned home from Montana and knew I would not see her as our candidate or our president this year.

Together4US

I want a Democrat in the White House. At the Convention, the sole job of the delegates will be to select the person who is electable in November.

That person is Hillary Clinton. During the primary process BO did not “close the deal” with primary voters. The more voters got to know BO, the more votes Senator Clinton received. By the time she suspended, not ended, her campaign, she led in the popular vote, in the blue states and swing states needed to win the Electoral College, and in the polls against McCain.

She won convincingly wherever one-person-one-vote was the principle of the voting process; she did not prevail in the caucuses – one of the least democratic voting methods imaginable – no secret ballot, limited access, no absentee ballots…

Senator Clinton has the best, most progressive stance on issues of importance to Democrats – truly universal, affordable health care; sensible mortgage relief to avoid the dissolution of our communities; universal pre-k and greater access to high education; energy independence; investments in infrastructure, urban regeneration, stem cell research and other scientific explorations… she has the connections to and the admiration of the world leaders and populations desperate for strong leadership from the United States…

We know Senator Clinton’s record, her ability to bring people together, her intelligence, humor, and that she is a caring person who has worked unceasingly for women, children and families. We know that she understands the issues and nuances of the middle east and has been a proven friend of Israel and other democratic allies.

We know so little of BO, other than he rose meteorically from the south side of Chicago politics, and gives a good speech.

We know that he stood by silently as the media and his own campaign degraded women and the candidacy of Senator Clinton. We know that he encouraged undemocratic practices such as snatching votes and delegates in Florida and Michigan. We know that his associates and friends are not those we would be comfortable bringing home to mother.

Clinton delegates – please hold tight. Do not give up your seat or believe anyone who tells you that Hillary has conceded or ended her campaign. She has suspended her campaign. At a minimum, we must be sure that the Democratic platform reflects her values and programs. We want her to be nominated, speak and to have a roll call.

If BO is the nominee of the party, we will have plenty of time to decide if he has earned the 18 million votes and support of Clinton campaign volunteers.
If he has failed to “close the deal”, we will be there to remind the delegates that their only job is to nominate the ELECTABLE candidate in order to restore the White House to the Democrats.

GO GO GO!!!

Many have asked, where has Nancy Pelosi been? As a figurehead in government, a representative of women at large, a benefactor of funding from organizations like Emily’s list, why has she not taken a stand to defend not only Hillary Clinton, but more importantly, the advancement of women in our society.

When asked about sexism and the demeaning assaults against Hillary Clinton by the media, her retort, paraphrased, was she was too busy being Speaker of the House. Wrong!!!

Follow the Money

Enter George Soros, Felix Rohatyn, and Joseph Onek.

Let us connect the dots. In February, 2007, Nancy Pelosi hired Joseph Onek as her Chief Counsel. Mr. Onek is also a chief policy advisor for the Open Society Institute, funded by none other than George Soros.

You may be curious about Felix Rohatyn. Mr. Rohatyn is a not only a major financial backer of Nancy Pelosi but he is one of her top economics advisors.

The Obama Connection

Mr. Obama has called for the formation of a National Infrastructure Investment Bank (NIRB). This is a derivative of the Rohatyn-Rudman National Investment Corporation (NIC) first proposed in 2005.

Essentially, Mr. Obama is a surrogate for a private investment model controlled by George Soros and those that subscribe to his world monetary monopoly model. The NIRB is nothing more than a fascist economic model.

Be Careful

Ms. Pelosi would have us believe her job is so demanding her inability to not only perceive but to understand the sexism, media bias, and misogyny was not within her realm. Do not be fooled! She is in bed with the enemy. FOLLOW THE MONEY!!!!!

Senator Barack Obama’s campaign is steering the candidate’s wealthy supporters away from independent Democratic groups, calling into question what had been expected to be the groups’ central role in this year’s Democratic offensive against Senator John McCain.

Obama’s national finance chairwoman, Chicago hotel mogul Penny Pritzker, told supporters at a national finance committee meeting in Indianapolis May 2, and in other conversations, not to give money to the groups, people familiar with her comments said.
“From the beginning of this race Obama has told supporters that if they want to help his effort, they should do so through his campaign,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton, who confirmed that Pritzker has told donors not to give to the groups. “And he means exactly what he says.”

Many of these progressive groups were established to counter movement conservatives’ dominate infrastructure. In 1971, in a reaction against the New Left, Lewis F. Powell drafted a memo for business groups and the Nixon administration on building a conservative infrastruture to counter what he saw as an anti-capitalist, anti-freedom movement of the New Left. This plan was followed and we have had a third of a century of conservative governance, interrupted by 4 years of Carter and 8 years of Clinton.

Similarly, after what many progressives saw as an attempted coup d’état by movement conservatives against President Clinton, the left began building its own infrastructure to counter the Rush Limbaugh/American Spectator magazine/Newt Gingrich assault on our first progressive president in a generation. MoveOn.org was born as a muscular defensive of Clinton in a era where the left consisted of stale periodically like The Nation and Mother Jones.

Now Obama is seeking to use the fragile progressive infrastructure for his own electoral gain:

But in recent days, major donors have begun to conclude that Obama is serious in trying to cut off funds to the outside groups.

“It’s given donors pause,” said one prominent Democratic donor of Pritzker’s words.

Obama’s remarkably swift and complete consolidation of Democratic Party power. It’s an unprecedented seizure of control that has built him, over the course of a year, the most powerful field organization and the largest financial network in American politics, leaving many existing structures – traditional party organizations in many states, the Clintons’ long-nurtured national network – in the dust.

Outside groups, of course, can alter the electoral landscape. Just ask Michael Dukakis and John Kerry, both victims of brutal attack ads run by groups more affiliated with movement conservatives than with the campaigns themselves.

But some liberal activists argue that Obama is making a big mistake by consolidating all the power and money into his campaign:

But Democrats who support the work of the media 527s say Obama’s making a mistake. Progressive Media USA has aired anti-McCain television ads and developed a website intended to be a hub for negative information about McCain.

As I wrote previously, the Republicans and their conservative shock troops have prepared their plan to dismantle Obama, assuming he becomes the nominee. Obama may be disarming himself in his attempt to deny Hillary the nomination, and consequently we can look forward to Obama joining the pantheon of defeated Democrats: McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Dukakis, Gore [updated], and Kerry.

The fact is that Obama’s [economic] plan today is the most shameless piece of potential plagiarism that I have ever seen. He basically took Clinton’s words and Clinton’s policies and called them his own. If I were a professor I’d give him an F and try to get him kicked out of school for something this terrible…If I were on the Clinton team, I’d be prepping memos.

- Kevin A. Hassett, Senior Fellow and Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute, John McCain adviser (H/t AndreWalker08 at MyDD.com)

It must also be noted that John Edwards’ economic stimulus plans were also widely acknowledged to be vastly superior to Obama’s far weaker plans. NYT columnist and economist Paul Krugman, in January, wrote: “[L]ast month, before the economic consensus turned as negative as it now has, [John Edwards] proposed a stimulus package including aid to unemployed workers, aid to cash-strapped state and local governments, public investment in alternative energy, and other measures.”

“Those covering Senator Obama’s economic speech in Wisconsin today could be forgiven if it felt like déjà vu all over again. Voters may ask themselves that if Senator Obama cannot produce his own ideas on the campaign trail, how will he solve new problems as President?,” asks Neera Tanden, Policy Director for the Clinton campaign.

“Senator Obama’s only ‘new’ ideas were ones that Senator Clinton proposed months ago,” Tanden continues.

FOR STARTERS: His “new” proposal for a national infrastructure bank is one that Hillary proposed August 8, 2007. ["I'm proud to co-sponsor Senator Dodd and Senator Hagel's National Infrastructure Bank Act that we just introduced to establish a federally-backed independent bank that will evaluate and finance large infrastructure projects by subsidies, loan guarantees, and bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the United States." Rebuilding America speech, 8/8/07; S. 1926, 8/1/07]

Here’s more:

• His “new” proposal to create 5 million green collar jobs was proposed by Hillary on November 5, 2007. ["And three, to move us from a carbon-based economy to an efficient, green economy by unleashing a wave of private-sector innovation in clean energy and energy efficiency. I believe that will create at least five million good new jobs from clean energy over the next decade." Energy and Climate speech, 11/5/07]

• Google CEO Eric Schmidt praises Hillary’s plan to create 5 million Green Collar jobs, 11/5/07: “By emphasizing the connection between promoting a green efficient economy and job creation, Senator Clinton’s plan seeks to harness the power of technology and innovation to address one of our most pressing global challenges…The goal of producing 5 million new jobs can be achieved by private sector investment and bipartisan support for increased research and development in efficiency and clean energy.”

“In addition, while Senator Obama was busy resuscitating Hillary’s policies, he failed to offer real solutions for the most pressing economic challenges that Americans families face,” writes Tanden.

As Hillary explained this morning, “a plan that fails to provide universal health care, fails to address the housing crisis, and fails to immediately start creating good paying jobs in America again will not turn the economy around and provide the real relief that our people need. We need real results not more rhetoric.”

This is not the first time we’ve noted problems with Mr. Obama’s weak or “borrowed” economic plans.

First, there are his Republican-leaning economic advisers. Stephen Schlesinger — former Director of the World Policy Institute at the New School University and the son of Arthur Schlesinger — wrote a Huffington Post article, “Obama’s Conservative Economists,” that stated:

[The Nation's] Max Fraser … suggests that the economic advisors who are assisting Senator Obama’s campaign are helping him stake out a position on the subprime lending crisis ‘to the right of not only populist Edwards but Clinton as well.” [...]

Fraser attributes Obama’s constricted response to “the centrist politics of his three chief economic advisors and his campaign’s ties to Wall Street institutions opposed to increased financial regulations” and points out that Obama has received almost $10 million in contributions from the finance insurance and real estate sector through October 2007.

For the candidate of change and bold ideas, Obama’s tepid response to the overwhelming mortgage crisis suggests a Republican-orientation rather than a Democratic one — and should be subject to debate in the remaining presidential primaries. …

Paul Krugman, in January, offered up a devastating dissection of Obama’s economic stimulus package. “Disreputable” is the term that Krugman used to describe the Obama campaign’s first weak attempt. About Obama’s second attempt, Krugman says it’s “tilted to the right” and that Obama “really is less progressive than his rivals on matters of domestic policy.”

Krugman also pointed out” on January 14:

Last week Hillary Clinton offered a broadly similar but somewhat larger proposal. (It also includes aid to families having trouble paying heating bills, which seems like a clever way to put cash in the hands of people likely to spend it.) The Edwards and Clinton proposals both contain provisions for bigger stimulus if the economy worsens.

And you have to say that Mrs. Clinton seems comfortable with and knowledgeable about economic policy. I’m sure the Hillary-haters will find some reason that’s a bad thing, but there’s something to be said for presidents who know what they’re talking about.

Here’s what Dr. Krugman wrote about Obama’s “disreputable” first plan and right-leaning second plan:

The Obama campaign’s initial response to the latest wave of bad economic news was, I’m sorry to say, disreputable: Mr. Obama’s top economic adviser claimed that the long-term tax-cut plan the candidate announced months ago is just what we need to keep the slump from “morphing into a drastic decline in consumer spending.” Hmm: claiming that the candidate is all-seeing, and that a tax cut originally proposed for other reasons is also a recession-fighting measure — doesn’t that sound familiar? [NOTE THE REFERENCE TO BUSH'S PLAN.]

Anyway, on Sunday Mr. Obama came out with a real stimulus plan. As was the case with his health care plan, which fell short of universal coverage, his stimulus proposal is similar to those of the other Democratic candidates, but tilted to the right.

For example, the Obama plan appears to contain none of the alternative energy initiatives that are in both the Edwards and Clinton proposals, and emphasizes across-the-board tax cuts over both aid to the hardest-hit families and help for state and local governments. I know that Mr. Obama’s supporters hate to hear this, but he really is less progressive than his rivals on matters of domestic policy. …

Well, that is until he “lifted” the economic plans of Hillary Clinton with a big, splashy announcement today as if HE were the one with the ideas.

Here’s the February 2nd TV ad featuring RFK Jr. as well as the son of the late Cesar Chavez, on the “voiceless” and how “Hillary has inherited his father’s legacy of speaking up for the disenfranchised.” “Hillary knows how to solve our problems, to get things done,” says Cesar L. Chavez. (CNN Ticker)