Who Said This – Bush or Obama?

Iranian Misile Launch FakedImage by Wired.com via AFP
Governments Lie…

Iran recently tested some missiles. Perhaps you’ve heard about it. The photo was splashed everywhere, it seemed. Four Iranian missiles launching perfectly into the Persian sky.

Except the picture was a fake, altered to show a perfect launch. In fact, it appears that at least one of the missiles failed to launch. So the missile test wasn’t such a perfect success, after all. And the global PR campaign that the pictures supported was an abject failure.

But that didn’t stop the political posturing here in the US. Below is a quote from one of the most prominent figures in American politics. Can you guess who said this (highlights mine):

“These missile tests demonstrate once again that we need to change our policy to deal aggressively with the threat posed by the Iranian regime. Through its nuclear program, missile capability, meddling in Iraq, support for terrorism, and threats against Israel, Iran now poses the greatest strategic challenge to the United States in the region in a generation. Now is the time to work with our friends and allies, and to pursue direct and aggressive diplomacy with the Iranian regime backed by tougher unilateral and multilateral sanctions. It’s time to offer the Iranians a clear choice between increased costs for continuing their troubling behavior, and concrete incentives that would come if they change course. As these tests have reaffirmed, the threat from Iran’s nuclear program is real and it is grave. As President, I will do everything in my power to eliminate that threat, and that must begin with direct, aggressive, and sustained diplomacy.”

Obama Is Right, Just Not In The Correct Way

It might surprise some of you that Senator Obama said this. Even though our own National Intelligence Estimate(pdf) released in December said that Iran most likely hasn’t had a nuclear weapons program in over 5 years, Obama says ‘the threat from Iran’s nuclear program is real and it is grave.’

This just REEKS of Bullicus Shitticus. This guy sounds exactly like Bush did in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. He is making plainly false statements, playing on baseless fears. I’m definitely not a McCain supporter, but I have to call a liar a liar and, Mr. Obama, you are a liar of the worst sort.

When you can make statements like this, employing outright lies focused on manipulating the emotions of the American people, with the obvious intent to stir us into anger so that once elected you, too, can wage an illegal war of aggression with our ‘informed’ support, then you are not just moving toward the right.

Mr Obama, You Are The Right’s Right Hand Man.

I am Jon, and I despise liars. I snicker in their general direction.

IndyMac Failure – 2nd Largest In History

No Recession Here – Move Along, Move Along

The 2nd largest bank failure in US history occured late Friday as Federal officials closed the doors on IndyMac. As reported by the LATimes, the government spent “most of Friday trying to knock down rumors of a government bailout”.

In other words, the federal government was busy doing what they do so well, Lying to the American People. Nevertheless, bank depositors were greeted by this notice on their website:


IndyMac Failure
This is what it looks like when you can’t have your money.

The Running Results

Since June 27th, about 1.3 billion dollars have been withdrawn by depositors of the bank. The LATimes goes on to say:

IndyMac is the second-largest financial institution failure in U.S. history, following only Continental Illinois Bank, which had assets of about $40 billion before it was shuttered in 1984. It is the fifth FDIC-insured failure of the year. Reich emphasized that though other financial institutions remained on the agency’s danger list, he believed most of them would be able to work their way back to solvency.

“The IndyMac situation is unique. It does not signal a direction for the industry as a whole,” he said.

Let me do my patriotic duty and state that again: This ‘does not signal a direction for the industry as a whole’.

Well, saying it doesn’t make me feel any better. I wonder how it made Reich feel? The truth is, that the only thing holding most banks together right now is our blind faith. Over the coming weeks I’ll be writing more in earnest about our current financial state.

We are in a bit of trouble, folks, and it seems our government thinks its job is to lie to us about it. This IndyMac failure is most definitely not the end of our non-existent recession.
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I am Jon, and I know what’s in my wallet.
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Read more about IndyMac Failure at ThinkProgress
(edited)

HR6304 As Law – The Initial Wordout Response

We Are Betrayed

Distress

THE FLAG CODE
Title 36, U.S.C., Chapter 10
As amended by P.L. 344, 94th Congress
Approved July 7, 1976

§ 176. (a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a
signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
~

I am Jon, and I think today qualifies.

HR6304 – President “Committed a Felony”

Title Quoted From

Jonathan Turley a constitutional law professor at George Washington University law school made that statement during a broadcast on MSNBC Tuesday, paraphrasing a federal judge’s remarks while working on a case involving one of the telecom lawsuits. He goes on to add that Bush did this not once, but at least 30 times.

Thanks to Becky for showing me this, so I can pass it on to you. Please watch the video from MSNBC which was released Tuesday. You will learn something. Keep in mind, This Bill Has Already Been Passed By Congress. There Are No More Votes. It’s a Done Deal.

That said, please try to watch at least the first couple of minutes. MSNBC is not some off-the-wall blogging outfit spouting off about their pet peeves of the day. They Are A Mainstream Global News Service responsibly reporting the news ….

The Wildest Dreams Of GW Bush

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I am Jon, and I’ll be back.

HR6304 – I Believe… We Are Broken

A toddler girl cryingImage via Wikipedia
HR6304 Passed By Senate

I will write about this more, but for now, because I am so emotional, I will simply post the lyrics to these two songs by the group Tears For Fears. That seems to be what our government has done, traded our current fears for our future tears. May our children forgive us…

Tears For Fears

I Believe

I believe that when the hurting and the pain has gone
We will be strong, Oh yes we will be strong.
And I believe that if I’m crying while I write these words
Is it absurd? Or am I being real?
I believe that if you knew just what these tears were for
They would just pour like every drop of rain.
That’s why I believe it is too late for anyone to believe.

I believe that if you thought for a moment, took your time
You would not resign yourself to your fate.
And I believe that if it’s written in the stars, that’s fine.
I can’t deny that I’m a Virgo too.
I believe that if you’re bristling while you hear this song
I could be wrong or have I hit a nerve ?
That’s why I believe it is too late for anyone to believe.

I believe that maybe somewhere in the darkness
In the nighttime, In the storm
In the casino
Casino spanish eyes…
I believe, no I can’t believe that every time you hear a new born scream,
You just can’t see the shaping of a life.
The shaping of a life.

Broken

Between the searching and the need to work it out
I stop believing everything will be alright.
Broken,
We are broken.
I’m walking uphill being turned around and round,
Secret in motion when my feet are on the ground.
Broken,.
We are broken.
In my mind’s eye
One little boy anger one little man
Funny how time flies…

(Lyrics from the LP ‘Songs From The Big Chair‘)


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Most of us are dissatisfied with the Bushie way of doing things. About 80% of the US thinks his administration is horrible for one reason or the other. Remember this day. Remember the day that our Democratic Congress capitulated to the Republican President with the Worst Approval Ratings In History.

And remember this:

The Executive Branch didn’t do this to us. The Legislative Branch did this to us. And We Let Them.

I am Jon, unhappy but undefeated.

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She Fought Back – They Cut Off Her Head

You May Want To Skip This

Seriously. Just click the next link on your list. What’s here is terrible.

Mom, this means you.

Below is a video I found through DigitalJournal. It was originally published at Hyscience, showing an excerpt of the original video of the Florida House of Representatives State Affairs Committee on April 8, 2008 hearing on immigration legislation.

In the video you will hear the story of a little girl, brought to the USA and repeatedly raped. When she fought back, she was brought before the other girls and beheaded in front of them as a warning. If you search for any news about this story, you will come up empty. There was absolutely zero coverage in the mainstream media. The 1st coverage it ever received was when Abdul posted it on June 29th. Since then a few bloggers have published it, much the way I am doing here.



Not The Only Threat

Death isn’t the only threat these girls face. If they refuse to cooperate they run the risk of genital mutilations as well. I don’t know who this little girl was, where she was from or anything more about her. What I have to wonder is: how many more little girls have been killed or mutilated, just to set an example for the others?

And why wasn’t something like this reported anywhere? Anywhere at all? If it weren’t for Abdul we would never had learned of this girl, her life, her death. Why doesn’t CNN or Fox or the Networks or the AP or Reuters or Anybody report this to us? Things like this should receive at least a paragraph buried somewhere on page 37 or something… at least a mention.

What we have is a system of entertainment journals masquerading as news outlets. The only things that matter to the mainstream media anymore are profits and ratings. We haven’t had good journalism in this country for nearly a decade at least, probably longer. We don’t have journalists, we have media personalities. Stewart and Colbert report more honest news stories than CNN or Fox.

And that should make us all worry.

I am Jon, clicking through to The Daily Show.

HR6304 – Those Who Sacrifice Liberty

WASHINGTON - JUNE 10:  (L-R)  U.S. Democratic ...Those Who Sacrifice Liberty

Back To Work?

The holiday is over and both the House of Representatives and the Senate are back at work. This week the Senate is scheduled to take up debate and vote on HR6304, The FISA Amendments Act. Regular readers will remember it from a weeklong rant appearing here at Wordout when the House introduced the bill one day and passed it the next.

Last October, Senator Obama promised he would do whatever it took to block any bill with the provisions of this one. Last October, Barack said he would even go as far as supporting a filibuster to block this bill. This June, he backed down, just like most of the Democrats in the House backed down (my Rep didn’t!).

How did it get this far, this fast? It was just this past spring that the Democrats were preaching loudly how they would never back down on this issue. What has happened to make the democrats fold up like a fern at night?

What’s Worse Than Recession?

The economy happened. The mortgage crisis took out one of the top players, wiping out hundreds of billions of invested dollars. The Fed pumped in a few hundred billion more dollars, trying to shore up the system. Around the world the same thing happened, is still happening. The mortgage crisis is spreading to become a general credit crisis, which means a finance crisis, which threatens the entire global economy.

Things are bad, and they will probably get a bit worse before they turn around.

The Bushies could care less. They’re on the way out, taking their profits with them. But that newly elected Democratic Congress is mostly intact this election, and they know that we have some hard times a’comin. So they made a ‘compromise‘ with the Bushies. They would give in to the neocon demands for no judicial oversight and retroactive immunity in exchange for some extra spending attached to a different bill.

What Was Compromised?

Remember last week the big hooplah about Bush signing a bill that gave veterans extended educational benefits, extended some unemployment benefits and things like that? You may have seen a sound-bite of Bushy himself taking credit for pushing the bill through.

Don’t be so gullible. Bush opposed that bill and threatened to veto it. The only reason that bill became law was the FISA deal. Congress traded our 4th amendment guarantees for a few million dollars in temporary funding. Later on this can be used to make them look like they care about us, once the economy goes to the deep south.

We can be sure, with the passage of HR6304, our Congress doesn’t care about us or the rule of law which used to make America so great. It was never our wealth. It was never our military might. It was never our ‘God-Given Place’ in the world. It was always our rule of law that made us great. We stood as a beacon throughout history, as a place where the law was above all else a guarantee at a chance for justice.

War On Terror or War On Tyranny?

For 7 long years that is what we have been defending. Our rule of law is what gave us our way of life. Is this the solution our government has come up with? Do we really have to choose between Terrorism or Tyranny? Are these really our only options?

This administration has consistently and aggressively attacked the very rule of law that made America great. At the end of their reign over us we find that they have consistently misused their power and authority for profit. Worse than that, they have changed us for the worse.

That our elected Congress, sworn to defend the Constitution, would debate and then pass a law which negates a vital part of that very Constitution, is an idea totally alien to me. But to see my nation sit and say nothing at all is appalling. Will we sit and do nothing while our freedoms are stripped from us?

Ben Franklin said this:

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

The Senate has not passed this bill yet. Call your Senator. Send an email to your senator. Send an email to everyone you know, asking them to look into this for themselves. Do even a small bit of reading about it and you will almost certainly come to the same angry conclusion I did. There is no way this bill should ever become law.

I am Jon, and I agree with Ben.

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Radical Abrupt Climate Change in 1 Year

Description unavailableImage by jagosaurus via Flickr

It’s Happened Before

We’ve always thought of climate as just the longer term view of the weather. You might be able to look at the moon and tell the next day’s weather, but you can’t look up there and say what will happen next year.

Much of the computer models we use to predict climate change caused by global warming is based on long term observations of the climate in the past. We’ve always thought the longer the term, the more accurate the models. When we see in these observations a gradual shift in things like CO2, temperature, rainfall, we believe that indicates the gradual nature of climate change. But that view was shattered recently.

Scientists examined an ice core sample and determined that the last glacial period ended in a single year. The online edition of Scientific American reports:

‘Roughly 14,700 years ago the weather patterns that bring snow to Greenland shifted from one year to the next—a pattern of abrupt change that was repeated 12,900 years ago and 11,700 years ago when the earth’s climate became the one enjoyed today—according to records preserved in an ice core taken from the northern island. These speedy changes—transitions from warming to cooling and back again—in the absence of changes in greenhouse gas could presage abrupt, catastrophic climate change in our future.’

The scientists reported evidence of a 20 degree temperature increase over the course of a few decades following the abrupt shift. Other evidence indicated a change in global weather patterns immediately following the shift. Variations in the amount and origin of atmospheric dust, and the amounts of certain hydrogen and oxygen atoms can be observed in each layer of ice in the sample. The scientists were able to make measurements accurate to a resolution of one year.

‘Roughly five years after this change in dust levels, the levels of heavy hydrogen ensconced in the ice indicate that weather patterns were shifting and driving precipitation over Greenland that had originated in evaporated water from a different area of the ocean than had previously been the source of the island’s rain. And this change happened in as little as a year. “During the glacial period, abrupt warmings show change of the atmospheric circulation from year to year,” says glaciologist Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, also of the University of Copenhagen, who participated in the study as well.

Following this abrupt shift, as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) of warming occurred over the subsequent decades—a change that ultimately resulted in at least 33 feet (10 meters) of sea-level rise as the ice melted on Greenland.

Greenland can change quickly, even living up to its name, according to another paper in this week’s Science. Sediment cores from the ocean show that forests of spruce and even fern grew on Greenland just 125,000 years ago. That means Greenland’s ice sheet—potentially responsible for as much as 75 feet (23 meters) of sea-level rise if it all melts—has grown and shrunk far more frequently than previously known.’

Go Swimming At The North Pole

The Independent reports that there’s a better than 50:50 chance that the North Pole will be ice free by the end of August. In human history, this has never happened. From that article:

‘Seasoned polar scientists believe the chances of a totally ice-free North Pole this summer are greater than 50:50 because the normally thick ice formed over many years at the Pole has been blown away and replaced by huge swathes of thinner ice formed over a single year.

This one-year ice is highly vulnerable to melting during the summer months and satellite data coming in over recent weeks shows that the rate of melting is faster than last year, when there was an all-time record loss of summer sea ice at the Arctic.’

Computer models predict that the polar regions will feel the effects of global warming both earlier and more intensely than lower latitudes. Last year, the ice melted in the far northern latitudes enough to create a temporary shortcut from one side of the planet to the other. Local sea ice melted as close as 700 miles from the pole. All of that ice is expected to melt easily this year. The more the ice melts, the warmer the waters become, helping more ice to melt. Again, from The Independent:

‘Professor Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University, who was one of the first civilian scientists to sail underneath the Arctic sea ice in a Royal Navy submarine, said that the conditions are ripe for an unprecedented melting of the ice at the North Pole.

“Last year we saw huge areas of the ocean open up, which has never been experienced before. People are expecting this to continue this year and it is likely to extend over the North Pole. It is quite likely that the North Pole will be exposed this summer – it’s not happened before,” Professor Wadhams said.’

Tipping Points, Mass Extinctions, and the Chairman of Exxon

Twenty years ago this week, Jim Hansen testified before Congress on the subject of global warming. This week, he again presented a statement to Congress, saying that global warming was indisputably caused by humans, and that we were very quickly running out of time to do anything about it. Quoting his prepared statement:

‘The next President and Congress must define a course next year in which the United States exerts leadership commensurate with our responsibility for the present dangerous situation. Otherwise it will become impractical to constrain atmospheric carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas produced in burning fossil fuels, to a level that prevents the climate system from passing tipping points that lead to disastrous climate changes that spiral dynamically out of humanity’s control.
Changes needed to preserve creation, the planet on which civilization developed, are clear. But the changes have been blocked by special interests, focused on short-term profits, who hold sway in Washington and other capitals. I argue that a path yielding energy independence and a healthier environment is, barely, still possible. It requires a transformative change of direction in Washington in the next year…

…The disturbing conclusion, documented in a paper I have written with several of the world’s leading climate experts, is that the safe level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is no more than 350 ppm (parts per million) and it may be less. Carbon dioxide amount is already 385 ppm and rising about 2 ppm per year. Stunning corollary: the oft-stated goal to keep global warming less than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) is a recipe for global disaster, not salvation…

Special interests have blocked transition to our renewable energy future. Instead of moving heavily into renewable energies, fossil companies choose to spread doubt about global warming, as tobacco companies discredited the smoking-cancer link. Methods are sophisticated, including funding to help shape school textbook discussions of global warming.
CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of long-term consequences of continued business as usual. In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature.
Conviction of ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal CEOs will be no consolation, if we pass on a runaway climate to our children. Humanity would be impoverished by ravages of continually shifting shorelines and intensification of regional climate extremes…’

One Year

Jim Hansen was right 20 years ago. My bet is that he’s right, now. He says we have one year at the most to DO something about it. We don’t have time to plan elegant solutions. We don’t have time for committees and studies and cost estimates and other things which are there explicitly to slow us down. We need to be doing something.

We need to Stop investing in anything coal or oil. We need to stop calling it ‘alternative’ energy, and move it to ‘mainstream’. We need to be digging deep and working hard to get a handle on this. It’s getting hot. We know now that radical changes in the climate can occur in a matter of months. We see the polar ice melting like it’s never done in the history of mankind. We see mass extinctions taking place all around us. We see deserts expanding, once huge lakes drying up.

And we see our political and business leaders doing everything they can to hide from us the awful truth: They are more concerned with making record profits and controlling the world through energy idiocy. We simply do not have the time to play with these guys. The changes are upon us already. The world they think they will control won’t exist in a few years if we keep on our present course. They are, to put it bluntly, stupid.

Like I’ve heard people say, “We need to be keeping it real” with these so-called leaders. We cannot afford short-sighted corporate greed, whether for power or for money, to get in our way any longer. A runaway climate would most likely kill billions of us. But we’re smart. We’ve faced threats before and here we still are. If we put forth a real effort, we can change this planet, eliminate our dependence on finite and dangerous energy sources, and grow the global economy all at the same time. If these leaders are not part of the solution, then as part of the problem, there must be a solution to them, as well.

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I am Jon, a peaceful man, being backed into a corner.

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Read more about this at Scholars and Rogues and TerraDaily.

For a follow-up of the info presented in this article, read Arctic Methane and Oh Crap, Arctic Methane Confirmed.

HR 6304 – The YouTube Collection

Watch, Listen, Learn

The next bill on the Senate agenda is HR 6304, the bill which will make us all subject to warrantless surveillance, search and seizure with no judicial recourse. This is the bill which, when it becomes law, will take away one of our most basic rights.

This bill even goes as far as to say that any American citizen attempting to use their 1st Amendment rights may be considered the agent of a foreign government. This bill takes away our rights, folks. And our Congress knows this. Watch at least the 1st video and you will see exactly what our representatives said about this bill, right before they voted overwhelmingly, to pass it.

Your Representatives Saw Right Through It


But They Voted For It Anyway

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Dennis Kucinich – The Guy Who Introduced The Articles Of Impeachment


I’m Thinking He’s Not Too Popular Right Now On The Hill.

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Even Ralph Nader – Maybe He’ll Finally Get My Vote.


Consumer Advocate – Defender of The Constitution

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Be An American! Make A Ruckus!

The only chance we the people have against this bill is a filibuster on the floor of the Senate. Last October, Barack Obama PROMISED he would support a filibuster of any bill that contained the provisions this one does. Call him (866-675-2008). Email his campaign. Call your 2 Senators, regardless of who they are. Tell them to help filibuster this bill until it is completely defeated in the Senate. If there’s no filibuster, just tell them you are watching every vote in the Senate, and that you consider the Constitution important enough by itself to decide who you vote for. Don’t let the fear of losing your freedom make you just give it up altogether.

Be an American Make a ruckus. This is worth it, not to just to you, but to your children and theirs.

I am Jon, still hoping for that filibuster.

Obama’s HR6304 Statement – A Dozen Red Flags

Disclaimer:
I am Jon, and I will vote for the best candidate on November 4th. If it seems I disagree with Senator Obama here, if it seems that I am ‘against’ him, let me make it clear that of the two major candidates, I don’t consider McCain to be a viable choice. I may be against some of Obama’s policy, but I am not against the man.

Obama has shown an incredible ability to learn his way into better choices, better decisions, throughout this whole campaign. In energy, finance and security, his statements have become more comprehensive as the race has continued.

He seems not to be afraid of learning.

I will be voting for the best man November 4th: Barack Obama.

Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), rebounds the ball during a basketball game with U.S. military service members from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa during his visit at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, on Aug. 31, 2006. Sen. Obama is touring Kenya, Djibouti and flood-damaged areas of Ethiopia. The CJTF-HOA works to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect Coalition interests in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritea, Djibouti and Yemen through humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and civic action programs. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Eric A. Clement) (Released) (Released to Public)Obama: Just The Same Old Games?
Image via Wikipedia

Obama Releases “Statement” on HR6304

If I were Barack, I’d be worried. If I were a Barack supporter, I’d be embarrassed. I am an American, and I am disgusted. This bill, HR6304, which was passed Friday in the House, is a big thing. Naturally, mainstream media is giving it lip service. Not surprisingly, the political blog-world is going nuts over it, mostly focusing now on Barack Obama’s plans to endorse the bill bull. I’ve been searching online to find an official statement from Obama, but I can’t find it.

What I did find I traced back to Glenn Greenwald. From what I can gather, it’s believed around the web to be the authentic words of Barack Obama, sent to Glenn as a response to a post he published last week with the title “A Letter to the Next President of the United States“. Well, at least I found something. Regular readers know I am stickler for going to the source. It bothers me that I can’t point directly at Obama and say to you: “Go here to read what he says.”

I have to wonder why Obama doesn’t have an ‘official’ statement at his website. I am simply amazed that instead, he chose to reply via email to a blog post. I don’t mean to imply that Glenn doesn’t deserve an answer to his open letter. I do mean to state that the rest of us deserve just as official an answer. We deserve to be able to go to Obama’s website and find out where he stands on important issues. I spent nearly 4 hours researching online, looking for an ‘official’ Obama statement. Obama, you have already started wasting my time.

Here is the response in its entirety (I’ve BOLDED some parts which I will address individually below):

Statement of Senator Barack Obama on FISA Compromise

“Given the grave threats that we face, our national security agencies must have the capability to gather intelligence and track down terrorists before they strike, while respecting the rule of law and the privacy and civil liberties of the American people. There is also little doubt that the Bush Administration, with the cooperation of major telecommunications companies, has abused that authority and undermined the Constitution by intercepting the communications of innocent Americans without their knowledge or the required court orders.

“That is why last year I opposed the so-called Protect America Act, which expanded the surveillance powers of the government without sufficient independent oversight to protect the privacy and civil liberties of innocent Americans. I have also opposed the granting of retroactive immunity to those who were allegedly complicit in acts of illegal spying in the past.

“After months of negotiation, the House today passed a compromise that, while far from perfect, is a marked improvement over last year’s Protect America Act.

“Under this compromise legislation, an important tool in the fight against terrorism will continue, but the President’s illegal program of warrantless surveillance will be over. It restores FISA and existing criminal wiretap statutes as the exclusive means to conduct surveillance – making it clear that the President cannot circumvent the law and disregard the civil liberties of the American people. It also firmly re-establishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance in the future. It does, however, grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses. But this compromise guarantees a thorough review by the Inspectors General of our national security agencies to determine what took place in the past, and ensures that there will be accountability going forward. By demanding oversight and accountability, a grassroots movement of Americans has helped yield a bill that is far better than the Protect America Act.

“It is not all that I would want. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay. So I support the compromise, but do so with a firm pledge that as President, I will carefully monitor the program, review the report by the Inspectors General, and work with the Congress to take any additional steps I deem necessary to protect the lives – and the liberty – of the American people.”

1. compromise legislation

This is not a compromise. It is a total caving in to what the administration asked for, and even more. All the administration wanted was immunity for the telecoms and themselves, and the ability to keep using the so-called FISA court setup under the 1978 bill. HR6304 abolishes that and says that the district court will now review the process, under the direction of the Executive Branch(The President).

By compromise, you are referring to the additional Domestic Spending which the Democrats attached to the bill FUNDING THE WAR IN IRAQ, wherein the Democrats also gave the Bushies the billions they asked for in exchange for some paltry millions of dollars, to be used as proof in the current election that the Democrats care about us. Bullshit compromise, if you ask me. If you care about us, protect us; protect the Constitution.

2. illegal program of warrantless surveillance will be over

The illegality of it will be over. According to the provisions in this bill, the program of warrantless surveillance will be expanded greatly. But you’re right, the lack of a warrant will not be a legal issue any longer.

3. restores FISA and existing criminal wiretap statutes

This is a misdirection of facts. In fact, FISA was alive and well, as were the “existing’ statutes. To imply that they are being restored, when in fact, they are not, is at best a misdirection of facts. At worst, it’s a barefaced lie. Under the existing law, all the President has to do is get a warrant. All a warrant requires is probable cause. HR6304 does away with that. There’s no requirement for anything more than a statement saying they want to do whatever it is they want to do, simply because they want to do it. No reason why required. In that manner, this bill completely destroys the existing statutes.

4. re-establishes basic judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance in the future

This is pure dishonesty on the senator’s part. In fact, the revisions contained in HR6304 completely abolish any judicial oversight. The provisions of the bill say that if the President says that he(she) thinks an action is needed, then the court must agree and not investigate further. The court is not even allowed to ask for an explanation of why. The court simply has to do whatever it is told.

5. grant retroactive immunity, and I will work in the Senate to remove this provision so that we can seek full accountability for past offenses

Okay, Barack, here’s your chance to show America what you really are. Remember back in October of last year? You’re not elected yet, so I’m sure you haven’t developed the memory loss that comes with being in the Executive Branch. Let me quote your campaign:

“To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”

If you do this on Monday, on the floor of the Senate, you will prove to all of US that you can be trusted to follow through on what you say. You will convince us that you are not another Bush. Do otherwise, and you will prove that you are not to be trusted. Fail here and you prove that you are a liar who will say anything to us to be elected. Anything to gain power.

6. thorough review by the Inspectors General

The Inspectors General are a part of the Executive Branch, reporting directly to the President. Giving the President the authority to review the President’s actions is not a real review by anyone’s standards.

7. accountability going forward

Once again, real accountability would disclose details, at least to the judges reviewing the actions. Oh, that’s right, they aren’t allowed to review anything at all unless the President says so. So I guess the President is accountable to …. the President!

8. grassroots movement of Americans

This is just bullshit. Barack, show me a grassroots movement to grant immunity to the telecoms. Barack, show me a grassroots movement to allow warrantless searches and seizures. Barack, show me a grassroots movement to allow the President to be the Supreme Authority on what is legal in this country. You, sir, are a liar.

9. But given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay

This sounds alarmingly similar to what GW Bush has said for the past 7 years. We have ALWAYS faced legitimate threats, the greatest of which caused our founding fathers to set up this crazy system of government… one which pits 3 different branches against each other so as to prevent one branch, one man, from attaining too much power. The most legitimate threat we face today, Mr. Obama, is from within our own government. The Executive Branch is trying to usurp all the power. As a member of the Legislative Branch, this should make you wary. Unless you really think you can win.

10. firm pledge that as President

Dude, you’ve already made a firm pledge as a Senator! Uphold the Constitution of The United States Of America! If you fail on that pledge, why should we expect you to do any better as President? Especially since you, alone, are in a position to turn this around. You don’t think so? You think you can’t fight the good fight on our behalf? You think you need to be a part of that machine to win?

You underestimate us, Mr. Obama. We are the American Republic. We are The People. If we choose you, no amount of money or might will stand in our way. All you have to do is: Be One Of Us.

11. any additional steps I deem necessary

This is not all that comforting to read. GW Bush did whatever he deemed necessary as well. Hey, doesn’t this bill give the President the power to do whatever he deems necessary anyway? Yeah, it does… whatever he wants with no fear of any real judicial review. The ‘Get Out Of Jail’ card which is called HR6304 says that all you would have to do is say you ‘deemed it necessary’ and that would be that. It’s not comforting to know that you already have decided that you WILL use this bill to do exactly what it gives the President the power to do. Anything you want.

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Filibuster

Are you supporting Obama’s bid to become President? Why? Most likely, it’s because you’re really fed up with the way the Bushies have been running things. Maybe, like me, you think the Bushies are all criminals. Be certain of this: HR6304 will make everything they have done Perfectly Legal. And not only that, but it gives the Executive Branch, the President, the power to literally DO ANYTHING THEY WANT. This bill, once it becomes law, will completely abolish the protections from our own government that we have enjoyed for more than 2 centuries. No judge will be able to protect you. No law will supersede this one.

Don’t think that such a high-level thing will not affect you. The Executive branch includes a bunch of politicians and civil servants in Washington. It also includes all of our military. It also includes your local police force and sheriff’s department. The executive branch is that branch which ENFORCES the laws. This law gives them the power, at the top, to decide what is law. Don’t misunderstand me, I respect my local police force. I have friends in blue and friends in brown, and I respect them and am glad that they are out there trying to protect me. But they are not judges. Their bosses are not judges, and neither are their bosses all the way up to the President himself. None of them are qualified to judge, and the ones I know will tell you so themselves.

Probably the only thing that can stop this bill now is a filibuster on the floor of the Senate. Obama promised us all last year that he would do this for us, if it ever came to that. Well, it has come to that. It’s time to see what kind of people come from Illinois. He wants to lead this country. Let’s see him lead his party first. The Democrats control the Senate. Surely their selected leader, the man they want us to vote into office in November, can organize a filibuster against a bill which does so much to destroy the very foundation of our nation.

A long time ago, a man from Illinois changed the course of our future. He stood up for the values laid out plainly in our Constitution. He went against the prevailing sentiment in Washington – and our country, each individual one of us, is greater because of that. If Obama has the integrity that he’s spent millions selling to us, he will do what he said he would do and filibuster this bill. It won’t be the popular thing to do on the hill on Monday, but it will be the right thing.


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I am Jon, waiting for Monday’s filibuster.

HR 6304 – The Vote Count Counts

Brad Miller (congressman)Brad Miller, One of The Good Guys
Image via Wikipedia

The Vote Fix Is In

The House of Representatives of The United States Of America voted by a much-too-wide majority in favor of HR 6304. Next week the bill will most likely be passed in the Senate and sent to Bush to be signed into law. This bill allows the president to legally authorize physical searches without a warrant. This bill allows the president to authorize wiretapping with absolutely no real judicial oversight. This bill essentially gives the executive branch of government free reign to do anything they want to do, without fear of any judicial consequences whatsoever.

More than 100 democrats voted in favor of the bill. Here in North Carolina, 4 of the 7 Democrat Representatives voted for it, and only 3 voted against. The Representative for my district is Brad Miller. That’s him on the right. He’s one of the good guys. He voted against HR 6304. From all of us: Thanks, Brad. I’m one of those that voted for you last time around, and with votes like this on your record, I’ll be there with your name in my mind next time. As a matter of fact, drop me an email when you need some campaigning done around Reidsville. I will be there for you.

The other NC Representatives that had the courage to stand up for a free America were Melvin Watt and David Price. I can’t thank you guys enough. When it’s time, just drop me an email and I’ll work for your campaign, too. I want people like you all over the District, and I’ll get off my butt to help you make it happen.

Too Many Checks, Not Enough Balances

As for the rest of the North Carolina democrats, who the hell are you people? What is your real reason for being a Representative? Do you care about us at all? Can you look more than a few months into the future? Can you see more than a few years into the past? Have you forgotten what inevitably happens to governments that ignore the well-being of its people? Have you received so many checks that your sense of justice is out of balance? Has the taste of influence, prestige and money numbed you to the responsibilities you have to uphold the Constitution? That is, after all, your job.

It’s the only job you have. Uphold the Constitution. Did you read the bull bill? I did. It destroys the 4th amendment completely. It negates the power of our entire Judicial branch of government. It abrogates all power in the Legislative and Judicial branches to the Executive. It finally clears the way for America to become a police state.

As a citizen, I reject the passing of this bill. I am certain that the majority of citizens agree with me that this bill, as law, is just wrong. It goes against everything I have ever been taught about how our nation works. It removes all checks and balances from the system at the president’s whim. It does not allow us to even question the president about anything at all. It does, in fact, create a de facto totalitarian type of rule for the USA. Passage of this bill is therefore illegal, in my opinion.

Roll Call

Here is a list of the NC Representatives who voted in favor of HR 6304. Do them a favor and click their names or call their phones. Let them know how pleased you are the powers of the president are now limitless. Let them know how grateful you are that with this bill becoming law, even they can look forward to warrantless searches, wiretapped phone calls and intercepted emails and instant messages. Let them know how proud you are to have them serving you. Let them know they can count on you to vote in this election and the next and the next. Let them know you will not forget their name, or what they have done for to you today.

Representative G. K. Butterfield, Jr. (D – 01) 202-225-3101 or 202-225-3354
Representative Bobby Etheridge (D – 02) 202-225-4531 or 202-225-5662
Representative Virginia Foxx (R – 05) 202-225-2071 or 202-225-2995
Representative Howard Coble (R – 06) 202-225-3065 or 202-225-8611
Representative Mike McIntyre (D – 07) 202-225-2731 or 202-225-5773
Representative Robin Hayes (R – 08) 202-225-3715 or 202-225-4036
Representative Sue Myrick (R – 09) 202-225-1976 or 202-225-3389
Representative Patrick McHenry (R – 10) 202-225-2576 or 202-225-0316
Representative Heath Shuler (D – 11) 202-225-6401 or 202-226-6422

If you live in another state, you can find out how your Representative voted by clicking here. To check up on your Senators’ votes, click here. If you want to make sure your guys are doing what you want them to, you really ought to go look for yourself.

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I am Jon, disappointed but not defeated.

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US to OBAMA – Where Are You on FISA

Nazi-Propaganda PosterImage via Wikipedia

(EDIT: The following is an excerpt from the Special Rules concerning Resolution HR 6304, which appears to have been drafted during an ‘emergency session‘ of the House Committee on Rules. As you can see, it appears they are not allowing objections to any of the bill’s provisions.

“All points of order against provisions of the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary and the chairman and ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and (2) one motion to recommit.”

Only a few words for an hour and then the vote. Click the link to contact your representative! Call them right now! There can be no objections allowed and still a non-passing vote. Tell your representative to vote against this resolution. The whole thing is 180 pages and they didn’t get it until last night or early this morning. Tell them they should vote against it. Call them now.)

HR 6304

Where the Hell Is Obama A Real Leader

Forgive me. I am so angry I can hardly write this. The Congress of The United States Of America is planning to pass the amendments to the FISA Act of 1978 (H.R. 6304) on Friday. This is the bill that will give ATT and friends the immunity from prosecution for illegally helping the NSA spy on American citizens during the Bush reign of terror. Yeah, I’m mad about that but what really gets me ANGRY is what the bill gives us in our future. If this becomes law, it means that everything the Bushies have done will be considered legal, not because a judge said so, but because the president says so. And it will be that way from now on.

Regular readers here know that I am a card carrying, voting Republican. You know that because I’m really fed up with what passes for GOP nowadays, and I haven’t been extremely silent about it. I think the Bushies are all criminals, and I mean that literally. Since election day 2000 I have thought so, and they have never, not once, given me any reason to change my assessment. I consider the Bushie regime to be on a par with Hitler’s Nazi Germany, except the Nazis were amateurs.

Needless to say, McCain hasn’t got a chance of getting my vote. He sounds too much like Bush. He outright lies to us. Stupid lies that are just too easy to catch. Plus he’s just too connected to the big oil companies. He won’t do anything to help the people on this planet. He’ll just continue down the current disastrous path.

So I’ve been looking at Obama, since Hillary’s probably out of things now. But you know, I don’t see Obama doing ANYTHING that really matters. He’s running nothing. It doesn’t matter though. He’s a no-show in this particular arena, anyway. Someone who did get through to his campaign staff on the phone was sent a bland response saying what Barack will do AFTER he’s elected. Dude, if you don’t do something now, you have lost alot of votes. So many, in fact, that you probably won’t become president. If ever we needed a candidate to step up and show something different, it is TODAY. Where are you Barack? Are you scared to come out and play?

POINTLESS

The convoluted logic of this bill says that it’s okay for the president to ask anyone to break the law and be immune to prosecution. All the president has to do is say he asked for the help, and that he thinks whatever he asked was lawful. According to this bill, if those 2 conditions are met, the court has absolutely no choice but to dismiss any charges pending. Furthermore, the court cannot even say WHY the case is dismissed. The court becomes pointless.

Pointless is what we have in Washington, DC lately. All you happy Democrats with your big wins last time: So What? So what, you took over the Senate. So what, you took over the House. You know, back when the Republicans controlled Congress, Bush couldn’t get this kind of crap passed. But now, with the Dems in control, he gets everything he wanted and even more. Hey, don’t take it personally. This card carrying republican helped you vote all those democrats in. I was really counting on them to take a stand against the Bushies. I guess we were all wrong. These democrats, these republicans, these people IN POWER have decided en masse that we the people have no power. They’ve decided that you and I are pointless.

Comments

Just a few comments found around the web…

Russ Feingold, US Senate
June 19, 2008

“The proposed FISA deal is not a compromise; it is a capitulation. The House and Senate should not be taking up this bill, which effectively guarantees immunity for telecom companies alleged to have participated in the President’s illegal program, and which fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans at home. Allowing courts to review the question of immunity is meaningless when the same legislation essentially requires the court to grant immunity. And under this bill, the government can still sweep up and keep the international communications of innocent Americans in the U.S. with no connection to suspected terrorists, with very few safeguards to protect against abuse of this power. Instead of cutting bad deals on both FISA and funding for the war in Iraq, Democrats should be standing up to the flawed and dangerous policies of this administration.”

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is a member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.

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from irregulartimes.com

You think this is just about intercepting phone calls? No, it’s not. It’s about physical searches, too. Read pages 73-77 of H.R. 6304. Come on, do it. Those pages say that a presidential administration can, without a warrant or even the prior approval of a FISA judge, engage in any physical search whatsoever so long as 1) later on, the administration files a piece of paper not asking permission but just telling a judge it has done so. As long as it 2) says — not proves, just says — that the information has to do with public safety, it can go ahead and engage in ANY physical search, ANYWHERE, WHENEVER it wants — then use the information as it sees fit, even if some judge later on says that the search was unjustified. Because under H.R. 6304, who ultimately determines whether a presidential administration’s warrantless surveillance was necessary? Yes, that’s right folks, the presidential administration itself.

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earlofhuntingdon from emptywheel
Not surprisingly, while this bill frequently mentions the mantra, ”in compliance with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment”, it redefines those requirements away.

Like at p. 14, line 4, where the USG ”is not required to identify the specific facilities, places, premises, or property at which an acquisition authorized under subsection (a) will be
directed or conducted.”

Just for laughs, keep your insides in, the Fourth Amendment reads in its entirety as follows:

”The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath. or Affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Sophistry. Bi-partisan sophistry.

I did like the snark on p. 15, lines 1-5, that require the communications services provider to maintain the secrecy of its cooperation with the government and the services provided to the target. Any concern about limiting interference with services to others caused by such cooperation? Nada.

Oh, and like the Social Security drugs provision that prohibited the USG from bargaining with drugs companies over price, the USG here is to pay communications services providers the ”prevailing rate”. I wonder where the rate for assisting the government in secretly spying on Americans is listed in their product brochures? I’d just like to check that’s it’s not more than I pay for a few bars on my mobile phone.

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From an article found on Salon.com

If Obama remains missing much longer, it may be necessary to issue an Amber Alert for him.

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ACLU

The following may be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office:

“Congress is poised to once again pass disastrous surveillance legislation, now upping the ante with a thinly-veiled giveaway to some major campaign donors.

“This bill allows for mass and untargeted surveillance of Americans’ communications. The court review is mere window-dressing – all the court would look at is the procedures for the year-long dragnet and not at the who, what and why of the spying. Even this superficial court review has a gaping loophole – ‘exigent’ circumstances can short cut even this perfunctory oversight since any delay in the onset of spying meets the test and by definition going to the court would cause at least a minimal pause. Worse yet, if the court denies an order for any reason, the government is allowed to continue surveillance throughout the appeals process, thereby rendering the role of the judiciary meaningless. In the end, there is no one to answer to; a court review without power is no court review at all.”

“The Hoyer/Bush surveillance deal was clearly written with the telephone companies and internet providers at the table and for their benefit. They wanted immunity, and this bill gives it to them.

“The telecom companies simply have to produce a piece of paper we already know exists, resulting in immediate dismissal. That’s not accountability. Loopholes and judicial theater don’t do our Fourth Amendment rights justice. In the end, this is politics. This bill does nothing to keep Americans safe and is a constitutional farce.

“The process by which this deal has come about has been as secretive as the warrantless wiretapping program it is seeking to legitimize. While members and organizations who would seek to fiercely protect the civil liberties of Americans have been denied a seat at the table, one wonders how present the powerful telecom lobby has been.

“Leadership should be leading to protect the Constitution, not bowing to pressure from Republicans, the White House, and the telecommunications companies.

“The ACLU is asking Congress, as the final minutes tick by, to stand up and do the right thing.”

Copyright [2008] American Civil Liberties Union
Reprinted with permission of the
American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu.org

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We The People

I am so ashamed of all of us. We let these criminals take the office way back in 2000. Then we let them do the exact same thing in 2004. We, as a nation, are being herded like cattle by these people who are supposed to be there for one reason only: to protect and uphold the Constitution, to see to it that we the people are governed honestly and for our individual and collective prosperity according to the supreme law of our land.

We can bitch all we want, but until We The People actually do something about it, this is what we’re going to get. We’re getting it because we deserve it, because we’re not standing up and saying NO! A nation that will not demand its rights deserves none. It’s the 21st century, so we don’t have to do a midnight ride or anything. All you need to do is one thing.

Get to your phone. Call your representative NOW! They will be voting TODAY on this bill which was delivered to them LAST NIGHT! Call them right now! CLICK HERE FOR THE NUMBER!

I am Jon. I am an American. I believe in the country I grew up in. I believe in the rights of a free people and the responsibilties that come with that freedom. Exercise your right to call your congress! Perform your duty as a free citizen of what once was, and could easily again be, the greatest nation in the history of mankind.

Call them, please. Call them, now. Be an American. Make a ruckus.

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350

Average Stay

Chances are you’ll be here at Wordout between 2 and 4 minutes. That’s the range of average stays for about 90% of readers here. The average stay here on earth is between 30,000 and 40,000 days for most of us. That’s up from just 7,000 days (2,000 years ago). So far, it’s taken about 8 seconds to read this paragraph.

Zero Day

Armageddon loomingImage by nimboo via FlickrThat’s what we call a web exploit that we don’t have any defenses against. Zero Day means we have to act fast, take chances, patch things up as best we can as fast as we can so we don’t lose it all. Zero Day means we’re out of time. We don’t even have that 8 seconds you spent on the 1st paragraph, or the 10 you spent on this one.

We Are They

Like it says at the top of this page, 350 is the limit. We’re already over the limit. It’s a Zero Day scenario, folks. We don’t have time to come up with an elegant solution to this problem. We can’t afford to sit here thinking, they will fix it. We are that They. We have to act now.

There Is A Way

Give me just another 97 seconds. Power begins with knowledge. Watch the video.


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I am Jon. 350 is the limit. Tell people.

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Election 2008 – Diebold Spoils The Surprise

The Glass Onion

Every so often I find myself watching some of The Onion’s many video spoofs. I thought you might like this one. Remember, this is a parody, a spoof, and totally (I hope) unreal.

I am Jon, and I want to remind you: this is a parody. Don’t believe it until November.

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Too Late, More BS Fears

The New World Order?

Monday was a crazy day in the financial markets worldwide. Oil and gold achieved record prices, the dollar sank lower and in general, the situation got worse. And it doesn’t appear to be over. Weekend efforts by the Federal Reserve to ease investor fears, instead seem to have fueled those fears to new heights. Invoking powers they haven’t used since the Great Depression of the 20th century, the Fed has adopted a “no-holds-barred” stance to fight the current recession. The Guardian reports:

Wall Street opened almost 200 points lower this afternoon, at 11,760.67. There was a brief respite later with the Dow Jones index briefly moving into positive territory. By 5pm, however, it was back in the red with a loss of 87 points, at 11,870.
The FTSE 100 closed 217.3 points down, or 3.9%, at 5,414.4 – its lowest since November 2005. There were sharp falls throughout the rest of Europe and in Asia the Nikkei 225 ended the day down 3.7% at 11,787.51, its lowest level in two-and-a-half years.
The Bank of England moved to stabilise the markets this morning, offering £5bn of three-day funds in a move designed to bring overnight interest rates down. Banks scrambled for the cash, asking for nearly five times more than was on offer.
The US Federal Reserve took emergency action on Sunday, cutting its discount rate – the rate at which banks lend to each other – by a quarter of a point. It also said it would set up a new lending facility for investment banks – something it has not done since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
But the Fed’s actions failed to reassure the markets and traders remained in a state of near-panic, with many fearing that Bear Stearns will not be the last casualty of the credit crunch that has gripped the global financial system since last August.

All Aboard!

Asian and European markets tumbled, as investors were finally convinced that the US markets are on the verge of catastrophe. Indexes closed down across the board, posting losses from 3 and a half to more than 4 percent. Overseas investors seem worried that the economic crisis in the US is more severe than they’ve been led to believe. As Time reports

“There is persistent credit uncertainty. Market players have been repeatedly let down which shows the subprime mortgage problems are so deep-rooted,” said Atsuji Ohara, global strategist of Shinko Securities in Tokyo.
“Just buying an investment bank does not solve the problem,” he said. “Markets are prodding (the U.S. government) to inject public funds.”
Further slides in Asian markets are likely, said Ismael Cruz, the governor of the Philippine Association of Securities Brokers and Dealers Inc.
“The outlook is very grim,” he said.

The bane of BS was their exposure to “bad mortgages”, which they hawked like carnies to unwary consumers for the past several years. According to ADN.com, that same risk has already accounted for more than $150 billion in write-downs worldwide. They go on to say, “The head of the International Monetary Fund said Monday that the global financial crisis is more serious and more widespread than even a few weeks ago.”

No Confidence

Speculation abounds as to who will be next, and whether they will garner the kind of help that BS was able to get. Most eyes are on Lehman Brothers, another investment firm sunk heabily into the subprime mortgage mess. LEH was trading considerably lower at the close on Monday, down nearly 20% after tumbling over 45% during the day. Earlier, Lehman “repeated that it has enough cash to keep doing business”. As late as last Thursday, BS was assuring their investors the exact same thing. It’s no surprise that investors aren’t listening to management anymore. Like it says over on UrbanDigs

“…the kicker is that TWICE in the past 4 days that this rumor was floating around executives at Bear told us that rumors were FALSE, and that cash cushion was fine; THERE IS NO LIQUIDITY ISSUES AT BEAR!
What happened today proves one thing: we can’t trust anything we hear!”

When investors lose confidence in management, there are hard times ahead for the markets. And that means hard times ahead for all of us, not just here in the US, but everywhere. Terry Smith, chief executive of specialist inter-bank broker Tullett Prebon explains in an article from the Guardian:

“I don’t think anybody alive has seen events of this seriousness and magnitude affecting the financial markets.”
He doubts that lowering interest rates will have any real effect: “High interest rates didn’t cause this problem, so lowering interest rates isn’t going to solve it. It is hard to see exactly what tools the authorities do have.”
The Fed’s activities over the last fortnight imply that a number of systemic risks are crystalising – “and this in turn implies a need for an extraordinary response,” he said.
Russell Jones, head of fixed income and currencies global research at RBC Capital Markets
“If the US financial system is in as much trouble as it seems, it is a global problem and will require a global policy response.”

Bring Out The Big Guns

The men who are the Federal Reserve must agree. More than half a century has passed since the Fed has taken such drastic action to bolster the economy. With last week’s promise to inject more than $200 billion to support the failing credit markets, the weekend bailout of BS, and the opening of a new program to provide emergency loans, the Fed hopes to make investors confident in the system as a whole, even while admitting some of the system’s major components are faulty. The Telegraph puts it this way:

The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the other central banks today ramped up their efforts to prevent credit markets falling into a deeper freeze by announcing plans to inject more than $200bn.
The agency crisis was a Tsunami event,” said Tim Bond, global strategist at Barclays Capital.
“The market was starting to question the solvency of bodies that stand at the top of the credit pile. These agencies together wrap or insure $6 trillion of mortgages. They cannot be allowed to fail because it would cause a financial disaster. The fact that this sector has blown up has caught everybody’s attention in Washington,” he said.
It is a ground-breaking move for the Fed to accept mortgage collateral, even if the debt is theoretically ‘AAA-grade’ debt. The Fed is constrained by Article 13 of the Federal Reserve Act from buying mortgage bonds outright, but it can achieve a similar effect by letting banks roll over collateral indefinitely. The European Central Bank is already doing this, shielding Dutch, Spanish, German, and some British banks from the full impact of the credit crunch.
The Fed is to create a new facility that allows banks to swap their mortgage bonds for US Treasuries. It is a well-targeted “sterilized” move to avoid adding fuel to inflationary fire. It follows the Fed’s separate pledge last Friday to add up to $200bn in liquidity.
Bernard Connolly, global strategist at Banque AIG, said the Fed action may help calm the markets for now, but it cannot solve the root problem of eroded of bank capital.
“There is the risk of a very damaging credit contraction. We face the most serious global crisis since the Great Depression. But this time at least the North American central banks are doing their best to stop it spreading to the real economy,” he said.
Mr Bond said the mortgage agencies may ultimately need to be nationalized. Fannie Mae has already seen its stock price drop 70pc since October at a cost of $50bn in market value, even though it has an implicit federal guarantee. “There is going to have to be a very big bail-out,” he said.

A very big bailout, indeed. That sentiment is echoed across the spectrum. At MSNBC we read, “You’re going to have some very weak players pushed out of business,” said Joseph V. Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co. He said JPMorgan’s buy of Bear Stearns and Bank of America Corp.’s acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. are probably not the only rescues the industry will witness during this credit crisis.”

Grief

I caught a bit of grief from a few readers over my last post here @ Wordout. It seems that I am “ignoring all the little guys” that got caught up in this greed-grab we are now calling the subprime mortgage crisis. Let me make myself clear: I do feel badly for the “little guys” who were manipulated into these horrible instruments of financial destruction by the slightly less little guys at the local bank. You were manipulated by your desires and your fears. I do feel terribly for most of you.

But that loan agent at your local bank who might lose her job? Or her boss, the manager, or the VP or the investment firm employees? You guys can live in a ditch, for all I care. All you “house flippers” and speculators who drove prices so unsustainably high, you can eat smegma and wash it down with horse urine. You deserve everything that’s happening, and is going to happen to you. And to you really big fish, you billionaires who started this whole fiasco:
The windows are open. Jump.
Oh, that’s right, you guys didn’t lose any money, did you…. I almost forgot that part.

I am Jon, and this is your world.

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See a timeline of the BS decline here.

$30 Billion Bear Meltdown

No Doubt, It’s BS

It was only a little over a year ago that Bear Stearns traded around $170 a share. With about 118 million shares outstanding as of last Friday, the company agreed to a sale with a share price of just $2, a 99.99% drop in value since those glory days of early 2007. Let the doubt in your mind disappear: We are in a recession, and maybe worse.

The BS problems began several years ago when they became a major player in the so-called “sub-prime” housing market. They heavily gambled in that market with several hedge funds, which went belly-up in 2007. By the end of trading last Thursday, their stock was still trading above $51, but early Friday morning, the final “run on the bank” began, and the stock entered a free fall. At the close of trading, the stock had barely held on above $30 per share. If you want to see what a run on the bank looks like, check out the free falling graph in that Bear Stearns link up there.

So what prompted the weekend emergency deal? The New York Times described it this way:

The price represents a startling 93 percent discount to Bear Stearns’ closing stock price on Friday. Bankers and policy makers raced to complete the deal before financial markets in Asia opened on Monday, as fears grew that the financial panic could spread if Bear Stearns failed to find a buyer.

Everybody’s A Little Bit BS

But Bear Stearns is just one company, right? Well, not quite so right anymore, in this ever more interconnected global marketplace. The subprime calamity had been marketed to investment firms worldwide, and BS was a large part of that. Business Week explains it this way:

It would have been highly risky for other Wall Street firms if Bear Stearns had been allowed to go under because Bear is tightly interconnected with them as both a borrower and a lender. Any firms that are owed a lot of money by Bear would have fallen under suspicion, on grounds that they might not be able to pay their own debts if Bear failed to pay them. That could have triggered a dangerous wave of defaults. The rescue by JPMorgan Chase gives the financial system breathing room to pay off Bear’s debts gradually.

The Federal Reserve has agreed to back the deal with JP Morgan to the tune of $30 billion. This is the first time since 1998 that the Fed has gotten involved with a plan to salvage a failing company, and is thought to be the largest bailout in history. As we learn from Wall Street Journal:

To help facilitate the deal, the Federal Reserve is taking the extraordinary step of providing as much as $30 billion in financing for Bear Stearns’s less-liquid assets, such as mortgage securities that the firm has been unable to sell, in what is believed to be the largest Fed advance on record to a single company.

Interestingly, in the 1998 bailout of Long Term Capital management, many sources report that BS refused to help. For instance, from the New York Times:

When the Federal Reserve helped plan a bailout in 1998 of Long Term Capital Management, the hedge fund, Bear Stearns proudly refused to join the effort.

At The End Of The Day

This didn’t happen overnight. And it is somebody’s fault. For half a decade firms like BS have pushed lousy loans on unwary consumers with no regard for the obvious consequences. Many of those people had much more money last week than they have today, and I truly don’t care. It’s their greed that brought this calamity on us all. The quote below from The Wall Street Journal says that BS was left with a “horrible choice”. I’m certain that those few who made that horrible choice aren’t the ones who lost their cash in this fiasco.

Bear Stearns had a stock-market value of about $3.5 billion as of Friday — and was worth $20 billion in January 2007. But the crisis of confidence that swept the firm and fueled a customer exodus in recent days left Bear Stearns with a horrible choice: sell the firm — at any price — to a big bank willing to assume its trading obligations or file for bankruptcy.

“At the end of the day, what Bear Stearns was looking at was either taking $2 a share or going bust,” said one person involved in the negotiations. “Those were the only options.”

I am Jon, and I think the whole thing is BS.

If you’d like to read more about the mortgage crisis, the credit meltdown, the financial fiasco… cick HERE.
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Retroactive Immunity

A House of Good Guys?

(writer’s comment: i know it’s slightly political, but try to think of it as a post about technology being used for illegal purposes, kind of like hackers or something…)

This past week the House of Representatives declined to offer immunity to the large telecoms who illegally handed over their customers’ data to the White House. At the risk of sounding naive, I didn’t think they would have the guts to do it. Maybe they are counting on the Senate’s and Bush’s promises to kill the bill. Below are some reactions:

Republicans

“They [Democrats] know, they know the risks they are taking on behalf of the American people and they don’t care … and that’s what bothers me most,” said Republican Rep. Heather Wilson of New Mexico on Friday.”

A joint statement from the Department of Justice and the office of the director of national intelligence said that based on initial reports, “We are concerned that the proposal would not provide the intelligence community the critical tools needed to protect the country.”

“Exposing the private sector to continued litigation for assisting in efforts to defend the country understandably makes the private sector much more reluctant to cooperate. Without their cooperation, our efforts to protect the country cannot succeed,” it said.

Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, warned Wednesday that the House proposal “would, in essence, shut us down”

Democrats

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers took a different angle.

“We are not going to cave into a retroactive immunity situation,” the Michigan Democrat said. “There’s no law school example in our memory that gives retroactive immunity for something you don’t know what you are giving it for. It just doesn’t work in the real world or on the Hill either.”

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I am Jon, and to me, retroactive immunity sounds like a disease.

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To Be or Note2be, France Answers The Question

The Cost Of Compliance

At the beginning of this month, the French government took a bold step in an Orwellian direction. Note2be, a hugely successful networking site where students could go and rate their teachers’ performance, was directed to censor all the content on its site, removing all teachers’ names from any post by any user. If the site failed to comply, the fine would be 1,000 Euros every day until the site was in compliance.

The site had been online only since late January, but already over 50,000 teachers had marks rated on them. And the marks were overwhelmingly positive, with an average rating of well over 65% favorable. And it’s not like this was a new idea. Other countries have sites like this as well. The popular e-magazine Techdirt reports:

Sites like RateMyTeacher.com and RateMyProfessor.com have been around in the US for ages, but it appears that some other countries aren’t too thrilled with the concept. Last year, a teachers’ union in the UK demanded that the sites be banned which seemed a bit extreme.

It should be noted that the attempt to ban those sites in the UK appear to have failed. So what was it that prompted the French government to rule against the site? The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports it this way, as found on AFP.Google:

A group of teachers and several teachers’ union asked a Paris court to decide whether the site broke privacy laws by publishing teachers’ names and ratings and whether it breached their right to be judged only by superiors.

On Monday, the court ordered the site to stop using teachers’ names both on the general site and in its discussion forums and said it would impose a fine of 1,000 euros per day for each day it failed to implement the judgment.

“The exercise of freedom of information and of expression has as limits that it does not damage teaching activities,” it said.

A Different Opinion

There are a couple of things there that bother someone such as myself. The first: “their right to be judged only by superiors”? I should hope that I would not need to add an expository statement to clarify my abhorence to the logic that could justify that way of thinking. To me, it sounds medieval. I get a picture in my mind of serfs, and the men who walk upon them. The second thing: While I agree with the final statement there, I don’t see how it’s applicable in this case. How does publishing these names “damage teaching activities”?

This isn’t the 1st time this particular question has raised itself before the European people. The German courts last year decided something completely different, when faced with essentially the same question. AFP reports:

Last year a German court, hearing a case taken by a teacher against a rating site, ruled that teachers could be rated online by their pupils.

It said the ratings, so long as they were not defamatory, were allowable under the principles of freedom of expression and that publishing a teacher’s name was acceptable because it could easily be found on the school’s website.

Not To Be

In searching for information while writing this piece, I was surprised how much of the English speaking web was simply ignoring it. I was finally able to find a quote from one of the founders of Note2be, on WebProNews:

“This is an astonishing and surprising decision that has worrying implications for the development of the Web,” said Stephane Cola, who co-founded the site, Reuters reported. “The ranking and evaluation of professionals on the Web is a fundamental principle and a primary motor of the Internet around the world,” he told reporters after the verdict.”

In the end, for whatever logic or illogic there was behind the decision, the ultimate and unstated goal was achieved. By requiring the site to remove and monitor every single communication, the government placed impossible restrictions on the operation of the site, and it had to shut down to comply with the ruling. From the note on their front page: “This decision calls into question the operation even of all the forums of discussion, blogs and Community sites where the Net surfers could express themselves freely on the French Net.

Note2be

Click on the thumbnail for a larger view. What you’ll see is a part of the website as it looks March 11th. The site’s in French, and though alot of you will no doubt be able to read it, some will not. So there’s a translation of the text which I got from Babelfish. It’s worth reading.

I am Jon. Thanks for stopping by.

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The Citibank Risk

You may be more interested in a different piece which offers a more analytical approach to CitiGroup.
For more info on CitiGroup’s performance in 2008 and prospects for the future click HERE.
For the latest Wordout on Citibank Risks, including the November bailout, click HERE.

Citibank May Be Lost In Your Spam Folder

Here’s a great example of a huge corporation either being stupid, or else inadvertently setting their customers up for some easy harvesting. Citibank, arguably one of the largest financial institutions on the planet, has sent out emails to its customers with details on how to make sure they don’t miss any Citibank emails due to “false-positives” in their anti-spam filters. Here’s the main gist of that email, from the post over at the RISKS-LIST:

“Dear Rich B. Astaird,

As a current Citi Cardmember, you know your security is our top
priority. But we also want to make sure you receive emails containing
important information from us.

Don’t let Citi messages be filtered out by your e-mail provider – add
our “from addresses” to your address book.

Follow these 3 simple steps:
1. Open your e-mail address book
2. Add a contact or “add new contact”
3. Enter citicards@info.citibank.com and click Save”


They’re Certainly Lost In Customer Service

“Rich” then does some quick (for him) analysis, revealing the email’s originating IP address has a reputation for spam-like behavior, and is blacklisted on at least 2 spam monitoring services. At the “risk” of aggravating the great Rich B Astaird, I will quote him further for the readers here at Wordout, because he says it so well:

“Let’s see, if I were Citibank, and wanted to stop my mail from getting flagged as spam, would I (a) stop outsourcing my email to a company with a reputation for spamming, or (b) send vaguely-worded email to my customers in the hope that it will convince them to whitelist my return address?

The worst-case RISK is that people who use a provider where such instructions actually work will follow them, and then every phishing email trying to steal their Citibank credentials will sail right through.

Way to go, Citibank!”


Or Maybe They’re Taking The Scenic Route?

I’m thinking, that just maybe they’re thinking… well, I don’t know. After all, it must be getting hard on them, with all those looming foreclosures they helped to create over the past 5 years. It reminds me of the recent merger FNB Southeast went through here in North Carolina. Immediately after the merger, literally everyone I know who used that bank lost money from their accounts. Some of us were lucky enough to have our cash returned to us in a few days or weeks. Some of us still can’t get our money back (“I’m sorry, sir, that account doesn’t exist. How else may we help you?“). Even if all the cash was returned, Newbridge Bank would have made a mint from “technical” problems relating to the new “computer programs”. Each day their customers’ cash was “lost”, that cash did, in fact, exist, and was working somewhere else in the bank’s name, at the least, earning millions in interest.

My great-grandfather, A.G. Roberts said it best: “Banks are there to take your money. And when they have your money, they act like they own your soul. Don’t put your money in a bank. Better to put it in the dirt.”

I am Jon, and I’m thinking about putting it in the dirt.
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.Many thanks to the author at the RISKS-LIST, whose name almost certainly isn’t Rich.

For info about the mortgage meltdown, the credit crisis, the financial fiasco, CLICK HERE.

With Apologies… Heeeer’s Obama

Little People

I found this just now and you need to read it. I am sorry for the political nature of this post, and although I won’t reveal my stance on abortion right now on this blog, I believe this is just stupid and I want you to see it.
From an article on cnsnews.com:

“…When he was in the Illinois Senate, for example, he repeatedly opposed a bill that would have defined as a “person” a baby who had survived an induced-labor abortion and was born alive.

In a 2001 Illinois Senate floor speech about that bill, he argued that to call a baby who survived an abortion a “person” would give it equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment and would give credibility to the argument that the same child inside its mother’s womb was also a “person” and thus could not be aborted.”

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but if a baby is alive, isn’t that baby really just a little human being, which is to say, a person? And shouldn’t our laws reflect that truth? At this point, it’s not so much a moral question as it is a rational one.

So what do they do? The abortion failed and now there’s a screaming (insert word here, ’cause according to Obama it ain’t no person). Well, it has no rights so I guess they just continue with the abortion and kill it? What’s wrong with this picture?

According to this, Obama thinks preserving Roe v Wade is more important than making law which reflects real life. Real life. Real… as in right there, in the doctor’s hands, screaming. Denying this miracle (and miracle it is when a baby survives an abortion attempt) seems somehow not only wrong to me, but the accomplishment of a mind capable of any sort of deception required to reach it’s goals.

Mister Obama, in my mind, you are now not a “person”. You are a part of the self-serving mediocrity that is destroying America with short-sightedness and deception, and thinking like that can never help us. A leader who would deny an obvious feature of reality, such as a breathing child, who would deny even just that one living soul their natural and legal rights, is no “leader” I could ever support.

I am Jon, and I am calling Bullicus Shitticus on Obama.

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