We Will Be Live Blogging VP Debate

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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The VP Debate...It Could GET UGLY

Greetings Readers:

First, for those interested, I'll be LIVE BLOGGING tomorrow nights debate via my twiter which is @beltwayscandal with the results instantly posting here in Washington Scandals, as well as my other blog, Washington Dick Cheese News and Reviews. (Yes, I really have that blog...LOL)

From an intellectual basis, it would be easy to give the victory nod to Joe Biden before he even shows up, but lets not be too hasty. I like Joe Biden, and his life story is an intriguing one...problem is, he does have a bad habit of talking to long, which usually ends with him eating toe jam. The right question, and if Joe is on top of his game, it is going to be a VERY LONG NIGHT for Sarah Palin and the Republicans.

Biggest advantages for Sarah Palin are two. First, her press interviews have been so pathetic that the expectations for her are almost nonexistent. Seriously, the woman could not name ONE MAGAZINE or NEWSPAPER SHE READS! "I read all of them!" Sorry Sarah, but this dumb old country boy living in the big city could easily tick off 20 or 20 newspapers and magazines I get World News from, that I read to help formulate my opinions and political views. I am not a major, will never be a Governor, and don't even think about being a Vice Presidential candidate, but I can answer that question. We've had eight years of a man that admits he does not read much, and we all know how that turned out.

The second, and perhaps biggest advantage Sarah has...she's female, and the rabid right wing of the Republican Party is laying in wait, hoping against hope to tag Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket as SEXIST, CONDESCENDING.

The night is going to turn on the questions, and how Joe Biden handles himself.

From The Fix...Who Is To Blame

Here are the early results from a poll over at The Fix (Washington Post).

Who is most to blame for the failure of the bailout bill today?
John McCain 16%
Barack Obama 1%
House Republicans 56%
House Democrats 7%
George W. Bush 8%
None of the Above 2%
All of the Above 8%
Created on Sep 29, 2008
Total Votes: 1,754

Forget John McCain's Houses...How About His $2 Million Dollar Parking Lot?

Forget about John McCain's 13 houses...let's instead take a look at his two million dollar parking lot.

The Wall Street Bailout From The Perspective Of One Middle Class American

Lets stop listening to the pundits on CNN and FOX for a few minutes, and examine the defeated Bailout For Wall Street from the perspective of Main Street America. If you agree with me, contact your elected officials and tell them we want a Main Street Bailout instead of a Wall Street Bailout that simply reapportions more of OUR WEALTH into the hands of the UBER RICH.

The Bailout of Wall Street Bill went down in flames today for various reasons, primary among them thin skinned Republicans voting not for the country, but out of anger as they swiped out angrily at Democrats, specific among them Nancy Pelosi. There will be no revote before Thursday because someone decided the Jewish Holiday was far more important than our nation…sorry, I have a problem with that one. Surely God would understand breaking the Sabbath in a National Time of Need? The bill as it exists is a farce that does absolutely nothing for Main Street America, no matter what pundits such as Ali Velchi say, no matter how much they try to convince us otherwise. The bill should go back to square one, the lobbyist should be LOCKED OUT OF THE HALLS OF CONGRESS, and a new bill should be written.

The Troubled Asset Relief Fund:

Bill authorizes $700 billion for the fund in installments. Treasury gets $250 billion, with an additional $100 billion immediately accessible, and with no strings attached to it. Congress supposedly has the option of blocking the $350 billion by issuing a joint resolution within 15 days of the request. Problem is, the President could simply veto said resolution, and unless there are enough politicians to override the veto, Wall Street gets the money…in short, the resolution out is nothing more than a paper tiger with no teeth.

How it all is supposed to work:

Treasury (specifically Mr. Paulson) will hire asset managers from his close circle of out of work friends who will figure out how to buy bad loans and other ailing assets from financial institutions. Those OTHER AILING ASSETS are not defined, left instead up to the discretion of one Secretary Paulson! Other details, such as pricing and purchase procedures, are left to the sole discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury and his hand picked staff

The bill would require the Treasury to establish guidelines for pricing, setting value of troubled assets, and mechanisms for purchasing assets, procedures for selecting asset managers and criteria for identifying troubled assets to buy, all within 45 days of the legistlation being passed and signed into law. If you start doing the math, Mr. Paulson would have started writing out BIG CHECKS to Wall Street just in time for Christmas. Perhaps the Republicans refused to vote in favor of the bailout today as the bill was not a big enough Golden Parachute to give to their friends as they give up the White House.

The bill would require the Treasury to purchase assets at the lowest price, most likely through auction, and occassionally directly from institutions. Problem with an auction…the UBER RICH will scoop up the BEST of these lousy assets, and leave us the taxpayers with the pits while the Buffett’s of the world scope up the cherries.

Executive compensation:

The legislation supposedly placed restrictions on executive compensation for certain companies that sell assets to Treasury. In reality, there are so many ways to dance around this salary limit that it amounts to nothing more than window dressing meant to apease the masses here in Main Street.

As a part of the bailout, taxpayers were supposed to get an Equity stake in the companies we were bailing out. Instead of an equity stake, Congress created a second tier profit picture for these companies. Instead of receiving stocks, the legislation has the Treasury receiving warrants from the companies that participate in the program. First, a warrant gives the holder the right to buy stock later on at a HIGHER PRICE than it is currently being sold for! So, right now the stock is worth a buck or two. We buy all their crappy assets, we SAVE THE COMPANY, their stock prices start RISING, and then we can go in and buy stock at the now elevated price! WOW, can I have that deal? Even these warrants are not all they are cracked up to be, and there is a HUGE LOOPHOLE…if the treasure buys assets at auction (as most purchases would be) the treasure would only get a small handful of non-voting warrants. Only when the Treasury buys assets directly from an all but failed company would it get a majority equity stake (still in warrants, rather than stock).

Oversight:

In a word…NONE! The oversight was window dressing meant again to apease the masses while having no real teeth. The supposed oversight committee would have the SAME FOXES guarding the hen house.

Protecting taxpayers:

We ARE NOT PROTECTED! Sure, if after five years the treasure has a net loss, the president will be required to submit a legislative proposal to seek reimbursement from the financial institutions that participated. OH WOW! So, the president submits a proposal to the Congress asking them to pass legislation that would make Wall Street reimburse the government for our losses. The proposal is submitted to Congress, the Lobbyist on K Street throw a few campaign donations around, pay for a few trips to exotic places, and WALLA the proposal goes to committee where it is sent down to a sub-committee never to be heard from again!

Help for homeowners:

Again, WHAT HELP, there is NONE. The Secretary will "encourage the servicers of the underlying mortgages" to help minimize foreclosures. Doesn’t that make you feel BETTER? The treasury will ask those we are giving $700 Billion dollars to BE NICE, to work with us rather than take our homes away! Best case scenerio…to make it look good, every one will get and EXTRA 30 days before these financial institutions move to foreclose on your home. Think about it, they foreclose on your home, and have an INSTANT BUYER in the treasury!

Insurance:

What a BONANZA for financial institutions…yet another new product they can foist off on us the homeowner. How long do you think it will be before we are REQUIRED to have Mortgage Guard insurance on our loan at a yearly cost of a couple extra thousand dollars a year!

That is the bill in a nutshell…tell me Main Street, what is in it for us? What safeguards were put into the bill for us? Do you see anything that will RESTORE OUR LOST HOME EQUITY that was squandered away by Wall Street? The pundits want to run to the ramparts shouting their warnings to all who will hear, “The market lost one and a half TRILLION dollars today, the SKY IS FALLING!” I personally have lost over $60,000 worth of Equity in my home as a result of Wall Street. Multiply that times say 20 Million homes, and Main Street has lost $1.2 TRILLION of our equity in our homes! Where is our bailout? Maybe, just maybe…instead of bailing out Wall Street, the Congress should bailout Main Street! Renegotiate every foreclosed mortgage in a fashion that lets people keep their homes. Figure out neighborhood by neighborhood how much each home owner has lost in equity, and WRITE US OUT A CHECK! That money would be put back into the economy, rather than being BANKED by the rich and elite who are asking us to pay off their gambling debts.

John McCain Fails To Deliver Republican Bailout Vote!

Let's go back to last week when John McCain STOPPED HIS CAMPAIGN and went back to Washington, DC to get the job done. We all remember that day, the fact that his RASH move gave him the news cycle. Now lets fast foward to right now.

McCain FAILED to bring his Republicans to the table, failed to deliver the votes needed to pass the Wall Street Bailout! While Senator Obama and the Democratic leaders brought their vote to the table to (65 percent of their caucus members) in the hopes of Bailing out George Bush and his failed policies, John McCain was only able to bring to the table 33 percent of his own party on a bill brought forward by George W. Bush, and his appointee Mr. Paulson.

When it comes to leadership, John McCain's has been found to be lacking, has shown America he just does not have the RIGHT STUFF...which might explain how it was that he crashed not one, but FIVE military aircraft during his Naval Career.

With America On Brink Of Another Great Depression Republicans Decide To Play POLITICS

Today was a historic day in America as the Bailout of Wall Street went down to defeat. Personally, I am fine with that...what I am not fine with, is the way it went down to defeat. Simply stated, the Republicans were FAR MORE CONCERNED with playing politics than in supporting America, more interested in slashing out at the Demcoratic Party than doing what right for America's Middle Class. You do not vote against a bill because you do not like a person, or the speech they give, but this is EXACTLY what happened today, is the ROOT CAUSE of the market tanking (at one point by 680 points).

Let's not forget who CAUSED THIS CRISIS in America! REPUBLICANS! The George Bush John McCain doctrine and beliefs led us to this dark abyss, and instead of helping to turn the car around, the Republicans CHOOSE TO PLAY POLITICS on this dark day, and if America's voters have any sense, they will not send any Republican back to Washington that voted against today's bailout!

Putting Bailout In Perspective For Minimum Wage Workers

Our Federal Government is about to give Wall Street $770 Billion dollars! Meanwhile, back in July the minimum wage LEPT to $6,55 per hour. Working a 40 hour work week, that is a pre-tax weekly wage of $262.00 or a yearly pre tax income of $13,624 IF YOU WORK 52 WEEKS A YEAR. It would take roughly 58 million 40 hour weeks of work at minimum wage to pay off this debt (with no interest).

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/esa/esa20081024.htm

Federal minimum wage to increase to $6.55 on July 24

Agency also marks 70th anniversary of Fair Labor Standards Act

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor reminds employers and employees that the federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 on Thursday, July 24. With this change, employees who are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will be entitled to pay at no less than $6.55 per hour.

This increase is the second of three provided by the enactment of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. A third minimum wage increase to $7.25 an hour will become effective on July 24, 2009. Last year, on July 24, the minimum wage increased to $5.85 an hour.

Time To Pull Plug On OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation)

The whole Wall Street Bailout Scandal has Americans in the lower and middle class rightfully angry, and it has many of us taking a much closer look at our federal government, and how they are SPENDING our money. One way in which great amounts of our TAX DOLLARS are being spent to build economies in foreign countries, to protect the corporate assets (by mitigating risk) of American companies moving American jobs offshore is a little known quasi-private part of our government called the OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) http://www.opic.gov/

OPIC is spending billions and trillions of our tax dollars building infrastructure in foreign countries while Americas lose their jobs, while illegal aliens are allowed to depress our wages. Some examples of our money funding foreign investment would include one half billion dollars invested into CLEAN ENERGY not here in America, but in ASIA! Let China pick up the tab, and instead invest that money in America's GREEN ENERGY streams, use that money to mobilize $1.5 Trillion in Green Energy Investments here in America. Why use our taxes to fund growth funds that invest in Green Energy abroad?

Another $127 Million is being tossed to Africa, and to add insult to injury, OPIC in July made a 1/4 of a BILLION dollars available for LOW INCOME HOUSING MORTGAGES in Jordan! We cannot help our own citizens, but can set aside funds for low income communities in Jordan, a place known to breed TERRORISTS?

Even more troubling...American Companies wanting to do business overseas can purchase POLITICAL RISK INSURANCE backed by OUR GOVERNMENT! When you think about this insurance, think IRAQ WAR, THINK HALIBURTON! Go overseas, build a new business, take jobs out of America...don't worry, we'll give you insurance in case it does not work out! How about OPIC using our tax dollars to lend money to speculators at 3-5 percent interest to go build homes in foreign countries! The Big one, the insulting one is the Political Risk Insurance which coverages include:

To cover possible damage or loss

• Tangible assets such as trucks, manufacturing or drilling equipment
  
• Value of investment
  
• Earnings or return of the investment

To obtain or attract financing in the face of risk

To deter long-term losses through OPIC’s advocacy

The days of the LITTLE GUY picking up the tab, covering the risks for the rich and elites games needs to come to an end. Contact your elected officials in Washington, DC TODAY, and tell them you want the plugged pulled on Overseas Private Investment Corporation, you want all tax dollars into the program CEASED, and instead put into a program that invests here in America, funds companies OWNED AND OPERATED BY AMERICANS.

Ali, CNN's Money Man Is Mouth Piece For Wall Street Bailout Legilation Part One

To listen to Ali, we in the Middle Class should be jumping for joy...I find it offensive that he is trying to SELL the agreement/bill that Wall Street Lobbyist have played such a crucial role in writing. I have started to break down the proposed legislation, and am posting what I have so far that concerns me.

The Bill as written cannot and will not meet its very purpose. It’s a false mandate that spends $770 Billion dollars of our money, while creating a whole new agency with all of its inherent financial costs with, of all people, Mr. Paulson have the powers of a GOD! It’s George W. Bush and Mr. Paulson’s original 3.5 page bill with a whole bunch of fluff added to it that provides America’s Middle Class ZERO PROTECTIONS.

The purposes of this Act are—

(1) To immediately provide authority and facilities that the Secretary of the Treasury can use to restore liquidity and stability to the financial system of the United States; and

(2) To ensure that such authority and such facilities are used in a manner that—

(A) Protects home values, college funds, retirement accounts, and life savings;

(B) preserves homeownership and promotes jobs and economic growth;

(C) Maximizes overall returns to the taxpayers of the United States; and

(D) Provides public accountability for the exercise of such authority.

If you read the bill completely, or browse through the section provided here, you will see it does none of the above. There is no mechanism to protect our home values, and in fact said values will continue to drop, with no mechanism in place to make us whole, to bailout our own failing assets. The bill fails to promote home ownership, as there is no mechanism in place to address the egregious reality that our first homes are not adequately protected in Bankruptcy Courts, and that judges are powerless to step in and take appropriate steps from the bench to protect our homes, to keep us in them. Further, this bill will not promote job growth, and in fact economists on both sides of this bill have said the bailout will not stop the continued erosion of jobs, nor slow the flow of the recession we as a nation are in.

AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized to establish a troubled asset relief program (or ‘‘TARP’’) to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, troubled assets from any financial institution, on such terms and conditions as are determined by the Secretary, and in accordance with this Act and the policies and procedures developed and published by the Secretary.

Read this paragraph…the bill is giving one Mr. Paulson, formerly of Goldman Sak’s and his cronies the ability and legal right to establish A) a new program/agency, B) make the rules by which it will abide by, C) establish the criteria that decides what assets will and will not be bought out, as well as the price to be paid for those assets, and D) gives him the right to make all these rules in a very DICTATORIAL fashion. There is no real oversight, no checks and balances, no one but a dishonest Wall Street insider guarding the hen house. It gets even worse when you realize the bill also gives Mr. Paulson sole rights and discretion to decide who will work inside this newly created labyrinth. This is reminiscent of the fatally flawed legislation that created the NRC, while failing to give Congress any meaningful oversight of the agency.

The Secretary shall implement any program under paragraph (1) through an Office of Financial Stability, established for such purpose within the Office of Domestic Finance of the Department of the Treasury, which office shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

When you read that the office shall be run by A POLITICAL APPOINTEE, you are being told this new office will be around for ever, and that it will be a highly political position, a plumb AWARDED to those deserving souls that wrote out the right kinds of checks, or did the right kind of favors during a Presidential Election year. This reality is born out in the next section when you read:

Section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the item relating to
Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury, by striking ‘‘(9)’’ and inserting ‘‘(10)’’.

So, this Emergency Legislation, this BAILOUT OF WALL STREET for Wall Street FAT CATS is creating a permanent new program, and increasing permanently the number of POLITICAL APPOINTEES nominated by the President from 9 to 10. These are PLUMB JOBS with many perks, including a very nice six figure income, a spacious office, and a lavish government expense account. Worse, such a position and the person who holds it is going to be the target of a lot of Special Interest lobbying on a never ending basis.

If you read the next section, we need to tell our elected officials to exercise GREAT CAUTION…the Secretary is only required TO CONSULT with others, but there is nothing in the entire law that LIMITS HIS POWERS, or instructs him/her to abide by or accept any of the counsel they would be getting in consulting with others.

The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation, the following:

(1) The Secretary shall have direct hiring authority with respect to the appointment of employees to administer this Act.

(2) Entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.

(3) Designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Federal Government, and such institutions shall perform all such reasonable related to this Act as financial agents of the FederalGovernment as may be required.

(4) In order to provide the Secretary with the flexibility to manage troubled assets in a manner designed to minimize cost to the taxpayers, establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase troubled assets and issue obligations.

(5) Issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities or purposes of this Act.

Ask yourselves if you trust ANY ONE MAN (or woman) with this much uncontrolled, unchecked power. There are no safeguards built in here, this is FAR MORE THAN A BLANK CHECK.

PREVENTING UNJUST ENRICHMENT.—In making purchases under the authority of this Act, the Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to prevent unjust enrichment of financial institutions participating in a program established under this section, including by preventing the resale of a troubled asset to the Secretary at a higher price than what the seller paid to purchase the asset.

There is a very KEY REASON this section is worded this way, it is a LOOPHOLE they do not want us the taxpayer to catch…we are supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy good that the Secretary will be prevently UNJUST ENRICHMENT by being careful not to buy assets from these companies for more than the companies PAID FOR THEM! Hello, without exception, most of these assets are worth FAR LESS than what was paid for them! How about changing the above to read that a fair market price will be ascertained for the assets, not to exceed the price the seller paid to purchase the asset, but which may be less? Remember how we as citizen taxpayers were supposed to be protected trough OWNERSHIP…don’t hold your breath.

If the Secretary establishes the program authorized under section 101, then the
Secretary shall establish a program to guarantee troubled assets, including mortgage-backed securities issued prior to March 18, 2008.

(2) GUARANTEES.—In establishing any program under this subsection, the Secretary may develop guarantees of troubled assets and the associated premiums for such guarantees. Such guarantees and premiums shall be determined by category or class of the securities to be guaranteed.

(3) EXTENT OF GUARANTEE.—upon request of a financial institution, the Secretary may guarantee the timely payment of principal of, and interest on, troubled assets in amounts not to exceed 100 percent of such payments. Such guarantee may be on such terms and conditions as are determined by the Secretary, provided that such terms and conditions are consistent with the purposes of this Act.

Someone tell me I am wrong here…I am reading here that a situation/program would be created wherein the company gets to KEEP AND ASSET, and have the treasury paying the interest and principle on the load that secures that asset? If this is true, this is INSANITY.

Stopping here on the draft and posting it to my blog as I have just learned that a NEW FINAL agreement has just been released by the Congress…BE AFRAID PEOPLE, be very, very afraid.

Attention America...Be a Citizen Lobbyist And Oppose The Bailout!

As was feared, Congress is trying to do an END AROUND SUNDAY RUN on America while we are with our families, watching football, perhaps preparing the Sunday Family Dinner. The bill as written RAPES AMERICA's MIDDLE AND LOWER CLASSES, and we must become citizens lobbyist right now, this day! I have below posted A) the notice from the House web site seeking to WAVE THE RULES so they can vote on this bailout, and B) the phone numbers of every member of Congress who sits on the Financial Services Committee...it is time for the back bone of America to Light Up the Congressional Switchboard like a Christmas Tree. I will post the link to the Legislation shortly. READ BILL

Sunday, September 28, 2008
H.Res. 1514 - Same Day Consideration Rule – Waiving a requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII with respect to the consideration of certain resolutions reported from the Committee on Rules

Committee on Financial Services
Mailing Address:2129 RHOB
Washington, DC 20515-6050
Telephone:(202) 225-4247

Ratio 37/33

Republican

1. Spencer Bachus, AL

   Spencer Bachus

   Alabama-6th, Republican
   2246 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-0106
   Phone: (202) 225-4921

2. Deborah Pryce, OH

   Deborah Pryce

   Ohio-15th, Republican
   320 Cannon HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3515
   Phone: (202) 225-2015

3. Michael N. Castle, DE

   Michael N. Castle

   Delaware-At Large, Republican
   1233 Longworth HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-0801
   Phone: (202) 225-4165

4. Peter T. King, NY

   Peter T. King

   New York-3rd, Republican
   339 Cannon HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3203
   Phone: (202) 225-7896

5. Edward R. Royce, CA

   Edward R. Royce

   California-40th, Republican
   2185 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-0540
   Phone: (202) 225-4111

6. Frank D. Lucas, OK

   Frank D. Lucas

   Oklahoma-3rd, Republican
   2311 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3603
   Phone: (202) 225-5565

7. Ron Paul, TX

   Ron Paul

   Texas-14th, Republican
   203 Cannon HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-4314
   Phone: (202) 225-2831

8. Steven C. LaTourette, OH

   Steven C. LaTourette

   Ohio-14th, Republican
   2371 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3514
   Phone: (202) 225-5731

9. Donald A. Manzullo, IL

   Donald A. Manzullo

   Illinois-16th, Republican
   2228 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-1316
   Phone: (202) 225-5676

10. Walter B. Jones, NC

    Walter B. Jones

    North Carolina-3rd, Republican
    2333 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3303
    Phone: (202) 225-3415

11. Judy Biggert, IL

    Judy Biggert

    Illinois-13th, Republican
    1034 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1313
    Phone: (202) 225-3515

12. Christopher Shays, CT

    Christopher Shays

    Connecticut-4th, Republican
    1126 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0704
    Phone: (202) 225-5541

13. Gary G. Miller, CA

    Gary G. Miller

    California-42nd, Republican
    2438 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0542
    Phone: (202) 225-3201

14. Shelley Moore Capito, WV

    Shelley Moore Capito

    West Virginia-2nd, Republican
    1431 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4802
    Phone: (202) 225-2711

15. Tom Feeney, FL

    Tom Feeney

    Florida-24th, Republican
    323 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0924
    Phone: (202) 225-2706

16. Jeb Hensarling, TX

    Jeb Hensarling

    Texas-5th, Republican
    132 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4305
    Phone: (202) 225-3484

17. Scott Garrett, NJ

    Scott Garrett

    New Jersey-5th, Republican
    1318 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3005
    Phone: (202) 225-4465

18. Ginny Brown-Waite, FL

    Ginny Brown-Waite

    Florida-5th, Republican
    414 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0905
    Phone: (202) 225-1002

19. J. Gresham Barrett, SC

    J. Gresham Barrett

    South Carolina-3rd, Republican
    439 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4003
    Phone: (202) 225-5301

20. Jim Gerlach, PA

    Jim Gerlach

    Pennsylvania-6th, Republican
    308 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3806
    Phone: (202) 225-4315

21. Stevan Pearce, NM

    Stevan Pearce

    New Mexico-2nd, Republican
    1607 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3102
    Phone: (202) 225-2365

22. Randy Neugebauer, TX

    Randy Neugebauer

    Texas-19th, Republican
    429 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4319
    Phone: (202) 225-4005

23. Tom Price, GA

    Tom Price

    Georgia-6th, Republican
    424 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1006
    Phone: (202) 225-4501

24. Geoff Davis, KY

    Geoff Davis

    Kentucky-4th, Republican
    1108 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1704
    Phone: (202) 225-3465

25. Patrick T. McHenry, NC

    Patrick T. McHenry

    North Carolina-10th, Republican
    224 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3310
    Phone: (202) 225-2576

26. John Campbell, CA

    John Campbell

    California-48th, Republican
    1728 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0548
    Phone: (202) 225-5611

27. Adam H. Putnam, FL

    Adam H. Putnam

    Florida-12th, Republican
    1725 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0912
    Phone: (202) 225-1252

28. Michele Bachmann, MN

    Michele Bachmann

    Minnesota-6th, Republican
    412 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2306
    Phone: (202) 225-2331

29. Peter J. Roskam, IL

    Peter J. Roskam

    Illinois-6th, Republican
    507 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1306
    Phone: (202) 225-4561

30. Kenny Marchant, TX

    Kenny Marchant

    Texas-24th, Republican
    1037 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4324
    Phone: (202) 225-6605

31. Thaddeus G. McCotter, MI

    Thaddeus G. McCotter

    Michigan-11th, Republican
    1632 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2211
    Phone: (202) 225-8171

32. Kevin McCarthy, CA California-22nd, Republican
    1523 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0522
    Phone: (202) 225-2915
33. Dean Heller, NV

    Dean Heller

    Nevada-2nd, Republican
    1023 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2802
    Phone: (202) 225-6155

Democrat

1. Barney Frank, MA

   Barney Frank

   Massachusetts-4th, Democrat
   2252 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-2104
   Phone: (202) 225-5931

2. Paul E. Kanjorski, PA

   Paul E. Kanjorski

   Pennsylvania-11th, Democrat
   2188 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3811
   Phone: (202) 225-6511

3. Maxine Waters, CA

   Maxine Waters

   California-35th, Democrat
   2344 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-0535
   Phone: (202) 225-2201

4. Carolyn B. Maloney, NY

   Carolyn B. Maloney

   New York-14th, Democrat
   2331 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3214
   Phone: (202) 225-7944

5. Luis V. Gutierrez, IL

   Luis V. Gutierrez

   Illinois-4th, Democrat
   2266 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-1304
   Phone: (202) 225-8203

6. Nydia M. Velázquez, NY

   Nydia M. Velázquez

   New York-12th, Democrat
   2466 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3212
   Phone: (202) 225-2361

7. Melvin L. Watt, NC

   Melvin L. Watt

   North Carolina-12th, Democrat
   2236 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3312
   Phone: (202) 225-1510

8. Gary L. Ackerman, NY

   Gary L. Ackerman

   New York-5th, Democrat
   2243 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-3205
   Phone: (202) 225-2601

9. Brad Sherman, CA

   Brad Sherman

   California-27th, Democrat
   2242 Rayburn HOB
   Washington, DC 20515-0527
   Phone: (202) 225-5911

10. Gregory W. Meeks, NY

    Gregory W. Meeks

    New York-6th, Democrat
    2342 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3206
    Phone: (202) 225-3461

11. Dennis Moore, KS

    Dennis Moore

    Kansas-3rd, Democrat
    1727 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1603
    Phone: (202) 225-2865

12. Michael E. Capuano, MA

    Michael E. Capuano

    Massachusetts-8th, Democrat
    1530 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2108
    Phone: (202) 225-5111

13. Rubén Hinojosa, TX

    Rubén Hinojosa

    Texas-15th, Democrat
    2463 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4315
    Phone: (202) 225-2531

14. Wm. Lacy Clay, MO

    Wm. Lacy Clay

    Missouri-1st, Democrat
    434 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2501
    Phone: (202) 225-2406

15. Carolyn McCarthy, NY

    Carolyn McCarthy

    New York-4th, Democrat
    106 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3204
    Phone: (202) 225-5516

16. Joe Baca, CA

    Joe Baca

    California-43rd, Democrat
    1527 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0543
    Phone: (202) 225-6161

17. Stephen F. Lynch, MA

    Stephen F. Lynch

    Massachusetts-9th, Democrat
    221 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2109
    Phone: (202) 225-8273

18. Brad Miller, NC

    Brad Miller

    North Carolina-13th, Democrat
    1722 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3313
    Phone: (202) 225-3032

19. David Scott, GA

    David Scott

    Georgia-13th, Democrat
    417 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1013
    Phone: (202) 225-2939

20. Al Green, TX

    Al Green

    Texas-9th, Democrat
    425 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4309
    Phone: (202) 225-7508

21. Emanuel Cleaver, MO

    Emanuel Cleaver

    Missouri-5th, Democrat
    1641 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2505
    Phone: (202) 225-4535

22. Melissa L. Bean, IL

    Melissa L. Bean

    Illinois-8th, Democrat
    318 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1308
    Phone: (202) 225-3711

23. Gwen Moore, WI

    Gwen Moore

    Wisconsin-4th, Democrat
    1239 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4904
    Phone: (202) 225-4572

24. Lincoln Davis, TN

    Lincoln Davis

    Tennessee-4th, Democrat
    410 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-4204
    Phone: (202) 225-6831

25. Paul W. Hodes, NH

    Paul W. Hodes

    New Hampshire-2nd, Democrat
    506 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2902
    Phone: (202) 225-5206

26. Keith Ellison, MN

    Keith Ellison

    Minnesota-5th, Democrat
    1130 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2305
    Phone: (202) 225-4755

27. Ron Klein, FL

    Ron Klein

    Florida-22nd, Democrat
    313 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0922
    Phone: (202) 225-3026

28. Tim Mahoney, FL

    Tim Mahoney

    Florida-16th, Democrat
    1541 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0916
    Phone: (202) 225-5792

29. Charles A. Wilson, OH

    Charles A. Wilson

    Ohio-6th, Democrat
    226 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-3506
    Phone: (202) 225-5705

30. Ed Perlmutter, CO

    Ed Perlmutter

    Colorado-7th, Democrat
    415 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0607
    Phone: (202) 225-2645

31. Christopher S. Murphy, CT

    Christopher S. Murphy

    Connecticut-5th, Democrat
    501 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0705
    Phone: (202) 225-4476

32. Joe Donnelly, IN

    Joe Donnelly

    Indiana-2nd, Democrat
    1218 Longworth HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1402
    Phone: (202) 225-3915

33. Bill Foster, IL

    Bill Foster

    Illinois-14th, Democrat
    2304 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1314
    Phone: (202) 225-2976

34. André Carson, IN

    André Carson

    Indiana-7th, Democrat
    2455 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1407
    Phone: (202) 225-4011

35. Jackie Speier, CA

    Jackie Speier

    California-12th, Democrat
    2413 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-0512
    Phone: (202) 225-3531

36. Donald J. Cazayoux Jr., LA

    Donald J. Cazayoux Jr.

    Louisiana-6th, Democrat
    341 Cannon HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-1806
    Phone: (202) 225-3901

37. Travis W. Childers, MS

    Travis W. Childers

    Mississippi-1st, Democrat
    2350 Rayburn HOB
    Washington, DC 20515-2401
    Phone: (202) 225-4306

Warrants Are NOT Stocks! Call Capital Hill NOW!

I am not a learned man, just your average Middle Class Main Street kind of a guy doing my best to get by in these hard times. Like everyone else, I am not happy about this bailout, but was reluctantly willing to go along with it if there were certain strings attached (which were promised to us before negotiations began). What concerns me, is where is the press in holding Washington DC's heels to the fire as it were, instead of going along with them in beating the FEAR DRUMS? I've been doing a bit of reading today, and one thing above all others is ringing alarm bells for me, and I am amazed the press is not all over it.

We the taxpayers were supposed to be protected, we were supposed to get STOCKS as a part of this whole $770 Billion dollar bailout of Wall Street. Well, if you snoop around, you will see that the Lobbyist for Wall Street have twisted things around into some cruel hoax on everyone. We are not getting stocks, but instead will be given WARRANTS! Follow me...stocks are stocks, and right now recieving stocks at greatly depressed values might be a good deal for the US tax payer. Warrants on the other hand give the holder (the treasury) the right to PURCHASE SHARES at a future point and time at a price HIGHER THAN THEY ARE RIGHT NOW! Further, the treasure can sell THOSE WARRANTS...to their croonies and friends, but in the fashion as the USEC stocks were let out into the public domain.

The only way we get ownership is to go back into the market place at some later date and time if the stocks recover to a price point higher than our warrants, and BUY THEM with MORE TAX DOLLARS. Further, there is nothing in the agreement to dictate how those warrants will be dealt with, or how they could be sold or leveraged. So, we lend them $700 Billion, maybe get $400 Billion in WARRANTS, and we A) have nothing of value, and B) would end up giving Wall Street $1.1 TRILLION if we exercise our warrants. Call your elected officials and tell them NO WARRANTS, we want stock, and we want it at the DEPRESSED CURRENT VALUE!

A few Sunday Morning Political Thoughts

Republicans are beating their chests, claiming a big win this week that is opening up our continental shelf to off shore drilling. I'll bet you any money right now, that the first time drilling off our shores causes a major environmental problem, ruins some of our beaches that the Republicans will be the first ones to the airwaves to remind you that the Democrats were in the majority when the ban on off shore drilling was lifted.

Our own small poll on the debate has run along the same lines as most of the others in the nation, with Obama winning by almost a 2/1 margin. Time to take it down. In the meantime, looking forward to Thursday debate, and if Palin truly stumbles, shows America the Sarah Palin of SNL parodies of herself, this election IS OVER. Speaking of which, this weeks Sarah Palin was dead on, and too funny not to share, so going to join the stampede and put the video up for everyone to watch.

Where is the tentative Bailout bill so we can READ IT?

Palin On Saturday Night Live

Joe Biden HAMMERS John McCain

You have to love the advent of YouTube, the ability it gives us to enchance our blogs, to share not just our views on the news, but the streaming video that is the news. Joe Biden, as we have mentioned earlier today was freely available to the press after the debate last night, and he was SIMPLY ELECTRIC. It should be a great debate next week, and Joe should not pull is punches because Sarah Palin is a woman. We want a fair, but hard hitting debate, and know whining on the Republican side that we beat her up.

Late Night Bull Shit From Congressional Rats On Both Sides

12:30 at night, just past the witching hour, and the RATS come scurrying out to the cameras like proud peacocks announcing they almost have a deal on the $770 Billion dollar bailout deal. The low line staffers will now put the deal down on paper (but not available to us the general public) and tomorrow fish it out to members of Congress, and deal friendly members of the press. The deal is a stinker any way you slice it. Here are some of the flaws they do not want us to know about:

1. Remember not giving robber barons at the companies entering into this program huge salary and bonus...that seems dead. Seems that Mr. Paulson after speaking with his lobbyist buddies has all but convinced Congress that limiting executive pay as a part of the bailout is a deal breaker. Fine, break the deal, and those companies can go under. Let's be clear, this bailout is not going to end the suffering on Main Street, more of us are going to lose our houses, lose our jobs, and our government knows this. We get nothing out of this but lowered property values, lost equity, and a higher tax bill while the assets of the rich and elite are protected.

Negotiators were still arguing over lawmakers' demands that Treasury require firms participating in the bailout to ban "inappropriate or excessive" compensation for their senior managers. Hello, here is a loop hole to drive a truck through. Define specifically what senior managers are, and define specifically what constitutes inappropriate or excessive compensation. Without those SPECIFIC definitions, we have nothing more than a paper tiger. Additionally, this language indicates it is fine for NON SENIOR MANAGERS to earn excessive compensation.

2. Seems that Wall Street (through their lobbyist) want the money as quickly as possible, with few strings attached. Look for the Republican hopes of private insurance and investment to go bye bye. More importanly, notice there is NO RESTRICTION that forbids using our tax dollars to BAIL OUT FOREIGN BANKS!

3. Seems all parties agree to an oversight committee. Big deal. In the mean time, those on said committee are not to have any conflicts of interest, which leaves out Bloomberg and Buffett, as well as almost everyone else associated with Wall Street and Washington.

4. The bonds/mortgages will be sold at Auction, with the Treasury getting the BOTTOM OF THE BARREL...simply stated, though everyone involved is trying to tell us otherwise, we will be getting/taking over the worse of the worst investments, getting the most distressed properties.

Noticeably absent...anything so far for the man/woman on the street, and even if there is something, it will be a token scrap from the feasting table of some small amount of help to those mortgage holders in foreclosure, or in danger of going into foreclosure. As we suggested in an earlier article, time to STOP PAYING YOUR MORTGAGE.

Pelosi has said she hopes to put the proposed bill out on the Internet tomorrow/today for a full day, and then voting on it...first, do we the American Middle Class get to see this document, and have time to make our views known to our elected official (Congressman John Hall) on it before it is put to a vote, or is Pelosi going to try to SNEAK IT THROUGH, making the deal fate-a-compli before we on Main Street know just how badly we have been raped?

Our first ever "Blowing Smoke Up Your Ass" award goes to one Lawrence Kudlow who tries to convince us the reader that this deal is a WIN, WIN, WIN for taxpayers! Give us a break Lawrence, we may be from Main Street, may be the lower and middle class of America, but we are not as stupid as you must think we are. The deal is not and never will be a win, win, win for Main Street Americans, it contains nothing but our spilled blood and additional heart ache for us, while once again the assets of the rich and elite are protected.

There is going to be some kind of a bogus auction where well heeled mega billionaires like Buffett will show up and pluck up for their own the best of the assets going on the block, the ones likely to pay the highest return on investment in the shortest amount of time. Treasury is going to be getting the ROTTEN APPLES at the bottom of the barrel, the squalid spoiled, fetid refuse found at the bottom of the can. Your argument that we are going to be seeing ten percent interest on these holdings until they are sold is a red herring. These loans are in foreclosure, the homeowners cannot afford to make their mortgage payments, many of them cannot even find a decent paying job because our government refuses to deport illegal aliens who are violating our laws in working in this country, in depressing the wages of the lower and middle class workers of America. But, in your need to win access to the dark inner corridors of Congress you seem to have made a blood oath with the devil, penned an article of lies and deceit to gain favor with the demon spawn lobbyist and corrupt politicians that walk the halls of Congress.

That's why you have been awarded our first "Blowing Smoke Up Your Ass" award...may your fingers cripple up with arthritis in the hopes it will cripple your ability to spread such lies out into the public domain.

In closing...noticeably absent from the hastily called midnight press conference...Senator John McCain.

McCain says "Horse Shit" Twice in National Debate

If you carefully listen to the video clip from last night's debate you will hear towards the end of it John McCain saying "Horse Shit" not once, but twice as Obama NAILED HIM TO THE CROSS. If anyone has the clip of McCain all but dropping his precious pen in anger during the debate as he fumbled with his paper, we would love to put a link to it here on our Dick Cheese blog.

Another oddity of the debate last night...Joe Biden was available, and eager to cooperate with the press, while Sarah Palin was AWOL, somewhat like George Bush when he was in the National Guard. Perhaps she was out looking to mount a Moose? The pundits are trying to make a big deal about her support amongst men, so let me explain it to them, since they claim to have no clue. Men may not feel she is capable of being president, probably will not vote for McCain because of her, but they sure love her rack, and wish she was a waitress at their local Hooters.

The Wall Street Bailout Main Street Survivors Guide

Have you Bought Your Military Vehicle Yet?

News is leaking out (deliberately) into the media that Congress in on the verge of securing the necessary votes to bailout Wall Street to the tune of $770 Billion, perhaps more if you factor in other expenses. Further, the original 3 page bill is now over 100 pages LONG, and getting bigger! The lobbyist this week have been on a feeding frenzy, and for various reaons, this bailout does not look good for those of us living on Main Street.

1. The MAJOR elected officials who are writing/negotiating this bailout have taken over $20 million dollars in Campaign Donations from the very people they are bailing out. Talk about CONFLICT OF INTEREST!

2. Because of SPECIAL INTEREST lobbying on behalf of Wall Street, the first thing to hit the cutting room floor were any and all REAL PROTECTIONS for average lower and middle class citizens.

3. We are going to get it coming and going. The Conservative Wing of the Republican Right sees this as the perfect storm to eliminate Capital Gains taxes, and are sticking to their guns. Further, they are pushing for a new form of FICA like insurance, and guess who in the long run will pick up the tab for that one, which will make some insurance companies even richer than they are...meanwhile, Buffett is running around like a kid in the candy store buying up all these bargains after certain villians deliberately CRASHED THE MARKET to once again redistribute Middle Class wealth back to the Rich and Elite!

It is going to get ugly, and this bailout of Wall Street is not going to help out the man or woman on Main Street in middle America. More homes are going to be lost to foreclosure, property values are going to continue collapsing, more people will lose their jobs, and CRIME RATES are going to increase. So, what can you do to be prepared?

1. Seriously consider bailing on your own mortgage, banking the monthly payments for the recession/depression that is on the way. Fact is, most Middle Class Americans have lost some or most of their equity through no faught of their own, have little or no equity left in their homes. So, why keep making your payments? You have the ability to prepare yourself for the storm, put away for a rainy day...it will take the banks months, if not years to evict you, to foreclose on your home. If you buy 6 months, and your monthly payment is $1800 dollars, you just put away $10,800 for the impending storm to help carry you and your family through. No bailout for Main Street...create your own. That's RIGHT, STOP PAYING YOUR BILLS, just like Wall Street!...doing so, we can FORCE our government to bail us out, and lose America as they know it today.

2. Call your credit card companies and offer them SIX PERCENT INTEREST on what you owe them. If they say no, STOP PAYING THEM, let them choke on their Robber Baron interest rates, sometimes running to 30 percent. If our government will not listen to us, if our government insists on kowtowing to the rich and elite, then the time has come for us in the lower and middle class to take stronger actions, including crashing the economy to wake the Federal Government up...tell them we will start paying our bills again when they deport the 15-25 million illegal aliens that are inside our borders who are stealing our jobs, depressing our wages.

3. Down size your possessions, and have a plan to escape from cities and suberbs into Rural America. That's right, BE MOBIL! Might not be a bad idea to bring in some seeds to grow a garden with after you make your escape.

4. Start CASHING your payroll checks, and investing some of each week's pay into precious metals that you can have with you. (Gold, silver, even copper.) Take the rest of your cash and HORDE IT!

5. Arm yourselves! It is your right, protected by the Second Amendment. High unemployment rates, people losing their homes, their pride, people unable to feed themselves and their families...IT IS GOING TO GET UGLY and crime rates are going to shoot to the ceiling. You want guns, and not pea shooters! The criminals have guns...DO YOU? Oh, don't forget the AMMO! A good rule of thumb is about 10,000 rounds per household...I know, a bit overboard, but we are talking about a $770 Billion dollar bailout that is not going to work, but instead is simply going to save the asses of a few rich fat cats.

6. If you are going to ride out the storm in urban cities and the suberbs, start turning your home into a FORTRESS that you can defend, first from criminals, and perhaps from people in authority wanting to declare Marshall Law, wanting to force you and your family into FORCED LABOR CAMPS.

Extreme? Look around you, look at the signs. We have almost 25 million illegal aliens inside our border who are stealing our jobs, depressing our wages...WHY? Because as bad as it is here, it is worse where they came from. With all due respect to these illegal aliens, sorry but AMERICANS come first, and the time has come for you to go...we have 600,000 plus Americans who have lost their jobs this year. Have you read the news...banks closing their doors, runs on banks in HONG KONG, 10 years of home equity GONE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE! Forget the pundits advice, don't listen to Ali Velshi when he tells us to KEEP PAYING OUR BILLS! Why should we keep paying our bills, making our mortgage payments on a house we are now only renting since our EQUITY IS GONE!

We here at Dick Cheese are not about being politically correct, we are not about candy coating the truth. Facts are facts, and the rich and elite are about to put us into serfdom, and if you want to avoid that, you best start preparing yourself, your family, and your home for the seige.

Let's Play, "Wall Street Bailout".



Stories on Bailout:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=5898363