Uppity Wisconsin

In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.

It's not just Obama calling McCain erratic, it's his fellow Senators and Major Generals in the U.S. military.

Former POWs are saying the same thing.

Find the testimonial videos here.

UPDATE: And yesterday he referred to Americans as his "fellow prisoners." There will be some truth to that if he gets elected, I suppose.

UPDATE: McCain takes Ambien, a hypnotic, addictive, hallucinatory drug to help people sleep.

WTF is going on? Seriously!

The Wall Street bailout legislation passed by the Senate has $1.7 billion in tax breaks for shit like this:

• Manufacturers of kids' wooden arrows - $6 million.
• Puerto Rican and Virgin Islands rum producers - $192 million.
• Wool research.
• Auto-racing tracks - $128 million.
• Corporations operating in American Samoa - $33 million.
• Small- to medium-budget film and television productions - $10 million.

NASCAR is being subsidized in this taxpayer bailout of Wall Street? Do the people who represent us know what's going on in this country? Do they know healthcare and education systems are broken? Do they know bridges are collapsing? Do they know unemployment is at its highest levels in years?

WTF alternate universe are these people living in? Does anyone know?

Did you know Wisconsin Republicans Jim Sensenbrenner, Paul Ryan, and Tom Petri voted for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 which is what led to the current financial meltdown? What a joke it is that these guys are now doing hilarious CYA moves to trick the people of Wisconsin into thinking they have any leadership when it comes to fiscal responsibility. 

Journalist John Nichols wrote a good article about this recently.

And nevermind that the Bush Administration added $4 trillion to the U.S. debt in the last eight years. Oh, and that doesn't count the current Wall Street bailout.

And this Doonesbury strip says it all. 90 percent of the U.S. national debt was created under three Republican presidents. Enjoy!

 

Talking Points Memo has a great breakdown of what top economists are saying about the Wall Street bailout. It's a darn good, insightful, and concise read. You'll learn a thing or two.

Maybe we will also get answers to some hard questions. Like:

--Why was the CEO of Goldman Sachs in the room when government officials decided to bailout the insurer AIG, especially since Goldman has about $20 billion, half of its shareholder equity, at risk on AIG? Keep in mind that Treasury Secretary Paulson is the immediate former CEO of Goldman.

--Why was Lehman Brothers, a Goldman competitor, the only Wall Street firm in trouble so far left to collapse on its own? The Wall Street Journal reports today that it was the collapse of Lehman (which because of its structure may not have been an attractive firm for purchase) that "triggered cash crunch around the globe."

--Has Treasury obtained from every bank the amount of its illiquid assets, which would tell us if the problems are concentrated at a few banks or are pervasive?

The proposal to bailout Wall Street investment banks appears to be welfare for the rich. Nearly $1 trillion is being requested from U.S. taxpayers to avoid an economic disaster, and the current plan put forth is being universally reviled by economists and global treasury markets.

Daily Kos has a rundown of the details explaining why U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Bush Administration's plan is a seriously BAD DEAL for U.S. taxpayers.

In short, there is nothing in this plan that in any way benefits taxpayers. We give money, we get nothing in return.

There will be no oversight as to how the money is spent. None.

Regulatory reform is not part of the plan. This will be allowed to happen again as the bill is currently written.

Something needs to be done. Get Uppity and talk to your representatives about this.

Why is that every time bad investments made by private institutions go belly up, the U.S. taxpayers are called upon to socialize the financial risk? WHY?

Why is it that suddenly, government isn't the problem, it's the solution?

Democrats and Republican lawmakers are to blame for the current mortgage and investment banking crisis. From a legislative perspective, they saw this coming years ago and did nothing to stop it. This has happened before. Remember when taxpayers were called upon to bailout the Resolution Trust Corporation and the S&L crisis in the 1990s?

When will we hold politicians and powerbrokers in this country responsible for believing risk should be socialized, but wealth must be privatized?

This content is making the email rounds today. It deftly outlines the double standards that are causing cognitive dissonance in the 2008 presidential election. No idea who the author is, but the points are well made!

If you're a minority and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates, you're a 'token hire.'
If you're a conservative and you're selected for a job over more qualified candidates, you're a 'game changer.'

Black teen pregnancies? A 'crisis' in black America .
White teen pregnancies? A 'blessed event.'

If you grow up in Hawaii , you're 'exotic.'
Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're the quintessential 'American story.'

K Street Washington lobbyist, GOP corruption king, and all-around sleezy guy, Jack Abramoff was sentenced to four more years in prison today.

He was shown some leniency for cooperating with the FBI to take down other corrupt GOPers like former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles and many top Capitol Hill assistants.

And like a good jailbird, he's gonna sing! Jackie boy's forthcoming book is due for publication later this month.

The title?

"The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff."

My, oh my.

UPDATE: A warning, the book could be written to make McCain look like a savior, a fighter of lobbyist corruption. That would make Rovian sense. I have written the publisher to request an advance copy for reporting purposes. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Author Gary Chafetz's response to a request for an advance copy of his book:

My, oh my, this says it all.

Before applauding the decision to postpone the opening of the GOP Convention in deference to the tragedy that's about to hit the Gulf Coast in the form of a hurricane, let's not forget how McCain responded to Hurricane Katrina and consider whether this man is competent enough to handle a national emergency.

McCain voted against unemployment benefits for Katrina victims.

McCain voted against funding the Army Corps of Engineers.

McCain voted against the Katrina Commission to hold the government responsible for its response to that natural disaster. And he has lied in interviews, stating that he supported every investigation.

McCain voted against supplemental Medicaid funding for Katrina victims.

McCain was part of the problem, not the solution.

Courtesy of Slate.

"Each scandal is represented by a colored circle that encompasses the people who are implicated."

 

The manufacturer of the trailers used to house people impacted by Hurricane Katrina knew they were toxic ... and the republicans will block any effort to hold them accountable for it.

What poison would you like to sell to the U.S. government, collect $500 million in taxpayer money, and never suffer the consequences of an incredible healthcare fraud?

I may never stop puking.

In a few short minutes you can watch this and easily understand how Congress today shredded the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

If you don't know how important this is, for godsakes, click the link above and watch the video below.

The bottom line is that the government, with the help of telecommunication corporations, will be able to spy on Americans accused of no crime. Your email, your cell phone messages ... and there's no oversight to know how they're using the information. Will it be used against political enemies? Who knows!

This IS NOT tinfoil hat stuff, folks. 

UPDATE: The folks who will be doing the spying aren't equipped to keep classified information classified. Great! Now the government gives a more robust assist to identity theft on all U.S. citizens! Love it!

UPDATE: The U.S. military is being spied upon by politicians.

Democrats in Congress who voted against immunity for the telecommunication companies in March, then flipped their votes this month and now do not support prosecution for illegally eavesdropping on Americans, received more money from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, than those who did not change their votes.

None of the 94 Democrats who changed their vote are from Wisconsin, thankfully - and a big shout out of support to Russ Feingold for attempts to lead a filibuster of the bill - but there are many fellow Midwesterners who did flip.

Were contributions to their coffers the reason? It looks like those who voted to give immunity received double the money from the telco PACs, than those who did not.

Here's the list, courtesy a great organization, MapLight.org.