Saturday, February 28, 2009

Ref Number:OS 80 ES 9414

Dear Internet User.

This Email is to inform you that you emerged a winner in Category (A) with
the sum of $2,500,000.00USD on our online lottery draws.
Your email address is identified with Batch Number:444821545-NL/2009 and
Ticket Number:PP3812/2008-09 in Category (A) and your claims portfolio is
filed with Ref Number:OS 80 ES 9414.For further Information about
your Winnings,contact our Lottery claims agent with the following
contact Address.

Please contact our FOREIGN CLAIMS AGENT.

Name: Martins Ward
Tel::+31 619 551 210
Email:apply4claims2009@live.nl

You are advised to provide him with the following information:

First name:
Last Name:
Telephone/Fax number:
Nationality:
Age:
Occupation:

Yours Faithfully.
Jerald Hawkins
Lottery Coordinator.
Thank you and congratulations!!!

Dear Internet User

Dear Internet User
 
This Email is to inform you that you emerged a winner in Category (A) with
the sum of $2,500,000.00USD on our online lottery draws.
Your email address is identified with Batch Number:444821545-NL/2009 and
Ticket Number:PP3812/2008-09 in Category (A) and your claims portfolio is
filed with Ref Number:OS 80 ES 9414.For further Information about
your Winnings,contact our Lottery claims agent with the following
contact Address.
 
Please contact our FOREIGN CLAIMS AGENT.
 
Name: Martins Ward
Tel::+31 619 551 210
Email:apply4claims20082009@live.nl
You are advised to provide him with the following information:
 
First name:
Last Name:
Telephone/Fax number:
Nationality:
Age:
Occupation:
 
Yours Faithfully
Warner James Hall
Lottery Coordinator.
Thank you and congratulations!!!
 


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Friday, February 27, 2009

Re: [PDI] Obama's sickening hypocrisy

Obama gave a speech earlier today wherein he repeated the plan to have all but 50000 out by August 2010 and ALL troops out by the end of 2011 per the existing security agreement.



Kat

--
Kat

Public Google Calendar:
<http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=engageinactivism%40gmail.com&ctz=America/Chicago>

-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Minne <mincam2@yahoo.com>

Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:56:16
To: Katherine Doyle<KatDoyle@uscellular.blackberry.com>
Subject: [PDI] Obama's sickening hypocrisy


Obama's Non-Withdrawal Withdrawal Plan
By CHRIS FLOYD
It would be superfluous in us to point out that a plan to "end" a war which includes the continued garrisoning of up to 50,000 troops in a hostile land is, in reality, a continuation of that war, not its cessation. To produce such a plan and claim that it "ends" a war is the precise equivalent of, say, relieving one's bladder on the back of one's neighbor and telling him that the liquid is actually life-giving rain.

But this is exactly what we are going to get from the Obama Administration in Iraq. Word has now come from on high – that is, from "senior administration officials" using "respectable newspapers" as a wholly uncritical conduit for  government spin – that President Obama has reached a grand compromise with his generals (or rather, the generals and Pentagon poobahs he has inherited -- and eagerly retained -- from George W. Bush) on a plan to withdraw some American troops from the country that the United States destroyed in an unprovoked war of aggression. Obama had wanted a 16-month timetable for the partial withdrawal; his potential campaign rival in 2012, General David Petraeus, wanted 23 months; so, with Solomonic wisdom, they have now split the difference, and will withdraw a portion of the American troops in 19 months instead.

But the plan clearly envisions a substantial and essentially permanent American military presence in Iraq, dominating the politics and policy of this key oil nation – which was of course one of the chief war aims of the military aggressors in the Bush Administration all along. By implementing his war continuation plan, Obama will complete the work of Bush and his militarist clique. From the New York Times:


"Even with the withdrawal order, Mr. Obama plans to leave behind a "residual force" of tens of thousands of troops to continue training Iraqi security forces, hunt down foreign terrorist cells and guard American institutions..."

 
And a "senior military officer" dispatched to pipe the spin to the Los Angeles Times added another potential role for the remaining American troops: fighting Iraq's war for it. He was also refreshingly frank on the plan's ultimate intentions:


"The senior officer said the troops also could help protect Iraq from outside attack, something the Iraqis cannot yet do.

"'When President Obama said we were going to get out within 16 months, some people heard, 'get out,' and everyone's gone. But that is not going to happen,' the officer said."

 
No indeed, that is "not going to happen." One of the most remarkable aspects of Obama's "war lite" plan is its brazen and absolute disregard for the agreement signed between the United States and the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government guaranteeing the complete withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 2011. Of course, this "agreement" was always considered a farce by everyone – except for the American corporate media, which kept reporting on the "tough negotiations" as if the pact would have any actual meaning in the real world. The agreement contained escape clauses allowing the Iraqi government to "request" a continued American military presence after the 2011 deadline – and considering that any Iraqi government in place in 2011 will be helplessly dependent on American guns and money to maintain its power, such a "request" has always been a dead certainty.  So I suppose we must admire the Obama Administration's candor in dropping all
pretense that U.S. forces are going to leave Iraq at any time in the foreseeable future.

But the hypocrisy – the literally murderous hypocrisy – of claiming that this plan "leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war," as Obama asserted in his State of the Union speech, is sickening. It does no such thing, and he knows it.

Instead, it entrenches the United States more and more deeply in a "counter-insurgency" war on behalf of whichever clique or faction of sectarian parties in Iraq is most effective in adhering to America's dominationist agenda in the region. It sends an apparently endless stream of American troops to die -- and, in even greater numbers, to kill -- in a criminal action that has helped bankrupt our own country while sending waves of violent instability and extremism around the world. It will further enfilth a cesspool of corruption and war profiteering that has already reached staggering, world-historical proportions.
All of this is what the Obama-Petraeus plan will do. But what it won't do is "end this war" -- "responsibly" or otherwise. When Obama says it will -- as he said last night to a rapt national audience -- he is, quite simply, and very deliberately, lying.
Chris Floyd is an American writer and frequent contributor to Counterpunch. His blog, Empire Burlesque: High Crimes and Low Comedy in the American Imperium, can be found at www.chris-floyd.com.


 
 
 
The highest lotto odds are for the US Power Ball Lotto and are roughly 80,000,000 to 1.
 
Just as an example, suppose that the odds of life elsewhere in the universe are a million times higher, or 80,000,000,000,000 to 1.
 
In that part of the universe that has been measured out to 14 billion light years, there are 30 billion trillion stars (suns), or 30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars.
 
Assuming odds a million times worse than the Power Ball Lotto, there are 375 billion (375,000,000,000) stars supporting life. Think we're alone?



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[PDI] Obama's sickening hypocrisy

Obama's Non-Withdrawal Withdrawal Plan
By CHRIS FLOYD
It would be superfluous in us to point out that a plan to "end" a war which includes the continued garrisoning of up to 50,000 troops in a hostile land is, in reality, a continuation of that war, not its cessation. To produce such a plan and claim that it "ends" a war is the precise equivalent of, say, relieving one's bladder on the back of one's neighbor and telling him that the liquid is actually life-giving rain.

But this is exactly what we are going to get from the Obama Administration in Iraq. Word has now come from on high – that is, from "senior administration officials" using "respectable newspapers" as a wholly uncritical conduit for  government spin – that President Obama has reached a grand compromise with his generals (or rather, the generals and Pentagon poobahs he has inherited -- and eagerly retained -- from George W. Bush) on a plan to withdraw some American troops from the country that the United States destroyed in an unprovoked war of aggression. Obama had wanted a 16-month timetable for the partial withdrawal; his potential campaign rival in 2012, General David Petraeus, wanted 23 months; so, with Solomonic wisdom, they have now split the difference, and will withdraw a portion of the American troops in 19 months instead.

But the plan clearly envisions a substantial and essentially permanent American military presence in Iraq, dominating the politics and policy of this key oil nation – which was of course one of the chief war aims of the military aggressors in the Bush Administration all along. By implementing his war continuation plan, Obama will complete the work of Bush and his militarist clique. From the New York Times:


"Even with the withdrawal order, Mr. Obama plans to leave behind a "residual force" of tens of thousands of troops to continue training Iraqi security forces, hunt down foreign terrorist cells and guard American institutions..."

 
And a "senior military officer" dispatched to pipe the spin to the Los Angeles Times added another potential role for the remaining American troops: fighting Iraq's war for it. He was also refreshingly frank on the plan's ultimate intentions:


"The senior officer said the troops also could help protect Iraq from outside attack, something the Iraqis cannot yet do.

"'When President Obama said we were going to get out within 16 months, some people heard, 'get out,' and everyone's gone. But that is not going to happen,' the officer said."

 
No indeed, that is "not going to happen." One of the most remarkable aspects of Obama's "war lite" plan is its brazen and absolute disregard for the agreement signed between the United States and the supposedly sovereign Iraqi government guaranteeing the complete withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 2011. Of course, this "agreement" was always considered a farce by everyone – except for the American corporate media, which kept reporting on the "tough negotiations" as if the pact would have any actual meaning in the real world. The agreement contained escape clauses allowing the Iraqi government to "request" a continued American military presence after the 2011 deadline – and considering that any Iraqi government in place in 2011 will be helplessly dependent on American guns and money to maintain its power, such a "request" has always been a dead certainty.  So I suppose we must admire the Obama Administration's candor in dropping all
pretense that U.S. forces are going to leave Iraq at any time in the foreseeable future.

But the hypocrisy – the literally murderous hypocrisy – of claiming that this plan "leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war," as Obama asserted in his State of the Union speech, is sickening. It does no such thing, and he knows it.

Instead, it entrenches the United States more and more deeply in a "counter-insurgency" war on behalf of whichever clique or faction of sectarian parties in Iraq is most effective in adhering to America's dominationist agenda in the region. It sends an apparently endless stream of American troops to die -- and, in even greater numbers, to kill -- in a criminal action that has helped bankrupt our own country while sending waves of violent instability and extremism around the world. It will further enfilth a cesspool of corruption and war profiteering that has already reached staggering, world-historical proportions.
All of this is what the Obama-Petraeus plan will do. But what it won't do is "end this war" -- "responsibly" or otherwise. When Obama says it will -- as he said last night to a rapt national audience -- he is, quite simply, and very deliberately, lying.
Chris Floyd is an American writer and frequent contributor to Counterpunch. His blog, Empire Burlesque: High Crimes and Low Comedy in the American Imperium, can be found at www.chris-floyd.com.


 
 
 
The highest lotto odds are for the US Power Ball Lotto and are roughly 80,000,000 to 1.
 
Just as an example, suppose that the odds of life elsewhere in the universe are a million times higher, or 80,000,000,000,000 to 1.
 
In that part of the universe that has been measured out to 14 billion light years, there are 30 billion trillion stars (suns), or 30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars.
 
Assuming odds a million times worse than the Power Ball Lotto, there are 375 billion (375,000,000,000) stars supporting life. Think we're alone?



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Please Mrs. Erick. H Nelson need your help.

Good Day.

PROPOSAL FOR PARTNERSHIP/INVESTMENT

With due respect, trust and humility let me start by introducing myself.

I am Mrs. Erick.H Nelson from Congo and I am currently in Europe as a
refugee due to the political crisis in my Country.
Our family have substantial amount of fund (US$7.2M)for you to handle on my
behalf for investment purpose in your Country
because I cannot handle it alone based on my status here as a refugee that
is why I seek for your kind assistance and cooperation including help.

Please if you find my proposal interesting send me your private phone and
name so that my son Mr.Peter can contact you.

He will be glad to give you more information and further clarification
required for successful completion of this investment/business proposal.
I anticipate your quick response via this email:ercknelson@aim.com

Best Regards,


Mrs. Erick.H.Nelson.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

[PDI] Still more proof that Lisa Madigan needs to be impeached.

Earlier, she has demonstrated
?
1.? an inability to control Joe Birkett as he violates the U.S. Constitution numerous times,
2.? failure to investigate why a drug dealer convicted and sentenced to seven years in DuPage County gou out in 7 months
3.? fag-bashing and police misconduct by DuPage "drug officers"
4.? Arguing in the U.S. Supreme Court?that the use of drug dogs at traffic stops was not an illegal search
5.? Arguing in front of the Illinois Supreme Court that they could oust Rod Blagojevich

and now,

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2009/02/could-we-really-vote-temp-sen-roland-burris-out-of-office-early.html#comments

What about retro-active laws being unconstitutional does she not understand?

We need to verify she really got a law degree, and not from Phoenix University.

?????? Bob
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

[PDI] DAWN MEETING March 31st , Pollwatching, Absentee Voting - ballot requests begin Feb 26th!!

<http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_01/springAUSTIN0702_468x594.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ccfls.org/stone/&usg=__RUt5bz2rjpLkO2hcEdDKK4yGtuY=&h=594&w=468&sz=31&hl=en&start=5&tbnid=53rEOtOU7kofnM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspring%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG>
SPRING DAWN MEETING TUESDAY MARCH 31st
Join us for the first DAWN meeting of 2009!
We'll discuss and try to make sense of the current state of affairs at COD
Invited are those close to the situation including attorney Shawn Collins, who will explain the facts of the explosive court case that was recently dismissed .
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=273046&src=1<http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=273046&src=1>


POLLWATCHERS
Get your credentials! I'll have them that night!
You know who you are!

Tuesday March 31st
Glen Ellyn Public Library
400 Duane St.
Glen Ellyn IL 60137
1st Floor Meeting Room
7:30 pm - 9pm
( next meeting will be in June)

ABSENTEE BALLOTS AVAILABLE FEB 26th:
Call and get your absentee ballot for the April 7th election:
http://www.dupageelections.com/pages.asp?pageid=229<http://www.dupageelections.com/pages.asp?pageid=229>

COD meetings

The audio and video recordings of the 02/19/09 Board Meeting are both available at the link below:

http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/boardaudio.htm<http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/boardaudio.htm>

The Board Meeting minutes through 01/12/09 are posted on the following site:

http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/boardmin.htm<about:blank>


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[PDI] Fwd: [equalmarriagedupage] Fw: Equal marriage legislative alert

-----Original Message-----
From: Bonnie Grabenhofer <bonnieg1@sbcglobal.net>
To: equalmarriagedupage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 4:23 pm
Subject: Re: [equalmarriagedupage] Fw: Equal marriage legislative alert

Thanks, Sally, for sending this out.

?

Please call today. The committee it scheduled to meet at 9am tomorrow.

We faxed information and?called all the members of this committee. Please call to add to the pressure. I hope we can get it out of committee.
?

Bonnie


From: William Howland <whowland@msn.com>
To: community Network <community-networking-glbtq@yahoogroups.com>; cycler23 KC Coleman <cycler23@eclypse.com>; equalmarriagedupage <equalmarriagedupage@yahoogroups.com>; George Miller <globalethics@hotmail.com>; Laura Miller <lauralaloo@yahoo.com>; Lorig1963 <Lorig1963@att.net>; Paul Hanson <chats1965@hotmail.com>; Marianne Avery <mavery1@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 3:47:21 PM
Subject: [equalmarriagedupage] Fw: Equal marriage legislative alert


?

?

CALL NOW TO SUPPORT EQUAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS!

?

HB 178, the Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Freedom bill, sponsored by Rep. Greg Harris (D-13 ), is pending in the House Youth and Family?Committee. A full text of the bill can be found at www.ilga.gov.

?

ACTION NEEDED:

Call the members of the committee and tell them to vote YES on HB 178. You do not need to be a resident of their district to call them for a bill in committee.

?

Please call these members and spread the word.

Thanks!!

?

?

Chairperson :

Greg Harris???????????????????????BILL SPONSOR????????????????

Vice-Chairperson :

LaShawn??K.??Ford?????????? 217/782-5962???????????????????????????

Republican Spokesperson :

Mike Fortner?????????????????????217/782-1653

Member:

William D. Burns????????????? 217/782-2023

Member:

Michael P. McAuliffe??????? 217/782-8182

Member:

Al Riley??????????????????????????????217/558-1007

Member:

Dave Winters?????????????????? 217/782-0455

A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps!


__._,_.___

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Monday, February 23, 2009

[PDI] Help canvas for progressive candidate Tom Geoghegan in IL-5

Sorry about the previous post. I accidentally hit the "Send" button
before actually typing the message.

Tom Geoghegan has been endorsed by progressive Democratic groups
including PDA and DFA. The special election in his district, which
extends from central Chicago west to Maywood and vicinity, is March 3.
I'll be out canvassing for Geoghegan this week and I hope some of you
will too.

http://www.geogheganforcongress.com/

[From PDA-Chicago's endorsement text]

Geoghegan anchors his campaign around basic changes that will directly
benefit America's distressed middle class working people and students.
They are:

1. Strengthen Social Security to resemble a pension system large
enough to support basic retirement needs.

2. Provide a single-payer healthcare system, "everybody in, nobody
out." By taking pensions and health care costs out of the private
sector, Geoghegan argues, our manufacturing companies will be more
competitive globally. A single-payer plan will enable most Americans
to save more money over their working lives.

3. Give everyday Americans financial relief by enacting usury laws
that reduce credit card rates, halting foreclosures and declaring an
amnesty on student loans.

4. Stop blank-check bailouts to banks!

"This is a winnable race that will reset the direction of Obama's
change agenda," said Lorin Klugman, co-state coordinator. Obama won
the general election in large part because of the economic collapse.
With Geoghegan, we have the perfect candidate. The well-off folks on
the east side of the 5th Congressional District might not vote in a
special election. Elsewhere though, retired folks, unemployed folks,
folks whose family members are newly unemployed, and those just barely
hanging on will all support Geoghegan.

Geoghegan's victory will not only replace the arch corporate Democrat
(Emanuel) with a man David Sirota calls "one of the greatest
progressives alive today", but it will also send a message to Obama
that the people want REAL change. Let's get to work!

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[PDI] Help canvas for progressive candidate Tom Geoghegan in IL-5

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

[PDI] Presidents Working Group involved in manipulation of the markets?

Scroll down to CNBC clip "President's Working Group Manipulation of the
Markets" and pundits dismissal thereof as conspiracy theory :
http://www.dailynewscaster.com/category/wall-street/

THEN listen to http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ca2_1234032281, in which
Rep. Paul Kanjorski, Chairman of the United States House of
Representatives, Capital Markets Subcommittee explains how the Federal
Reserve told Congress members last Sept 15 about a "tremendous draw-down
of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550
billion dollars". According to Kanjorski, this electronic transfer
occurred over the period of an hour or two, and the "Money was being
removed electronically. The treasury tried to help with $150 Billion,
but could not stem the tide. It was an electronic run on the banks. The
treasury intervened but had they not closed down the accounts they
estimated that by 2 PM that afternoon -within 3 hours - $5.5 Trillion
would have been withdrawn and collapsed and within 24 hours the world
economy."

Kanjorski goes on to say that "Somebody threw us in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean, without a life raft and we're trying to determine what's
the closest shore and whether there's any chance in the world to swim
that far - we don't know." As monetary expert Byron Dale asks: SOMEONE?
WHO would have the economic power to deliver a coordinated economic
strike against the United States - in the same hour?" (Maybe we the
people could help the "experts" figure it out?)

As to the supposedly mythical Plunge Protection Team, read Executive
Order 12631 signed by Reagan in 1988:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12631.html

And this 1997 Washington Post article "The Plunge Protection Team" :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/blackm/plunge.htm

AND this August 2007 article on the Plunge Protection Team which has the
infamous Stephanopoulos quote mentioned in the above CNBC clip along
with numerous charts accompanied by analysis:
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article1771.html

<EXCERPT>
Is the legendary PPT just a myth, conjured up by a bunch of
conspiratorial nuts? Former president Clinton advisor, George
Stephanopoulos told "Good Morning America" on Sept 17, 2001, "There are
various efforts going on in public and behind the scenes by the Fed and
other government officials to guard against a free-fall in the market,
what is called the "Plunge Protection Team."

"The Federal Reserve, big major banks, representatives of the New York
Stock Exchange and the other exchanges have an informal agreement to
come in and start to buy stock if there appears to be a problem. They
acted more formally in 1998, during the Long term Capital Crisis, and
propped up the currency markets. And, they have plans in place if the
markets start to fall.". . .The big question is whether US Treasury
chief Henry Paulson and Fed chief Bernanke are pursuing a more active
interventionist policy than what was originally mandated for the PPT?
The turnover of interest rate, currency and stock index derivatives rose
24% to $533 trillion in the first quarter [of 2007], and that's a big
time bomb that can blow-up at anytime. It requires constant surveillance
and "vigilance" over the world's greatest casinos. Warren Buffett calls
derivatives "weapons of mass destruction."

If correct, then the PPT is "watching the markets closely", (Japanese
code words for intervention) and Paulson and Bernanke aim to prevent a
10% correction at all costs. There are glaring signals in the
marketplace that indicate when the PPT appears to be intervening in
stock index futures, and these signals were revealed in the August 3rd
edition of Global Money Trends, with plenty of cool charts. . .
<END SNIP>


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[PDI] German medics issue official warning to US on health effects of digital broadcast

http://www.scribd.com/doc/12548638/Warning-Against-Adverse-Health-Effects-From-the-Operation-of-Digital-Broadcast


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Saturday, February 21, 2009

[PDI] Theft of Zimbabwe and the Wiemar Republic - and the USA parallel

A true story of financial terrorism:

Fact: Interest Rates in Zimbabwe were 800% in 2007
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1564924/Zimbabwe-interest-rates-up-to-800pc.html>
Fact: The Overnight Rate Charged By Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank is 10,000%
<http://www.rbz.co.zw/>
Fact: The 91 Day T-Bill is at an interest rate of 66.33%
<http://www.rbz.co.zw/>
Fact: Their Government has to hike taxes to pay the T-Bill rate at its
maturity
<http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreTopics/PayingTaxes/Details.aspx?economyid=208>.
Taxes up to 79%!
Fact: Unemployment in Zimbabwe is at 85%
<http://zim2day.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1537&Itemid=77>

Question: If you're a shopkeeper and you have a loan at an interest rate
of 800% and your taxes are nearly 64% (plus a 15% "value added tax" for
a total of 79% of your income do you think that you will have to raise
your prices to stay in business?

Question: Why is this happening. Is someone manipulating their interest
rates, causing economic chaos because they want Zimbabwe's gold,
platinum and diamonds?
Consider:
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is refusing to pay for gold deliveries.

Most of the gold mines have collapsed.

Investment banks are buying up the mines at pennies on the dollar.
.
This did not happen to Zimbabwe because they did not have enough gold.
This did not happen to Zimbabwe because they did not have enough natural
resources.
This did not happen to Zimbabwe because the government spent too little.
This did not happen to Zimbabwe because they had too much paper money.
This happened because they had too much debt and the unpayable interest
is destroying them.

Say, aren't the people dependent on bank loans for a medium of exchange
and don't the banks set the interest rates on their loaned money?

Question: When the banks hike the interest rates to manipulate the money
supply to the point that only 15% of the people can work, the medium of
exchange is destroyed and the banks end up with the gold, is that
financial terrorism?

Now for The Weimar Republic:

Between January and November 1923 the interest rate in Weimar Germany
jumped from 19% to 900%.

**Do you think people have to raise their prices to pay their debts when
interest rates are climbing that fast?

It wasn't that the government was "printing" too much money - it was
that the interest on the debt was crushing people and businesses.

They found it necessary to raise their prices daily, sometimes hourly,
in order to afford to pay the loans that they had.

Question: Why is it that everyone seems to know the same story about a
wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread, but not 1 in a 10,000
knows how money is created and the effects of borrowing at interest?

More on Zimbabwe:
http://moneyaswealth.blogspot.com/2009/01/hyperinflation-zimbabwe-myth-and.html
More on the troubling similarities of the Weimar Republic to the USA:
http://www.nowandfutures.com/us_weimar.html

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Friday, February 20, 2009

[PDI] Fwd: [Citizen Action/Illinois] Health Care for America Now!

Healthcare availability has been a top concern of the PDI group based on the frequency of this topic in emails. Reading the email below it seemed to be something members of the PDI membership would be interested in.

It may not hit the single payer idea exactly "on the head" but this effort agrees with the need for everyone to have healthcare available to them. I know it is a compromise some people won't be happy with and this email will probably generate some discussion but at least we now have a focal point to move on to try and get everyone healthcare coverage.

Feel free to pass along this information.


Don Kirchenberg
630-853-7650 Mobile

To help get safer roads for all users go to website: http://www.saferoadways.net/

---Original Message-----
From: Hannah Lehman <hannah@citizenaction-il.org>
To: qualogistics@aol.com
Sent: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 9:10 am
Subject: [Citizen Action/Illinois] 400 Calls Needed - Health Care for America Now!

  

 
Citizen Action/Illinois

 
National Call in Day for Health Care: February 24, 2009


Dear Don:

Please join Citizen Action/Illinois and Health Care for America Now! (HCAN) for our National Call-in Day on Tuesday, February 24.  This is a critical day of action that will help us keep health care reform a priority for Congress.

Here in Illinois, we need to deliver 400 phone calls to members of Congress, telling them that they can't be on the fence when it comes to our healt
h. 400 calls in one day will let them know that health care reform must be next!  400 calls will remind them that any health care plan must include a public option.  400 calls will let them know they can no longer side with the insurance companies.

On Tuesday, February 24, we need you to be 1 of 400 calls. 


Tuesday, call 1-888-436-8427
-or-
Go to www.healthcareforamericanow.org
and click on "CALL" to access our easy-to-use internet tool

_____________________________


Sample Script for Calls to Congress:

I am calling to ask (Senator or Representative ______) to support health care reform that guarantees quality, affordable health care for everyone.  I want the choice of keeping my private health insurance plan or joining a public health insurance plan.

Please ask (Senator or Representative ______) to support for a guarantee of quality, affordable health care with a public option for all by signing onto the Obama / HCAN Principles for health care reform.  Thank you.


_____________________________


Thanks for all you do!

Lynda DeLaforgue & William McNary
Co-Directors, Citizen Action/Illinois


Health Care for America Now! is a nation-wide coalition of 700 organizations representing 30 million people.  We are calling for health care reform that guarantees:

Coverage you can afford

Comprehensive benefits you can count on

Choice of a private or public health insurance plan

Equal access to qual
ity care

Forward email



This email was sent to qualogistics@aol.com by hannah@citizenaction-il.org.

Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

Email Marketing by


Citizen Action/Illinois | 27 E. Monroe St., Ste. 1100 | Chicago | IL | 60603


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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Attention,

(1)Ref.Nr:5687SPL876.(2)Batch Nr:SPYU6868.

Dear email account owner,
To claim your email prize of 500,000 Euros.
Contact Dr. Mike Mejia. Email: claim.file01@ymail.com

Your email ID have been awarded a lump sum pay out of 500,000.00 Euros which is the online/email winning payout for Second Category "B" winners. Your fund is now deposited with the paying-Out Bank.
We request you to pay serious attention to this notice by contacting the claims Dept for due processing/remittance of your prize money to a designated account of your choice:
Yours Truly,
Mrs. Maria Raul(Co-ordinator)

[PDI] Jailing Kids for Cash: 2, 000+ kids in PA jailed by corrupt bribed judges

Amy Goodman | Jailing Kids for Cash
http://www.truthout.org/021909J
Amy Goodman, Truthdig.com: "As many as 5,000 children in Pennsylvania have been found guilty, and up to 2,000 of them jailed, by two corrupt judges who received kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities that benefited. The two judges pleaded guilty in a stunning case of greed and corruption that is still unfolding. Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan received $2.6 million in kickbacks while imprisoning children who often had no access to a lawyer. The case offers an extraordinary glimpse into the shameful private prison industry that is flourishing in the United


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My Dear Beloved

My Dear Beloved

It is with tears and pains that I am writing this email from my sick bed
in a hospital here in Benin Republic. I believe you have never met such a
condition before. My name is Mrs Mary Horner,widow to late Engineer Pat
Horner, former owner of PETROLEUM AND GAS company, here in Benin Republic.
At the present, I am suffering from a long time cancer of the breast. And
from all indications, my condition is really deteriorating and it's quite
obvious that I won't live more than 2 months according to my doctors. This
is because the cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage, but I don't
want you to pity me, but I only need your trust.

My late husband died in December 2003 in a plane crash in Benin, (please
check,http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/index.html)
and during the period of our marriage we couldn't produce any child. My
late husband was very wealthy and after his death, I inherited all his
business and wealth. Due to my illness, the doctor have advised me that I
will not live for more than 2 months, due to the damages that the illness
has coursed on my body, so I have now decided to spread all my wealth, I
inherited from my late husband, in order to contribute mainly to the
development of charity in Africa, America, Asia and Europe. I am sorry if
you are embarrassed by my mail.

I found your e-mail address as a real Child of God for over a month now,
during my search for a trust worthy Christian. And since then, I have been
investigating about you to know if really you are working according to the
direction of God. So, after all my investigation, I was convince, and I
have decided to contact you, but if for any reason you find this mail
offensive, you can ignore it and please accept my apology. But if it
touches you in your heart to help the homeless and the needy, please
respond as soon as possible. Before my late husband died, he was a major
oil tycoon, in Benin and deposited the sum of (EightMillion U.S Dollars
only)
in a security company here in Benin Republic,
some years ago and right now that is all I have left, after my late
husband's business associates, took everything that belongs to my dear
husband. I need your help to collect this fund and distribute it yourself
to charity homes, so that when I finally die, my soul will rest in peace.
The funds will be entirely in your hands and care, as you utilize it very
well. I hope God gives you the wisdom to touch very many lives that is in
need, because that is my main concern.

If you are willing to do this, please reply back to me

God bless you.

Mrs Mary Horner.
Christ Alive General
Hospital.
Benin Republic

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

[PDI] Are we chumps? II

BILL MOYERS: Are we chumps?
 
SIMON JOHNSON: We'll find out. Yes, we may be. Okay. It depends on how we play this politically. It depends on what our political system does. It depends, I think, on the level of reaction. The financial system is playing us for chumps, okay? The bankers think we're chumps. We'll find out. We have leadership that can handle this. We'll find out what they do.
 
BILL MOYERS: There was a moment in the hearings this week, when Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent, the independent senator from Vermont, almost lost his cool. Watch this.
 
SENATOR BERNARD SANDERS: In 2006 and 2007, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, was the highest paid executive on Wall Street, making over 125 million in total compensation. Due to its risky investments, Goldman Sachs now has over 168 billion in total outstanding debt. It's laid off over 10 percent of its workforce. Late last year, the financial situation at Goldman was so dire that the taxpayers of this country provided Goldman Sachs with a $10 billion bailout.
Very simple question that I think the American people want to know. Yes or no, should Mr. Blankfein be fired from his job and new leadership be brought in?
 
SECRETARY GEITHNER: Senator, that's a judgment his board of directors have to make.
I want to say one thing which is very important. Everything we do going forward has to be judged against the impact we're going to have on the American people and the prospects for recovery. And every dollar we spend will have to be measured against the benefits we bring in terms of-
 
SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. Secretary, you're not answering my question. You have a person who made hundreds of millions for himself as he led his institution that helped cause a great financial crisis. We have put, as taxpayers, $10 billion to bail him out and we have no say about whether or not he should stay on the job?
 
SECRETARY GEITHNER: No, I didn't say that. I think there will be circumstances, as there have been already, where the government intervention will have to come with very tough conditions, including changes in management and leadership of institutions. And where we believe that makes sense, we will do that. 

 
BILL MOYERS: And, yet, Secretary Geithner's chief-of-staff is the former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs. How - serious question - how do they make a dispassionate judgment about how to deal with Goldman Sachs when they're so intertwined with Goldman Sachs' mindset?
 
SIMON JOHNSON: I have no idea. Of course, the administration, the new administration, has a lot of rules about lobbying. And they have rules that basically say, I think, as understood the rules, when they were first presented, I was very impressed. They basically said, "We're not going to hire lobbyists into the administration. There has to be some sort of cooling off period."
 
BILL MOYERS: And the next day Obama exempted a number of people from that very rule that he had just proclaimed.
 
SIMON JOHNSON: Yes. It's a problem. It's a huge problem.
 
BILL MOYERS: So here's the trillion dollar question that I take from your blog, that I read at the beginning, quote, "Can this person," your new economic strategist, in this case Geithner, "really break with the vested elite that got you into this much trouble?" Have you seen any evidence this week that he's going to be tough with these guys?
 
SIMON JOHNSON: I'm trying to be positive. I'm trying to be supportive. I like the administration. I voted for the president. The answer to your question is, no, I haven't seen anything. But you know, perhaps next week I will. But right now, as we speak, I have a bad feeling in my stomach.
 
My intuition, from crises, from situations that have improved, the situations that got worse, my intuition is that this is going to get a lot worse. It's going to cost us a lot more money. And we are going down a long, dark, blind alley.
 
Can be seen or read in entirety at: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02132009/watch.html



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[PDI] Food for thought

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY



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[PDI] Late-breaking COD news: chairman's suit tossed, results of ballot challenges

Thanks to all for your diligence in attending the hearings, showing up in court and following these two important cases:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=273046&src=1<http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=273046&src=1>
Micheal McKinnon
COD chairman's defamation suit tossed out
By Christy Gutowski<about:blank> | Daily Herald StaffContact writer<about:blank>
A DuPage County judge tossed out College of DuPage Board Chairman Micheal McKinnon's lawsuit against three former female trustees who alleged he inappropriately talked to or touched them.
McKinnon, who is seeking re-election this spring, filed the defamation suit Oct. 17 against Mary A. Mack, Jane Herron and Mary Sue Brown after the allegations were published in a weekly newspaper.

On Wednesday, Associate Judge Joseph Bongiorno dismissed the suit, which sought $6 million in damages.

At issue wasn't whether the women defamed McKinnon or if their remarks were even truthful. Rather, Bongiorno agreed with the women's attorneys that the defendants had immunity from such suits under a state law that raises the bar for accusers to sue public officials.

The law, dubbed the Illinois Public Participation Act, is relatively new and without much prior case law to guide judges in their interpretation of how it is to be applied. Still, Bongiorno ruled McKinnon failed to meet his burden of "clear and convincing" evidence that the trio made the remarks as part of a "political vendetta," as he alleged, designed to undermine his "position and influence on the board of trustees."

"The ultimate question is whether the filing of this lawsuit has a chilling effect on the public participation of these three defendants," Bongiorno said. "I agree it's a dispute of public interest. The defendants and the plaintiff are in the public arena. They chose to be in the public arena. Clearly, they are entitled to the immunity allowed in this act."

The former trustees are expected to seek attorney fees from McKinnon. He, too, has the right to appeal Bongiorno's ruling to a higher court.

Meanwhile, Mack's suit against McKinnon and COD still is pending. She filed a counter claim in December, arguing the college should have defended her against McKinnon's defamation suit. Mack also accused McKinnon of battery.

In January 2008, Mack resigned her trustee position, citing her opinion of a lack of leadership and "Gestapo-like tactics of intimidation and sexual harassment."

In McKinnon's suit, it was alleged Mack told board member Mark Nowak that the chairman in March 2007 had "grabbed her really hard, rubbed his body against hers." Mack also is accused of telling Trustee David Carlin that McKinnon "hugged her, pulled her close to him and said, 'Oh, so firm,'" according to the chairman's defamation suit.

Mack then contacted former COD President Harold McAninch about the alleged inappropriate contact.

Mack did not file a police report until after the statute of limitations had expired.

Herron, who resigned from the board in 2007, made a similar charge about inappropriate contact with McKinnon during a 2002 meeting. And Brown, a Glen Ellyn resident who served on the board from 1995 to 2005, said in the media report that McKinnon had made a crude remark to her about Herron.

"There's no doubt people have begun to use our judicial system as a club to shut other people up, and the legislature recognizes that," said attorney Thomas Knight, who represented Herron.

McKinnon was not in court Wednesday. He has called the former trustees' remarks, "absolutely false."

His attorney, Robert Marcott, argued the women made the comments to the newspaper long after their tenure on the board had ended and, as such, no longer had immunity under the state law. He noted the constitution does not protect public officials from making defamatory remarks against another and that McKinnon should be allowed the chance to prove they were false in court.

"If you dismiss this lawsuit," Marcott told the judge, "you send a clear message to anyone who is running for village board, village mayor or for dogcatcher that they can be falsely accused of the most horrendous acts and have no recourse in court."

In another related case:

College of DuPage candidates kicked off ballot
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=272714<about:blank>
While it took about 20 minutes on average to dispose of six challenges to College of DuPage trustee candidates Tuesday, the seventh and final electoral board hearing proved to be a doozy.

Clocking in at almost four hours, the objection hearing into whether challenger Sandy Kim has lived in the college district for the requisite year turned into an exercise in legal theory.

The protracted battle eventually went to Kim's camp by a 2-1 vote, the only split decision of the day. Board Chairman Mike McKinnon was the lone dissenting vote while board secretary Kay Neely and Trustee Kathy Wessel voted for Kim.

The beleaguered candidate had no idea why her hearing dragged on for so long.

"I really don't know," she said afterward. "But I fought this hard to stay on the ballot, so I guess I'll keep on fighting."

At the heart of the debate was the statute that requires college trustee candidates to maintain residency for a year before the election. In this case, that's a year from the upcoming April 7 election.

Current - but outgoing - COD trustee Kory Atkinson objected to Kim's candidacy papers, arguing she hadn't lived in the district a year despite presenting documentation that she signed a lease on her West Chicago home in early March 2008.

He claimed she hadn't shown "intent" to maintain residency by waiting to register to vote until last October.

Kim, a recent graduate of the college, will keep her spot on the ballot for the one 2-year term along with incumbent Mark Nowak and fellow challenger Jeffrey Handel, who also survived challenges Tuesday.

Another challenger, Gino Impellezzeri, was not so fortunate.

He railed against the electoral board's decision to remove his name from the ballot because he didn't specify which term he was seeking.

"Are we stupid or what?" he shouted. "If you think you are getting rid of me, you are wrong. Whether or not I'm elected, I'm not finished here."

There are also three 6-year terms up for grabs on April 7.

There were challenges to three candidates in that race as well, which met with mixed results. Kim Savage and Tom Wendorf successfully fought off challenges, but Terrell Barnes bowed out after a check of signatures on his petitions last week left him without the required number.

That narrows the race for those three seats to 10 candidates.
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Re: [PDI] [CitizensTruth] Are we chumps? / Ending The Hidden Agenda Behind "Tax Cuts"

I think the below article speaks to the same principles Hal is bringing
up, but from a more "conventional" - if you will - angle.

http://www.truthout.org/021709R?print

*


*

*


*

Truthout Original


<http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php>


Ending the Hidden Agenda Behind Tax Cuts
<http://www.truthout.org/021709R>

Tuesday 17 February 2009

by: Joe Brewer, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

<http://www.truthout.org/021709R?print>

photo
The way that taxation is viewed by the public has a lot to do with the
way politicians frame the debate. (Artwork: inventions-guide.com)

*/Something as simple as a metaphor can mean the difference between
shared prosperity and widespread suffering./*

It's time to tell the truth about tax cuts. This phrase dominates
political discourse and is coughed out every time a conservative public
figure opens his mouth. It is treated like the basis of sound reasoning,
yet no one points out what should be obvious - that "tax relief" and
"tax cuts" are just code words for destroying the capacity of government
to serve the public.

We've heard over and over again that the source of society's
problems is the government. The solution that follows is to "trim the
fat," "cut out the waste," "shrink the government" and provide "relief"
to millions of citizens who suffer the burden of exploitation by
Washington elites. This story flies in the face of the facts, yet it
makes sense to a significant portion of the US population. How can this be?

The answer has to do with how we make sense of things in the world.
Our experiences shape what seems legitimate by reinforcing (or
undermining) our ideas about the way things work. So, for example, a
progressive politician may speak honestly and forcefully about the
positive role of government in our lives. But this will fall on deaf
ears if our typical experience is at odds with such claims. This
observation demonstrates a key element of what George Lakoff and I have
dubbed
<http://www.cognitivepolicyworks.com/what-we-do/cognitive-policy/> the
*Cognitive Criterion for Public Support:*

/An effective policy must be popular if it is to stand the test of
time and it must be popular for the right reasons, namely because it
promotes the right long-term values in the minds of citizens, reinforced
through the lived experience./

The reason many people accept conservative claims about taxation and
government is that they hold up for many common experiences, especially
when conservatives are in control of the government. Conservative
officials enact policies that make life worse for people while claiming
that things will get better. Then they draw upon these negative
experiences to advance their agenda. No Child Left Behind is an
excellent example. The strategy works like this (a more detailed
analysis can be found here
<http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/rockridge/why-voters-arent-motivated-by-a-laundry-list-of-positions-on-issues.1.html>):


1. Declare that the agenda is to "improve" public education.

2. Pass legislation that cripples public schools.

3. Cry out for "reform" when people see how bad our schools are doing.

4. Get rid of public schools and replace them with private schools,
especially schools that teach conservative ideology (e.g. elite
charter schools, religious schools, etc.).

This strategy demonstrates how *cognitive policy
<http://www.cognitivepolicyworks.com/what-we-do/cognitive-policy>*
works. Emphasis is given to how people understand what is happening. The
goal is to ensure that our experiences are interpreted through a
conservative lens. It is not literally the case that taxation is a
burden (a provocative metaphor), but rather that our common sense is
influenced by a combination of our experiences in the world and the
interpretive filters that give them meaning. (A key feature of how the
political mind works, as I discuss in The Great Political Blind Spot
<http://www.cognitivepolicyworks.com/2008/11/20/revealing-the-great-political-blind-spot/>.)


Back to the hidden agenda behind tax cuts; we can apply this insight
to see that conservatives *want* people to have negative experiences
with government. Why? Because it supports decades of propaganda - and an
underlying belief that stems from their worldview - that government is
the problem. In the early 1970's, conservative elites started investing
heavily in the creation of idea factories to spread their views far and
wide so that they eventually became the new common sense of our culture.
They had to work tirelessly for years to change the underlying values of
American citizens because our long history has been devoted to advancing
our most cherished values, which happen to be progressive. But, as we
can see by the pervasiveness of their ideas today, this effort has been
catastrophically successful.

Now is the time to nip their bankrupt idea about taxation in the
bud. The way to do it is simple. Take their reasoning to its logical
conclusion and see what happens if it is applied to the real world. We
can test the conservative belief about taxation against our own and
decide what's best by looking at the outcomes.

First, we'll need to be very clear about just what conservatives and
progressives mean by taxation. Then we can apply these understandings to
the world to see their consequences. (The insights that follow come from
linguistic analysis of cognitive "frames
<http://www.rockridgenation.org/blog/archive/2007/03/26/thinking-points-discussion-of-chapter-3-part-1-frames.html>"
that shape political thought.)

*Taxation as Conservatives Understand It*

I've already alluded to an interesting metaphor that helps make
sense of conservative thought about taxes, which I'll call Taxes Are a
Burden to make it explicit. The understanding of taxation that follows
from this metaphor can be seen in this story:

/Hard-working Americans are in need of some tax relief. Years of
mismanagement by tax-and-spend liberals have taken money out of the
hands of working people and put it into bloated government programs that
serve special interests. We need to cut taxes, return fiscal
responsibility to government, and put money back in the hands of
taxpayers who know best how to spend it./

This perspective is grounded in two beliefs: (1) The world is
comprised of individuals; and (2) People are inherently bad and must
learn right from wrong through self-discipline. I like to call this the
"Me First" perspective because it assumes that people must help
themselves before thinking about others. It can be summarized with the
declaration, "You're on your own!" The Me First perspective assumes that
any assistance from the community would be "coddling" or "spoiling" us.
This claim is asserted as truth in the conservative worldview.

*Taxation as Progressives Understand It*

Progressives have a different understanding of taxation that can be
expressed through a variety of metaphors: Taxes Are an Investment, Taxes
Are Membership Dues, Taxes Are Pathways to Opportunity, Taxes Are
Infrastructure and Taxes Are a Duty. (Read more about progressive
taxation in "Progressive Taxation: Some Hidden Truths
<http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/lakoff/progressive-taxation-some-hidden-truths/view.html>")
Reasoning that emerges with these metaphors can be seen in this
progressive story:

/Our great nation was founded on a promise of protection and
opportunity. Through our shared wealth, pooled together by taxation with
representation, we have invested in the public infrastructure that makes
possible the creation of new wealth. We have a sacred trust to keep this
promise alive throughout our lifetimes, expand it as we are able, and
pass it along to our children./

This perspective is grounded in the beliefs that (1) Individuals are
influenced significantly by our communities; and (2) People are
inherently good and benefit from cooperation with others. I like to call
this the "People First" perspective because it assumes that people must
help each other in order to enhance their ability to help themselves. It
can be summarized with the declaration, "We're all in this together!"
The People First perspective assumes that we are greater than the sum of
our parts and that new opportunities emerge when we make wise
investments with the common wealth we share.

*Truth and Consequences*

Now that we have a clear sense of what taxation means to
conservatives and progressives, we can see what happens if these
different ideas are used as governing principles for shaping society.
This analysis accomplishes two purposes. First, it reveals key truths
about taxation that complicate arguments made by conservatives, truths
that don't get talked about nearly enough. And second, it exposes a
covert agenda that deceptively exploits real concerns of people to
advance an otherwise unpopular agenda.

What happens if the Me First perspective is applied to taxation?
Just look to the world we find ourselves in today. A problem defined as
"too much spending" leads to budget cuts. This results in a diminished
capacity to provide vital services. Public goods like education, civil
and criminal courts, road maintenance and fundamental scientific
research are too costly for individuals - or even multinational
corporations - to afford. So these services are cut and people lose
their jobs. Thousands of teachers no longer cultivating young minds.
Countless construction workers laid off when city and state governments
halt infrastructure projects. Graduates with advanced degrees unable to
find work because public agencies are "tightening their belts" and
cutting back on grants to academia, nonprofits and the private sector.

Beyond the direct human suffering of disrupted lives, there is
substantial reduction in government programs that protect the public
against harm. The FDA cannot staff enough inspectors to keep toxic
peanuts out of the food supply. The EPA lacks capacity to keep drinking
water clean in cities and towns across the country. The SEC is unable to
keep a watchful eye on runaway speculation and our economy spins wildly
out of control. Bridges crumble and levies break because funds are in
short supply.

The consequence of conservative ideology is a self-fulfilling
prophecy. People are forced to be "on their own" with no protection
against serious threats and no assistance to get them beyond their
current means. When disasters strike, there is widespread suffering and
death because the tapestry of society - our precious safety net - has
withered and decayed. Think I'm exaggerating? I'll just say one word -
Katrina.

And despite their claims to the contrary, conservative leaders
*want* this to happen <http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/05-1>.

Contrast this with the People First perspective. Again, we can let
experience be our guide. A decade of rampant deregulation, perpetrated
by a conservative mindset about the relationship between government and
the economy, led to the great stock market crash of 1929. A visionary
progressive leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, stepped in and vastly
expanded a wide variety of public programs. The flood of revenues
accompanying this expansion was enough to put millions of unemployed
back to work. New programs that embody the spirit of progress emerged in
the decades that followed. Social Security, the GI Bill, Medicare and
the FDIC are a few examples of the legacy this pooling of resources
delivered to the American people.

Along with this massive investment in societal infrastructure,
Americans experienced tremendous growth of shared prosperity. For the
first time in our history, an entire generation of children from
working-class families moved up the economic ladder with college degrees
in hand. Home ownership skyrocketed. Literacy rates went through the
roof and new skills emerged to expand the capacity of markets. And two
generations of people experienced the benefits of cooperation in their
daily lives, codifying the ethic that we're all in it together as a
bedrock of sound reason.

I can attest to this from personal experience. Both of my parents
came from working-class families. I was the first to get a college
degree. Federal and state scholarships delivered me from the rural farm
to the hallowed halls. And now society gets to benefit from the fruits
of my labor as I work to transform our political system for the
betterment of society. The cognitive policy of the People First
perspective is a foundation of my identity in the world.

*The Hidden Agenda Exposed*

The progress of our nation is being held hostage by a malicious
metaphor. Treating taxation as nothing more than a burden is tantamount
to declaring that citizenship is nothing more than getting all you can
for yourself ... everyone else be damned. Conservative elites have
undermined the responsibilities we have to one another to advance their
agenda. They are fully committed to crafting the world in their image,
as we've seen all too clearly these last eight years and throughout the
current debate about economic recovery under the Obama administration.

I say enough is enough. Let's call this tactic out for what it is.
People are hurting in every corner of the land and they're looking for
help where they haven't dared to look for quite some time - in the
service of our representatives in the federal government. Conservatives
will try to convince us that our hardships are caused by excessive
government. The truth is that we are suffering under excessive
/conservative ideology of governance,/ which is a very different beast.
They continue to claim that we can't get ahead because we're overtaxed.
This claim is absurd!

Not a single home foreclosure throughout this crisis has been caused
by excessive taxation. The misfortune of illness in a dysfunctional
health system has burdened people with horrendous debt. /Where did this
problem come from? Profit-driven health care created under the Nixon
administration./

Banks haven't failed catastrophically through oversized personal W-2
forms. Radical deregulation is the culprit. /Who deregulated the market?
Conservative ideologues from both political parties./ (This is what the
word "centrist" really means - conservatives who've infiltrated the
Democratic Party.)

Companies haven't been driven to huge layoffs because their tax
burden is too high. They are victims of an unraveling market. /What
undermined the integrity of the global economy? An extremist philosophy
of governance that is blind to the role of the regulatory frameworks
that give stabilizing structure to our markets./

What can we do to stop the conservative agenda? Call it out for what
it is. When someone says, "People need tax relief," respond by letting
them know that "We /really/ need to invest in one another." Make it
clear what the consequences of tax cuts really are - the destruction of
our mechanisms for protecting and empowering one another. And let's stop
taking their language for granted just because everyone is doing it.
That logic didn't make much sense in middle school. It's all the more
dangerous to follow as adults. Challenge the conservative meaning of
taxation directly. Declare that we are decidedly NOT on our own. Point
to the benefits we've taken for granted too long, things like education
and schools and roads and courts.

We mustn't stop with a critique of their ideas either. We need to
fervently argue for our own. Together we are greater than the sum of our
parts. A prosperous community is a place where neighbors pool their
efforts for the greater good. Taxes provide resources for investments
larger than anything we could build on our own. And these benefits
create a space for new ideas to take hold and expand our wealth.

Ideas matter. Words are important. We cannot afford to let a radical
minority set the tone of public debate any longer. The time is ripe for
moving beyond the era of misguided individualism. Let's take the
momentum we've built in the last few years and place the United States
back on a course that resonates with our deeply held values - caring for
one another, expanding freedoms to the marginalized, and recognizing
that our shared prosperity is at the core of our success as a nation.

-------

/Joe Brewer is founder and director of Cognitive Policy Works
<http://www.cognitivepolicyworks.com/>, an educational and research
center devoted to the application of cognitive and behavioral sciences
to politics. He is a former fellow of the Rockridge Institute
<http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/>, a think tank founded by George
Lakoff to analyze political discourse for the progressive movement. This
article has been previously published on the Cognitive Policy Works site
<http://www.cognitivepolicyworks.com/2009/02/15/ending-the-hidden-agenda-behind-tax-cuts/>./


Hal Snyder wrote:
> The Baseline Scenario report has Simon Johnson's view of the
> underlying economics.
> http://www.iie.com/publications/papers/paper.cfm?ResearchID=1117
>
> Regarding the notion of an entrenched cadre of individuals, amassing
> and holding onto unimaginable wealth and power *at any cost to the
> rest of the planet*, recall work by Peter Phillips and Project
> Censored on the Global Dominance Group.
> http://www.projectcensored.org/articles/story/the-global-dominance-group/
>
> I think Bill Moyers and Simon (IMF) Johnson are still bumping
> around *inside the box*. For example the chuckling over how we clearly
> don't want the government running the banks, imagine going to the bank
> being like a visit to the DMV, ha ha ha. Actually,* going to private
> banks* these days is very much like a visit to the DMV where I live.
> Also: when the government intervenes on a failing (small) bank, the
> bank is promptly re-privatized [/what a relief/].... And so on.
>
> 1. There are at least as many *threats to individual liberty in these
> times from the private sector* as there are from the government. Or
> have we taken our eyes off: Monsanto, Choicepoint, Blackwater,
> Pharma, big media, the health insurance industry, predatory lenders,
> etc...
>
> 2. I don't think the current mess will be resolved until we realize
> *it's not about money*. The recent discussion on this list about where
> we put our personal energy, our time, our hearts - that's the *real
> currency of the human race*. It's time to shake off decades of
> free-market brainwashing and acknowledge higher human principles than
> greed. And not just acknowledge these principles, but elevate them as
> our greatest aspirations.
>
> Putting a dollar amount on every object or act or creature, and
> somehow expecting whims of human commerce (the free market) to produce
> a just or sustainable result makes about as much sense to me as making
> big decisions based on which way the wind blows.
>
> 3. Derrick Jensen says that if someone can slide insane premises past
> you, they can use flawless logic to take you to an insane conclusion.
> For example:
>
> */How can we get the economy growing again?/*
>
> This assumes a) we want the economy to grow, b) we want an economy,
> and c) there is some agreement of who "we" are.
>
> Jensen gives reasons we might say no to a) and b) and suggests that
> "we", the implied beneficiaries of a growing economy, leaves out much
> of the human race as well as most other life on the planet.
>
> How do they face their children?
> http://growthmadness.org/2006/12/29/how-do-they-face-their-children/
>
>
> On Feb 17, 2009, at 7:24 PM, Mike Kirk wrote:
>
>> I saw part of this - very honest and to the point.
>>
>> Americans need to realize we are not immune from financial turmoil.
>>
>> -Mike
>>
>> --- On *Tue, 2/17/09, Chuck Minne /<mincam2@yahoo.com
>> <mailto:mincam2@yahoo.com>>/* wrote:
>>
>> From: Chuck Minne <mincam2@yahoo.com <mailto:mincam2@yahoo.com>>
>> Subject: [CitizensTruth] Are we chumps?
>> To: citizenstruth@six.pairlist.net
>> <mailto:citizenstruth@six.pairlist.net>
>> Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 6:26 PM
>>
>> This is worth watching:
>>
>> http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02132009/watch.html
>>
>>
>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> CitizensTruth mailing list
> CitizensTruth@six.pairlist.net
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/citizenstruth
> website: http://citizenstruth.info
>
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

[PDI] PDI Thursday meeting reminder 02/19/2009

All,

Just a reminder that PDI will meet this Thursday, 02/19/2009 from 7pm-9pm CST.

Location: International House Of Pancakes
Intersection of Butterfield Road / Illinois Route 56 &
Naperville Road,
2 miles North of I-88, Northeast corner of the intersection
Wheaton, IL

Directions: 815-483-8878, (630) 690-2344

Street address: 167 Danada Sq E

Map
<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=ihop%20wheaton%20danada&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl>


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Monday, February 16, 2009

[PDI] You're INVITED! Save the Date, Feb. 28th, 8PM

You're Invited:

WHAT: "The Encroaching Economic Police State" : presentation by
Geraldine Perry, author of The Two Faces of Money

WHEN: Saturday, February 28, 8PM

WHERE:
Lincoln Restaurant, $3 tuition plus $5 purchase required
4008 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago
For directions: http://www.collegeofcomplexes.org/

DESCRIPTION: Presentation will unveil the economic, legal and military
apparatus along with the tools which are fast creating the global
Economic Police State, taking the premise of Part I of The Two Faces of
Money a step further by describing in more detail the "sovereign power
structure that surrounds the Federal Reserve." All of this has been
taking place over a many generations as a direct result of our
collective failure to require Congress to exercise its Constitutional
duty to "coin (as in create) money and regulate the value thereof". The
presentation will be about an hour followed by a period for questions
and answers, then time for rebuttals.

Geraldine Perry is the author of The Two Faces of Money. Related
websites are: http://thetwofacesofmoney.com/index.php/Main/HomePage and
http://thehealthadvantage.com/ See various pages at The Health
Advantage for relevant material on CODEX, the FTAA, NAU, etc and the
manner in which health freedoms are being usurped by the "money powers"

For additional meeting info CONTACT: Geraldine Perry, 708-460-5683 or
http://www.collegeofcomplexes.org/


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Sunday, February 15, 2009

[PDI] URGENT Meeting Tuesday Feb 17th , please attend !

Mark your calendar for Feb 17th!!
10:30 am Room 2052 ( Boardroom, above cafeteria in SRC )
Be sure to read comments!
Daily Herald | Crowd watches College of DuPage candidates fight objections
from article...
"An estimated crowd reaching 100 turned out for the heated meeting. The majority supported the candidates and were critical of the two electoral boards' rules and procedures, which barred public comment.

In response, at one point, Atkinson called for order: "If this were a courtroom, everyone of you would be escorted from this room by a sheriff deputy."

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=271016&src=40<http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=271016&src=40>

Here's why we should all care about what's happening at College of DuPage, read on :
Power Grab at DuPage :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/24/dupage<http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/11/24/dupage>

PLEASE ATTEND THE MEETING
The two electoral boards overseeing the process will meet again Tuesday, Feb. 17. A final decision is expected Tuesday, Feb. 24.
Although the time is not yet posted on the site, the last board meeting took place starting at 9:00 am.

http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/board.htm<http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/board.htm>

Board policy regarding comment at meetings ( from COD website )

1. To encourage participation from District 502 citizens and College constituent groups, the Board will provide an opportunity for citizen and constituent input at all regular and special Board meetings and committee meetings of the Board, consistent with the current law.

2. A Board meeting is defined as a gathering of a majority of a quorum of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business.

3. A committee of the Board is defined as a gathering of a majority of a quorum of the committee held for the purpose of discussing public business.
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Friday, February 13, 2009

[PDI] Homeland Security and USDA Plan Attacks Against Animals with help of Monsanto and Illinois

Another horrifying example of grand theft economics --

BUT . . .

If you prefer not to be force fed GMO foods and "food" from cloned,
chemically laden animals - and you want more dots connecting the global
economic system you must read this (links to documentation included in
text):
http://www.breakthematrix.com/The-Public-Trust/Monsanto-in-Illinois-Homeland-Security-and-USDA-closed-meeting-to-plan-attacks-against-animals

Excerpts:

Many of you already know that Monsanto was involved in the development
of NAIS (National RFID identification system) which, to me, appears to
be the set up on the animal side, to do what Monsanto has done with
seeds - eliminate normal animals and substitute genetically engineered
animals. . . .

. . .NAIS is NSA-spying on steroids - imagine paying for the equipment
used to spy on you, yourself, having to keep it up, having to let the
government know in advance of every move your animals make (a trail
ride, for instance, your child bringing a pet chicken to school), and to
have to file paperwork within 24 hours afterwards or face penalties so
draconian
<http://www.opednews.com/articles/NAIS---the-Fourth-Componen-by-Darol-Dickinson-080711-756.html>,
the second infraction if your chicken crosses the road and you fail to
report it on time, is $500,000.

. . . .NAIS is backed up by Homeland Security. Both are connected to
Monsanto and, as is typical of Monsanto, both are resulting in terror
for farmers. . . .Homeland Security regulations are in place to provide
the required destruction of normal animals and small farmers that
Monsanto needs for taking over with genetically engineered and patented
animals and making them the only option. This is happening in Asia
<http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ENG20051127&articleId=1333>
already with poultry as small farmers are being destroyed
<http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2006/2006-02-27-01.asp> for the
benefit of multinationals. Biotech companies are ready now to replace
all poultry in the world
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article584036.ece> with
their patented, thus privatized "bird flu-resistant" super chickens
<http://www.gmanews.tv/story/121382/For-dinner-Genetically-altered-super-chicken>.
. .

This is Obama's state.

Why is Monsanto so comfortable taking over there? Because Obama overrode
immense public objections and put in Vilsack, Monsanto's boy? It is time
to make him responsible for his agencies and stop this assault on
American farming.


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Re: [PDI] [Fwd: Obama: The Market Is Issuing You A WARNING

One of the cable channels was doing an "in-depth report" on the economic meltdown.  Greenspan was blaming 9/11.

Go figure.

      Bob


-----Original Message-----
From: Eugene Costa <costaeugene@yahoo.com>
To: Bob Mueller <mayatoddbob@aim.com>
Sent: Fri, 13 Feb 2009 3:23 am
Subject: Re: [PDI] [Fwd: Obama: The Market Is Issuing You A WARNING]

That's about the size of it, but actually it is worse.
For one thing, I seriously doubt Obama has even a rudimentary economic education
r the slightest idea of how the US financial structure functions.
His father was a Kenyan economist, to be sure, but he knew him only until two
ears old.
Perhaps his father should have been elected.
Last summer the US total debt of record was 53 trillion.
I have got no recent figures but it is my guess it may be 30 trillion more by
ow.  I know that sounds like science fiction but it is entirely possible in
erms of "old" USD.
At this rate catastrophe is unavoidable.
The Fascists around and behind Obama are terminally incompetent and think that
t all can be handled by "PR" and mass psychology.
I am still not ready to write off Obama completely.  There may be other factors
n the mix.
But only time will tell.

L'observation consiste simplement
n l'intérêt jubilant montré par l'enfant
la vue de sa propre image dans un miroir....

-- On Thu, 2/12/09, Geraldine Perry <healthadvantage@comcast.net> wrote:
rom: Geraldine Perry <healthadvantage@comcast.net>
ubject
: [PDI] [Fwd: Obama: The Market Is Issuing You A WARNING]
o: "Gene Costa" <costaeugene@yahoo.com>
ate: Thursday, February 12, 2009, 6:49 PM
Hi all,
In case you did not get the article below I am forwarding. It is long but well
orth the read.
You might also want to read my article which parallels but adds to the one
elow (and note, I will be revising the first paragraph to make it more readable
efore posting elsewhere): http://911awakening.com/?p=766
gerip

------- Original Message --------

Tuesday, February 10. 2009
Posted by Karl Denninger
http://market-ticker.org/authors/2-Karl-Denninger> at 06:56
http://market-ticker.org/archives/783-Obama-The-Market-Is-Issuing-You-A-WARNING.html>

Obama: The Market Is Issuing You A WARNING

http://market-ticker.org/archives/783-Obama-The-Market-Is-Issuing-You-A-WARNING.html>
Put the kids away - this is not going to be pleasant.
I'm done Mr. President.
You stood in front of the American Public *and lied through your damn teeth.
You claim that America faces a "catastrophe" if we don't pass
your bill* - but its not *YOUR BILL*, its Pelosi's and Reid's bill - a
ill full of PORK and BS.
I'm tired of the lies, America is tired of the lies, *and we the people are
ot going to sit still for it any longer.*
You promised us change. This is what we got for "change":
Your Treasury Secretary, Geithner, cheated on his taxes. He was caught. He then
ailed to pay *the other two years* of tax for the same thing he got caught
oing, until you told him you wanted=2
0him to be the tax *collector*. But
hat's not the worst of it. No, the worst part is that when Bear Stearns
ot in trouble *he, as the head of the NY Fed, knew full well that The Federal
eserve intended to open the discount window to investment banks THE VERY NEXT
AY and yet this fact was NOT disclosed to Bear Stearns, forcing them into a
erger they would not have otherwise consummated
http://market-ticker.org/archives/73-Not-Durable-Durable-Goods,-And-More-Bear-Stearns.html>.
THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS LOST THEIR JOBS AS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF TIM
EITHNER'S AND BEN BERNANKE'S INTENTIONAL CONCEALMENT OF THIS MATERIAL
ACT. Here is the quote
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/business/25sorkin.html?_r=1> from the
Y Times:*
"But the night that Bear signed the original bid, *the Fed opened
what's known as the discount window to companies like Goldman Sachs
and Lehman Brothers - oh, yes, and to Bear, too. Except that the Fed
didn't tell Bear that it planned to open the window when it was
signing its deal with JPMorgan. *
Had Bear known it might have access to the discount window - a
crucial source of liquidity - it might have been able to hold out
for a couple more days or at least had enough leverage to seek a
higher bid. But the Fed clearly preferred the original bid."
You *WISH* The Internet wasn't around to hold your butt over the pot of hot
il and dunk you on this one. Sorry Mr. President, *_NO DICE_*.
GEITHNER MUST RESIGN NOW; HE IS UNFIT TO HOLD THE O
FFICE TO WHICH YOU
PPOINTED HIM. PERIOD.*
We dealt with George W. Bush playing "disaster capitalism" with us
or more than *_eighteen months_*. Now you're doing it. Nice try, no
onut. I have been writing for close to *_two years_* in /The Market Ticker/
bout the *_fact_* that The Fed, Treasury and the former administration were
directly responsible* for this mess through various machinations such as
23A Exemption Letters", Paulson's entreaties to remove leverage
imits and the OCC's move (including asserting federal preemption in court!)
o preempt state regulation of subprime and ALT-A mortgages. You've put
orward plans to address *exactly none* of these frauds and yet they are *the
oot of the problem*.
Further, you can't claim to "not know" because as a Senator your
ffice got copies of my petitions, faxes, and other communications. Your
onstituents from Illinois asked me to send *_thousands_* of petition signatures
ver those two years, and you *did* get them. Don't run a grand line of BS
n America that this all "came out of nowhere" and "it was all
ush's fault." That's nice political theatre but it is also a
rand lie.
America has a *confidence problem* with the Capital Markets. So does the rest
f the world. That problem exists because of the *outright fraud* and *idiocy
that has been undertaken and *permitted* by all levels of our government,
ncluding the Executive. These frauds included knowingly using bad model data
o "rate" securities, shopping ratings, shorting securities you're
elling to=2
0your own customers in the next room (without telling them you think
hey're overvalued, of course) and getting "23A Exemptions" so you
an lever up your exposure to *failing parts of your business, thereby creating
ystemic risk where it did not already exist*. Go have a look Mr. Obama - there
re literally *dozens* of "23A Exemption" letters now on file with The
ed. *Virtually all of these institutions, if not all, have either failed or
eceived public support, yet exemption from safety and soundness banking
egulation has made their plight worse and their drain on the taxpayer more
nerous.* You have done *_exactly nothing_* to address this outrage nor is
here any reason to believe you will.
These "exotic financing products" were not* bought* Mr. President -
they were sold by so-called "professionals" who knew full well that
he borrower could _never_ complete the original term as contracted. * Yet the
irms who packaged up these securities and sold them *knowing this fact* remain
n business, their executives remain in the corner office and they siphoned off
$70 billion in bonuses from the first half of the TARP. *You have done
exactly nothing* to disgorge those funds nor have you directed the FBI to bring
ndictments or brought pressure to remove these individuals from their
ositions. You have not revoked one banking charter from any of these firms
espite the fact that these practices are *the precise reason we are here*.
These same firms have literal *trillions* in off-balance-sheet securitizations
hat remai
n undisclosed and opaque. You have taken *no step* to force their
onsolidation back onto the balance sheet, nor have you announced any intention
o do so. These conduits and SIVs are *_literal_* ticking financial nuclear
eapons and they *_will explode_* as defaults continue to increase.
You continue to pretend that these firms "need some help" and
need a backstop." Increasingly it is becoming clear to market
bservers such as Nouriel Roubini, FT's Wolf
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/172003/FT%27s-Wolf-U.S.-Too-%22Politically-Frightened%22-to-Admit-Truth-About-Banks-Part-I?tickers=XLF,C,RBS,LYG,BCS,FAZ,SKF>,
yself and others that the fact is that *these firms are and have been bankrupt
nd you are conspiring with others to intentionally deceive the public by
efusing to demand that regulators and examiners to go in, do their jobs, and
eport the _true_ capital levels of these companies - an act that would result
n their _immediate_ seizure by the FDIC.*
You believe you can pull the wool over Americans' eyes with your new
TARP II" and "TALF" programs. *_The truth_* is that you
ntend to use Treasury and Fed credit to allow *hedge funds* to make obscene
rofits while *essentially all risk of loss is born by the taxpayer, shifting
ff these bankrupt firm's liabilities _TO US_ while the executives and firms
ontinue to operate!*
This is yet *another outrage and is nothing more than an attempt to shift the
iabilities of _BANKRUPT_ institutions that have become insolvent _by their own
and and acts_ to The American Taxpayer. *
Now le
t me explain what is almost certain to happen *_if_* you are foolish
nough to let Taxcheat Timmy pull this garbage.
See, these assets really are trash. Yeah, right now they are kicking off cash
low. For now. But they're impaired and while their coupon will pay for a
hile they will ultimately default on their face value and recovery is pennies
and in the case of synthetics, zero) when they do.
So what happens here is that you provide 95% non-recourse financing. Sir Hedge
und buys a buttload of this garbage having only 5-10% of the face at risk, and
hat's all they need to put up as well, since the government is going to
rovide the financing - as a "no recourse" loan (presumably very
heaply.) They get a 6-7% coupon which means that in one year they're
overed, and in two they're making money like a madman, up 200% or more on
heir original risk capital.
But what happens when these instruments default?
Treasury is sitting on several *trillion* in backstops and financing of loans
o cover "assets" that are in fact worth zero. It winds up *_eating_*
he entire face value, while the Hedge Funds have made off with *_all_* of the
oupon money in the meantime!
he risk here is that Treasury is backed into a corner due to ramping yields
nd perhaps even inability to roll over this debt at all and we find ourselves
orced into immediate cash accounting as a nation. This in turn causes the
nstantaneous cessation *of Social Security and Medicare payments*, as that is
he only bucket bi
g enough to cover the shortfall.
Do you *_really_* want to go down that road Mr. President, because that is
precisely* what's at the end of it, and it may be only a year or two out!
If you think nobody beyond your vaunted administration has figured it out *_YOU
RE WRONG_*.
f you think Americans will pay taxes to an institution that intends to
nowingly allow Hedge Funds to make hundreds of billions of dollars in profit
hile sticking the taxpayer with upwards of $2 trillion in losses and destroying
ll entitlements in a few years' time I suggest you have a mental
xamination and get your lithium dose adjusted.
Your approval rating and in fact American's tolerance of this blatant
raud, theft and chicanery is about to go straight down the toilet.
If you have an interest in having a successful Presidency (not to mention any
hance of a second term or even a stable, sound America to be President *of*)
ou must immediately do all of the following:
* Revoke *_ALL_* of the so-called "23A Exemptions." Bernanke
ssued
them, you need to direct him to revoke them. *Safety and
soundness of the banking system must come before any one firm or
group of firms. *There are literally hundreds of banks that are
perfectly sound. There are also a bunch of big campaign
contributing banks that are *_bankrupt_* and have been for the
last eighteen months. *Americans know this - the secret is out and
its time to quit LYING*.
* Send in t
he examiners. Yeah, I know, you're talking about
stress
tests". Uh huh. Let's have those examinations now and
forevermore in the future be *public information*. If a bank
wants to operate under our laws and have the *privilege* of
fractional reserve banking, they can open their books and
examinations *at all times* to the public. Period.
* No more conduits, no more SIVs, no more games. If your "assets"
are worth 20 cents on the dollar today *that is their price*. If
that makes you insolvent *then you are* - period. We have an FDIC
and we have the authority to "cram down" failed institutions
for
a reason*. Use it.
* Send in *the cops*. The actions of major institutions up and down
the line since this crisis began in mid 2007 and in the years
leading up to it is at best grossly negligent and at worst
felonious. We the people are *_done_* with being the patsies of a
handful of thieves and frauds enabled by the 535 crooks in our
Capitol. *_STOP IT NOW_* and start jailing the crooks or be
judged as *_one of the felons_*. Your choice.
We are approaching *_yet another_ market implosion just like the one in
eptember and October*.
While it may come today or tomorrow, I wouldn't take that bet. In fact I
xpect that people will "rejoice" that you didn't wipe every
ommon stockholder's equity stake in firms like Citibank, Bank A
merica and
oldman Sachs - even though you should. Because I expected you to do the
_wrong_* thing, I actually bought some Citibank stock a short while ago. Were
ou to do the right thing my position would be worthless. It should be
orthless. I'll bet its not - at least not immediately (and that I'll
ake a profit as a consequence of your idiocy.)
When and if this dislocation comes, however, it will *destroy* what is left of
he American Banking System, it will expose that Bernanke has *over one trillion
ollars of garbage on The Fed's Balance Sheet*, and that in turn will
estroy the international market for United States Treasury Debt.
In the best case we wind up like Japan and have a bunch of zombies sucking up
apital and doing nothing of value for our economy. In the worst case we get
uch higher yields in the bond market and the near-immediate bankruptcy of
_hundreds_* of midsize and larger firms, including *virtually all financial
irms in the S&P 500 and DOW, along with all major multinationals that have
captive financing function.*
The Government *_cannot_* backstop it all. If you try the government fails
utright. The market is bigger than you, it is bigger than The Fed, it is
igger than Treasury. You are subservient to The Market, not the other way
round. Go ask Bill Clinton about The Bond Market when he tried to ramrod his
illarycare plan through and what the reaction was. That's 1/100th of what
ou're about to experience.
If Bernanke tries to "cap" yields into s
uch a dislocation (he has
hreatened to) he will cause *everyone *who owns Treasury debt to tender it to
im with the consequence that he will be forced to print *_five trillion
ollars_* in "new money". This will result in an *eighty percent
evaluation of the dollar almost instantaneously; *gasoline will go to
10/gallon, Milk to $15/gallon, a loaf of bread to $10 and a hamburger at
cDonalds will likewise be $10. Due to global wage arbitrage *wages will not
ncrease*; this will as a consequence immediately render 50% or more of
mericans homeless, hungry and jobless. *What do you think happens next Mr.
resident?*
The disease in our financial system is lying, too much leverage, outright fraud
nd hidden bankruptcy - all of it perpetrated through and with the *_explicit_*
ermission of government agencies including Congress, The Executive and The Fed.
We have lived beyond our means through fraud for nearly 20 years *and this is
o longer possible*. As a direct consequence trust has been destroyed and
rivate capital has fled our credit markets *and will not return* so long as
hese diseases remain in the system.
Hiding the facts cannot cure the disease*; the excessive debt must be
defaulted*; you cannot fix it by transferring where the leverage goes, such as
o Treasury or The Fed. The liars and frauds must be *exposed, charged and
ocked up*, not protected and bailed out. Standards of living *will contract*
nd people must learn to live within their ability to earn, *including the
overnment*, irrespective=2
0of politicians that think they can promise to borrow
ver-increasing sums forever.
President Obama, this next crash in the markets, if it occurs, *is your sole
esponsibility. *
*It will come as a consequence of _your policies_ where you intend to try to
hift the BANKRUPT institutions' losses to The Taxpayer - a debt that
merica _cannot finance_ and which _foreign governments and investors WILL NOT_
over.*
I'm well-aware of the Washington DC policy called "kick the can"
ut the can is now full of cement and if you think you'll get through your
erm before this all comes home to roost you are, to be polite, nuts.
You must stop the stupidity and you must stop it *_NOW_*.
The game of obfuscation and literally violating investors both foreign and
omestic as a consequence of fraud countenanced by our government is *_over_*/.

Both Americans and foreigners *know *about the lying and fraud; it is pointless
o continue to dissemble and obfuscate as you are merely making a fool of
ourself.
If you do not understand this and are being led by your "advisers",
any of whom are the very people who advocated the changes in policy over the
ast 20 years that brought us here, you need new advisers, and you need them
oday.
By tomorrow it may not matter, and it will *_certainly_* be your fault.
/Stephanie S. Jasky, /Founder, Director - FedUpUSA.org
/"/*/"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the
ssue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and
orporations that will20grow up around them, will deprive the people of their
roperty until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their
athers conquered." /*-- Thomas Jefferson, Letter 1802 to Secretary of the
reasury, Albert Gallatin
*Sick of the Lies?** Do Something NOW**! (click logo below):** *
<http://www.fedupusa.org/>


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