when Sarah P. waxed effusive about having massively increased taxes on the oil companies in Alaska to fund domestic projects:

Now that the Democratic surrender monkeys have signed on to the Wall Street bailout package and helped the Bush admin and its rich buddies continue their thievery from our common treasury, of course we’re hearing how it will all be different … tomorrow.

Just as the “but of course” arguments they’ve given us for kowtowing being on the same side as the war mongering, lying, pro-corporation, anti-human Republican Party (there really is no difference in results you know), the Democratic faux leadership is now telling us “but of course” they’re going to fix all the bad stuff in the world … tomorrow.

This nation has literally been given to the best connected, and those involved in the give away include the Democratic Party.

I will no longer be voting for anyone who freely associates their name with the Democratic Party whether at the local, state or federal level. This includes Orange County Senator Mark MacDonald who I otherwise have high regard for.

I understand the legislative process, and I understand why things are added to bills, and I understand this is used quite successfully to garner votes for a larger bill that would not be there for a smaller, more targeted one.

And in general I’m uncomfortably okay with that.

In the case of the Wall Street bailout, however, I think it is nothing more than offering bribes to help bankrupt the United States so wealthy investors won’t feel a financial loss.

President Bush’s plan to rescue U.S. financial markets is headed for a Senate vote Wednesday night after leaders there agreed to add tax breaks for businesses and the middle class and increase deposit insurance in an attempt to revive the legislation rejected by the House.

(Senate to Vote on Financial Rescue Plan, ABC News, 10/01/08)

I’ve read, heard and thought about the argument that we’re not talking Wall Street vs. Main Street … it’s Wall Street and Main Street.

I say bullshit to that!

First off there is no sign Wall Street is willing to accept any extra fees on their part to pay their way out of the mess they’re the primary cause of. Second off there has been no public contrition, payback or even apology from Wall Street … the wealthy investor class doesn’t believe they’ve done anything wrong. Thirdly (and most importantly) this pyramid scheme is not going to work for the benefit of Main Street.

While the wealthy investor class will see their investments made whole by the taxpayers (and the taxpayers’ children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc), people with “under performing” mortgages will lose their homes. While the banks get to re-capitalize so they can run out and make more loans, the working class will continue to see wages decline and jobs move to cheaper labor markets. While the wealthy investor class sees the value of their investment portfolios increase, the disappearing middle class will continue the recession it’s been in for the last thirty years (as reflected in stagnant or falling wages).

Nonetheless our wonderful Democratic “leadership” in Washington D.C. will push ahead … with full approval of Obama (it’s his vote that counts .. not what he says on the stump).

It’s a very simple process. Try by fear mongering and “but of course” arguments first, and when that fails (as it should) turn to bribery.

Okay, JP Morgan has just purchased the banking parts of Washington Mutual (WAMU). WAMU is now the single biggest bank failure in our history with $310 billion in assets (I’d like to know what their liabilities were). JP Morgan six months ago picked up investment banker Bear Sterns.

“Too big to fail” just got “too bigger to fail”.

And as the Bear Sterns purchase was done at the behest of and with at least $30 billion from the Federal Reserve, you can bet this recent purchase is looking for plenty of that $700 billion government handout to Wall Street.

Find yourself in a hole?

1) Stop digging.

2) Start digging steps up the side so you can get out.

3) Don’t dig yourself into another one by following the same plan over and over in some insane dance of failed economic policies.

There’s a line that threads its way through the recent spate of articles on our newest economic emergency … The Great Bailout of 2008 (yeah, the claimed credit crunch that will freeze the world under glaciers made of economic inactivity), and it goes something like this: “The lack of liquidity is making it impossible for banks to engage in intra-bank loans thus not enabling these same banks have the where-with-all to make loans to businesses and consumers (ya’ know … those bipeds that used to be considered people).”

You’ll see the above stated in various forms, but it’s almost always there.

Simple question: if banks are depending upon intra-bank loans to lend money to businesses and consumers (ya’ know … those bipeds that used to be considered people), who is supplying the input that banks are using as a basis for making these intra-bank loans? For that matter … is there any backing for these intra-bank loans?

Well yes, there is a backer for these intra-bank loans, and that backer is the same group who’re being asked to fund The Great Bailout of 2008. That, good people, is you and I and our family, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintences and others.

Trace these intra-bank loans back and you find all roads lead to the Federal Reserve Bank. This is the place where macro-liquidity (ie. system wide availability of cash) emanates from. This is why (when the time comes to fight wage inflation and protect stock market and financial instrument inflation) the Fed plays with base interest rates.

Raise the Fed rate and intra-bank loans get more expensive thus driving up the price of loans to businesses and consumers (ya’ know … those bipeds that used to be considered people). Lower the Fed rate and the opposite occurs. Higher rates will remove some of the capital liquidity (availability of cash) because fewer businesses/people will be applying for loans thus reducing the amount of cash running around … lower interest rates go the other direction.

IMPORTANT POINT: The Fed is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, and thus any monies created by their loans has the same protection as that $10 bill, treasury note or other government issued financial instrument (including bailouts via credit financed purchases of bad debt related instruments).

What I’m describing above is nothing more nor less than a check kiting scheme. I write you a check that bounces, and when you complain I write another bad check to cover the one that bounced.

Under normal circumstances (ie. not involving the uber rich and powerful) once that second one bounced, I would be held legally and financially liable … you wouldn’t take any more checks from me, and life would go on.

With today’s intra-bank lending situation, however, people/businesses have been allowed to keep writing known bad checks to cover the last bad check. Out of liquidity? No problem … the Fed is keeping rates real nice and low just for you … and by the way … you can use those bad debt instruments that are making you run out of liquidity as collateral to borrow the cash you need for liquidity.

Not only can the banks continue kiting checks, but they can use the kited checks given them for intra-bank loans as collateral to cover their own kited checks.

And the buck does stop … not at the Fed, but at the taxpayer … because in the end we are on the hook because we’ve covered everything with the full faith and credit of the United States of America.

it’s yet one more Democratic kowtowing to Cheney/Bush empire building.

Look at the  Cheney/Bush “bailout”, and ask yourself … “Self? Why are the Dems surrendering power and responsibility to the Cheney/Bush regime yet one more time?”

Shortest version: The Department of Treasury is given absolute power to purchase bad debt instruments at any price and simultaneously borrow money in the name of the United States to do so … hell, Congress even raised the debt ceiling by another one and a half trillion dollars to do so.

Every plaintive scream of doom and gloom by Cheney/Bush has resulted in one more surrender by the DC Dem surrender monkeys.

I was able to listen in on today’s (09/12/08) gubernatorial debate held at the Tunbridge Fair and hosted by WDEV/Mark Johnson Show. I wasn’t able to listen from start to finish, but I did hear enough to know I’m going to keep supporting Pollina.

What I heard told me that with a Douglas or Symington administration there will be no fundamental change in the philosophy that guides our state government. Both, it seems, will be happy to continue working with the same institutions and the same rules with Symington at best offering the same old incremental change that has resulted in no change.

On the other hand Pollina offers ideas that will result in a fundamental change in how our state government views itself and we view the same. This is true even if only one, or a substantial portion of only one, of Pollina’s proposals on economics, housing, roads and bridges, health care or energy were to come to fruition.

For example in the area of renewable energy development Pollina talked about providing resources, assistance and guidance from the state level while leaving the actual specific decisions to more local levels. In health care Pollina was the only one to draw a distinction between our insurance driven health care industry and a health care system. On roads and bridges Pollina was the only one who talked about ways to raise more money to do what we all seem to acknowledge needs to be done.

I gave the Pollina campaign some cash way back at the beginning, and after hitting the ‘save’ button here I’m off to another donation for the general campaign.

Simple fact: a vote for Douglas or Symington is a vote for more of the same with only a few specifics being different. A vote for Pollina is, in my opinion, a vote for fundamental change.

And it CAN be Governor Pollina if enough people vote for him.

Officials worked to protect Douglas on job cuts, Times Argus, 09/04/08

Of course they did, and that is also why Douglas wants to keep his political talking points spreaders (ie. spokespeople).

Funny thing …

“Asian alliance rebuffs Russian effort to gain support for its actions“, blared the page 3 headline in today’s (08/29/08) Times Argus.

The article began

China and several Central Asian nations rebuffed Russia’s hopes of international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement Thursday denouncing the use of force and calling for the respect of every country’s territorial integrity.

A joint declaration from the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization also offered some support for Russia’s “active role in promoting peace” following a cease-fire, but overall it appeared to increase Moscow’s international isolation.

But WAIT!

“

Russia wins backing from China“, shouted the headline for News.com.au (Fox affilitiated I believe).

RUSSIA today won support from China and Central Asian states in its standoff with the West over the Georgia conflict as the European Union said it was weighing sanctions against Moscow.

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev said he hoped the “united position” of a summit of Central Asian nations would “serve as a serious signal to those who try to turn black into white.”

Dammit, now I gotta figger it out for myself.

No, they won’t. And the reason is simple: as demonstrated by decades of approval and cowardly acquiescence, the Democratic politicians in general approve of this.

We can be shot and killed, tortured with tasers, and beat for no reason … and the Dems will gather in corporate infested Pepsi Center (see here) to tell us how much hope we should have for change.

Myopic merriment … yeah … that describes it. Self indulgent, self (undeserved) congratulatory, and self delusional.

Real change comes from actions, and words based upon nothing mean nothing. To date the Democratic Party politicians have demonstrated they love big corporations and big corporate power (go Joe Biden), they love big military and big military spending (Obama’s own plan here), and while the claims are made to protect voters and voters’ rights past votes have put that to a lie.

So while the Colorado cops brutalize women dressed in pink and peaceful demonstrators and arrest them “before they could break any laws” (Protesters challenge Monday arrest by police in Denver, Denver Post story reprinted in Times Argus but not on web site, 08/27/08), Democrats will enjoy their corporate welfare inside the comfy environs of unreality.

To paraphrase dumbya Bush, “Nope, no change we can believe in under here.”