George W. Bush Bailed Out the Banks!!!!!

There comes a time in a man's life, especially one who is fairly well versed in recent history, when he just can't take the lies that are spewed out at him anymore. That's what happened to me when I listened to Rick Santorum, the Republican who wants to push his religious beliefs on you in your bedroom and running for President, giving his victory speech after he swept the primaries on Tuesday. He gave this ridiculous "Barack Obama thinks he's smarter than you" speech, and in it presented a lot of misleading and completely wrong information (which I'm used to hearing and just let that roll off my back), but he also perpetuated one of the biggest lies of the "conservatives", and I almost went into a rage. It's one thing for uneducated viewers of Fox "News" to think that Barack Obama was responsible for bailing out the banks. After all, a recent poll found that Fox News viewers were less informed about current events than people who watched no news at all.

No, my friends, Barack Obama unequivocally did NOT bail out the banks!! For the last time it was George W. Bush and his Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (former CEO of Goldman Sachs) that cooked up that idea, hastily sped the plan through Congress (most of which are bought off by Wall Street anyway), and signed into law. Yes, TARP, the Troubled Assest Relief Program, was signed into law on October 3, 2008, a full month before candidate Obama was even elected! When Paulson was pushing his plan, he wanted to give the banks the money with absolutely no strings attached as quickly as possible and with no oversight whatsoever! Thankfully we had a few good Democrats who had heads on their shoulders and didn't allow $750 billion of the taxpayers' money go to the banksters just like that. However, remember what did happen? Just a couple of months later and again a year later? With the taxpayers' bailout money? Multi-million dollar BONUSES!!!! That's right, huge bonuses for the very same executives who played Russian roulette with their customers' deposits and investments (which was only legal because of the repeal of Glass-Steagall). Instead of being fired or investigated or going to jail for their crimes, these scumbags stole even more of middle-class America's money and pocketed it, and it was government sanctioned. Once again, why do you think there's an Occupy Wall Street?

I'm not saying Barack Obama is innocent. After all, as a Senator, and did vote for the bill that created TARP. He did support it. But as President, I think he was more responsible with the use of the funds. He did take some of the funds and use them to help homeowners rework their mortgages so they could keep their homes through several programs. This has helped hundreds of thousands of Americans who were hurt by the Wall Street recession to stay in their homes. He also directed some of those funds to be used in jobs creation programs. And let us remember, that most of the funds doled out to the banks in the bailouts have been repaid to the Treasury. The taxpayers have been REPAID (mostly)!

George W. Bush, the wealthy oil baron, and Henry Paulson, the former bank executive, were quickly trying to push their agenda to rescue their wealthy friends (campaign contributors) in an effort to save the nation from financial collapse. Given that administration's record on saving the nation from potential catastrophes, I personally question their motives (WMDs anyone?). And for any Republican, conservative, Tea Partier, or any other misinformed Fox "News" viewer to say that Barack Obama was responsible for the bailouts, this is an outright LIE! It could not be further from the truth. And it's time the record is set straight and we push back on this ridiculous misleading of the blind.

Are Republicans redistributing massive amounts of money to the top 1%?

Are Republicans redistributing massive amounts of money to the top 1%?

Between all the debates, the interviews, and the campaign ads – doesn’t it seem like the Republicans candidates only care about helping rich people? That’s because that IS all they care about. According to a report by the Citizens for Tax Justice – which examined all the tax cut plans proposed by the candidates – the average tax cut for the 1% is 270 times greater than the tax cuts being proposed for the middle class. Not only that – by redistributing massive amounts of money to the very top – Republicans will add enormous amounts of money to our national debt – ranging between $6.6 trillion and $18 trillion over the next decade. In other words – the Republicans are proposing an economic plan that will bankrupt this nation just so millionaires and billionaires can get even wealthier.

-Thom Hartman

GOP and Wall Street Are Frightened of Elizabeth Warren

I love the idea of Elizabeth Warren in the U.S. Senate. It was she who was the mind behind the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In the Senate she will be a strong advocate for the middle class, and will stand up to Wall Street and the greed, fraudulent activities, and corruption that has become commonplace over the last few decades. And great news! Warren has taken a 49%-42% lead in a recent poll in her home state of Massachusetts over incumbent Scott Brown (R). In last night's interview with Lawrence O'Donnell, it is easy to see why Republicans and Wall Street are pouring money into Scott Brown's campaign and into PACs fighting for him. They are scared to death of Elizabeth Warren winning and will go to any length to discredit her, even to downright lie. Enjoy!

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A Letter I Wrote To My Senator, Jeff Sessions

Mr. Sessions,

I have written to you about this subject before, and needless to say, I found your response less than satisfactory. You must think that because the majority of Alabamians vote Republican, they blindly agree with your views, regardless of how those views are against their best interests. Let's not even pretend here. The people who vote for you and secure your election to office are not your constituents. The big money special interests in the financial sector and large corporations are your constituents, Mr. Sessions. We both know that. You and the rest of the Republican party work night and day to protect them and their tax breaks. If not, you would not have voted against the bill last week to continue a payroll tax cut for the middle class while charging a 3.2% surtax on millionaires, on income over $1 million. And then the GOP countered with a proposal that would have laid off 200,000 government employees? That is ludicrous! My next point is that Republicans never want to pay for a tax cut, unless it's one for the middle class. The GOP moans and groans about the debt and deficit, but let's be honest, the unpaid-for Bush tax cuts for the wealthy of 2001 and 2003 are one of the primary causes of our national debt. And you, sir, voted for them both times. The wealthy in this country, over the last 30 years, have enjoyed the best wealth increase in this nation's history, thanks in large part to the Republican policies of deregulation and tax cuts. However, the middle class has seen its standard of living stagnate and decline, directly because of Republican policies of deregulation and tax cuts that have mainly benefited the wealthiest among us. You cannot convince me that these guys are "job creators". They've had it better than at any other time in American history and have only shipped jobs overseas or reduced the workforce. And if you truly believe that giving tax breaks to the wealthiest 1% is going to create jobs after the last 30 years proves this is wrong, you are only lying to yourself.

The real reason I am writing to you is because I want you to change your position on confirming Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This Bureau is important to protect consumers from the predatory practices that led to the financial meltdown and market crash of 2008. It will help protect consumers, your real constituents, the people who actually vote for you and elect you, from the despicable practices and abuses that have led so many into financial ruin. In your previous response to my communications you mentioned upholding current law and not expanding the size of government and some other standard Republican answers. But I don't buy that. I'm not going to let you get away with that. This is too important to me and to your constituents. Too many of them are being abused and mistreated by financial firms and have nowhere to go or turn to. There should be an agency with teeth that can stand up to the big banks and stand up for the little man, and for all the reasons I have stated in this letter. If you continue to block the confirmation of Rich Cordray as the head of the CFPB, you will continue to show the people of Alabama who your true constituents are: the big banks and financial firms of Wall Street, and not those that have voted for you and have no other voice in their government and no other protection from those large financial firms.

It is your duty as our Senator to represent the best interest of your voters, your electorate, not the special interests, and not Wall Street. Come to your senses and do what is right for the people who voted for you and put you in your office. Vote to protect our interests. Vote to keep our taxes low, we are suffering. Vote to increase taxes on the 1%. They can afford it. It's increasing the debt anyway. Vote to confirm Mr. Cordray to protect consumers. Otherwise you are voting against Alabamians.

Sincerely,
Joshua LaDeau

12/8/2011
Update:

As expected, my Senator, Jeff Sessions, as well as every other Republican Senator except one, voted against the confirmation of Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Each and every Republican in the Senate has shown that it is more important to protect Wall Street and the large financial firms and to allow them to continue in their corruption than to protect consumers from these institutions and their corruption. Hey Alabama, Hey middle class! Wake up! Pay attention! The Republican party is the party of, by, and for the 1%! If you do not belong to the wealthiest 1%, the Republican party does not care about you. They are legislating against you. They are only working for the benefit of the wealthiest individuals and corporations and Wall Street firms. That is why each and every one of them voted against a payroll tax cut for the middle class last week, only because it would have been paid for with a 3.2% surtax on millionaires and billionaires. That is why each and every Republican voted against 4 jobs bills brought up by President Obama in the month of November. Because they would have been paid for with a small tax increase on millionaires and billionaires. The reason the economy is in the tank right this very moment, is because of the policies of Reagan and George W. Bush. Deregulation and tax cuts for the rich have caused a mass siphoning of wealth from the middle class to the top 1%. Taxes must go up on the wealthy. The middle class have been taxed to death. We cannot be squeezed anymore. But as long as Republicans continue to be elected to office, especially in majorities, these wrongs will never be righted. Open your eyes, do some research, and for the love of all that is good, STOP watching Fox News. It is not news, it is the Republican propaganda machine. There is no truth to be found there, only spin and lies, hate and deceit.

The Single Most Important Robert Reich Clip You Can Share Today

From MoveOn.org, this is an extremely important message. Our rights as citizens are systematically being stripped away from us. And contrary to what conservatives would have you believe, it is the rich and powerful, the large banks and corporations that pay off politicians, and obviously, Supreme Court justices, to legislate and interpret law in a way that benefits only them while stifling the poor and middle class. The progressive movement is doing all in its power to reverse the actions of these corrupt government officials, but it will take real people with real voices and real votes to get out and act to make a difference. Please share this brief but powerful video with everyone and let us stop the radical right wing from stripping our Constitutionally guaranteed rights as Americans.

Obama Campaign Responds to "Up" Exclusive on Lobbyist Plan to Take Down Occupy Wall Street

This was a great interview between Chris Hayes and Anita Dunn, Obama campaign adviser, following up on the memo discovered by former Boehner aides turned lobbyists, who are seeking to vilify Occupy Wall Street and protect the banks. Every American needs to hear this interview and realize the hypocrisy of lobbyists working for the Republican party and realize that the Republican party is working night and day for the 1% at the expense of the 99%, the middle class.

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Lobbyists Target Occupy Wall Street

Chris Hayes exposes some of Speaker John Boehner's former staffers turned lobbyists for attempting to campaign against Occupy Wall Street and Democrats who support them. They're willing to do whatever it takes to protect the wealth of the richest 1%. Please watch and pass this on. This is too important to ignore.

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We Are The Many - Makana

From MoveOn.org:


The Hawaiian musician Makana performed this song live, in an “Occupy With Aloha” t-shirt, while world leaders dined on expensive food and drank wine at the APEC dinner in early November. Oh, the irony. When asked why he did it, he replied, “Why wouldn’t I? I wrote it with the intention of people in power hearing it.”