Rage Is Good

Demonstrations April 4 calling Wall Street to account could help progressive populism come alive in America. Obama and Congress need the pressure.

By Tom Hayden - Hopefully, the demonstrations planned on Wall Street April 4 by United for Peace and Justice and other groups will contribute to the global uprising. Our president and Congress need the pressure.

The world has turned against American hegemony before: against the Vietnam war, against the World Trade Organization and against the invasion of Iraq. On all three occasions, the world was right and Washington was wrong.

On this occasion, the global economy is being devastated by the Wall Street crash. Hundreds of millions are are hurtling into extreme poverty, export industries are collapsing, currencies being destabilized.

As the conservative French president Nicolas Sarkozy says, "Laissez-faire, c'est fini." (Laissez-faire is finished.)

As nations blame Wall Street and move to protect their people, the protests need not be anti-American nor anti-Obama. Sarkozy cannot be accused of being anti-US. Neither are Iceland nor Ukraine. The global opposition might just may be what we need, an organized populist counterforce to the business and banking lobbies entrenched in Washington.

Obama's stimulus package and proposed budget are not the problem. They represent the most progressive government initiatives in a half-century. But as Franch Rich noted in the New York Times March 1, Obama "was fuzzy when it came to what he wanted to do about" more bailouts.

The Obama administration is in trouble on the question of what to do about the financial system and the credit crisis. But Rich is wrong, for once, in suggesting that it's "bad news" for Obama that "the genuine populist rage in the country...cannot be ignored or finessed."

The "bad news" is really an opportunity for progressives, unions and Democrats to build a bottom-up populist alternative to the "greed is good" politics of Wall Street, which has infested both parties. Obama should privately welcome "populist rage" as a stimulus to reform. If he does not, he may see right-wing populism making a comeback as soon as 2010.

Some progressives, including even Warren Beatty, think it's time to introduce a discussion of socialism, if only to point out that our present course is one of socialism for the banks and corporations. Obama himself says good things about Sweden's nationalization of banks, but quickly demurs that Americans are not "culturally" ready for such an option. At the Washington Post, Harold Meyerson, a democratic socialist in the tradition of Michael Harrington, prefers re-regulation to either nationalization or socialism at this point: "To avoid socialism (to whatever extent throwing public money at banks is socialism) you need liberalism (that is, the willingness to restrain capitalism from its periodic self-destruction.)

My sense is that we are moving too rapidly towards economic hell for a socialist ideology to catch up. While efforts to dust off and legitimize the term will go on, Meyerson is right that the battlefield just ahead is over reregulation, which may evolve into a contentious, awkward, bureaucratic nationalization out of necessity. That is why the sturdier and heavily regulated Canadian and Swedish banking systems already are being closely examined.
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Making Congress READ the Laws They Pass

Everyone is wrong about the AIG bonuses.

By counterspinyc- Democratic Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut inserted language into the scam-stimulus bill permitting the AIG bonuses that everyone is now bloviating about. He did so at the request of the Treasury Department. A Congressional majority then voted for the Dodd proposal, and President Obama signed it into law. Those upset about the AIG bonuses should focus on the fact that Congress authorized them.

All the Congressional grand-standing about how bad the bonuses are is rank hypocrisy. One of two things is true . . . Either those who voted for the scam-stimulus bill knew about the bonus provision, in which case they ought to be "falling on their own swords," instead of castigating the government-appointed CEO of AIG, or . . .

They didn't know about the bonus provision, in which case they ought to introduce DownsizeDC.org's "Read the Bills Act," so they'll know what they're passing before they cast their votes.

But, the politicians aren't the only guilty parties in this stupid controversy. The American people are also at fault. Here's why:

We're constantly told that Congress doesn't respond to public pressure and that,
therefore, what DownsizeDC.org is trying to do won't work. And yet, we see
Congress respond to public pressure repeatedly. The only problem is that it's
always pressure about the wrong things! The way to prevent problems like the
bonus-authorization provision is to pass the "Read the Bills Act" (RTBA).

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Foreclosure Protests at D.C. Offices Reflect Trend

By Darryl Fears,Washington Post Staff - Dozens of demonstrators with the community group ACORN barged into a District office that auctions foreclosed homes in upscale Chevy Chase yesterday and shut it down for an hour, chanting "No sales here."
In Rye, N.Y., and Greenwich, Conn., on Sunday, more than 300 people converged on the homes of two bank executives who opposed modifying loans to help homeowners and barraged the men and their neighbors with slogans.
And in Boston, Detroit, Memphis and Cleveland, protesters against foreclosures have gathered in recent months to confront bankers amid the worst housing crisis in three generations, demanding a moratorium on foreclosures until homeowners get a bailout similar to the one given to banks.
Many of the protests and acts of civil disobedience appear to be unrelated, and some organizers said yesterday they were unaware that a coalition of grass-roots groups called the Bail Out the People Movement is planning what they hope will be a massive demonstration on Wall Street on April 4.
Wall Street is being targeted because banks offered many people exotic loans that carried high interest rates they could not afford, said Larry Holmes, a coalition spokesman. Like other groups, the coalition is demanding a moratorium on foreclosures.

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If you're interested in endorsing and/or attending these protests please read on...

Dear activists,
Events have called upon us to make history. Future generations will look back on this moment to see whether we were able to understand what is at stake, and rise to the occasion.

We call upon you to join with the Bail Out the People Movement and the many community leaders, activists and organizations that are part of it, to help organize the first National March on Wall Street on Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4.

Yes! This is a two-day event. The first phase of the march will begin on Friday, April 3; thousands traveling to New York City from all over the country will join us on Saturday, April 4.

We invite you to a planning meeting for the national march, on Wednesday, February 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., New York City. (between 34th & 35th St. - you'll need ID to get into the building. Trains: N, R, W, B, F to 34th St.; PATH to 33rd St.)

The Wall Street march will take place during the same week that the G20 countries are holding their second emergency global economic crisis summit meeting in London on April 2 and 3, which will be followed immediately by a 60th Anniversary of NATO summit meeting in Strasbourg, France on April 4. Both meetings will be the focus of strong protests against war and for economic justice.

The French Say No to Fat-Cat Bailouts

Vive La France! You have to admire the French. The ordinary people there know how to stick up for themselves instead of meekly bowing down and accepting whatever bitter gruel the elite tries to cram down their throats. ... Thursday, an estimated 2.5 million people came out to tell the government: "We are not going to pay for the greed and corruption of the elite!"

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Bail Out the People Movement

Bail Out the People Movement
FIGHTBACK CONFERENCE
Draft Working Paper

Realizing the Fightback – Some Perspective and Plans

Download PDF

The following was adopted at the Jan. 17 Fightback Conference in NYC. It is a work in progress.

 

In many ways, the U.S.-financed genocidal siege of Gaza that many of us have been demonstrating against in recent weeks is a harbinger of the widening war against the workers and oppressed peoples of the planet that is sure to intensify this year. In 2009, more and more lives are going to be devastated by the biggest global economic crisis since the depression of the 1930s.

 

This crisis is the challenge of a lifetime for those of us who have made a commitment to fighting for the rights of people. What we do or fail to do will prove decisive in the coming battle over whose interests in society shall prevail.

 

The election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama, realizes a measure of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. But depression-level joblessness, evictions and foreclosures made worse by cutbacks, war, bigotry and racism are not a dream but a nightmare. This is a time of many contradictions. Many people feel that the new president will bring progressive change but at the same time, there are Black youth being summarily executed by police; Proposition 8; new attacks on reproductive justice; one of the biggest bigots presiding over the inauguration ceremony, the prospects of a widening war in Afghanistan and much more.

 

Part of the legacy of Dr. King is the understanding that no election or president--however historical and inspiring--can be a substitute for a mass movement in the struggle against war or for social and economic rights. There are signs that the workers understand this.

This past December the bankers and bosses got hit with a one-two punch. The workers at the Republic Windows and Doors Factory in Chicago occupied their plant to win some measure of their rights. One day after the workers victory in Chicago, the Smithfield meat processing workers in Tar Heel, North Carolina finally won their right to a union after a long and bitter struggle. These battles are part of the first chapter of the Fightback that must and will grow. How can we help the development of the Fightback?

 

There can be no honest discussion about fighting without posing the inevitable question--Is it not time to terminate the capitalist system that appears only capable of trapping the people of the world in a nightmare of endless chaos, violence, misery, suffering, inequality, oppression, environmental destruction and other crises all in the interests of the super rich? How can this question not become the burning question as the absurd rules of capitalism mandate that no effort can be spared to bailout the barons of capitalist finance even while much of the population is pushed into life-threatening poverty? No doubt this unavoidable question will be an essential and welcome part of our discussion during the conference. Even if the question is not openly addressed, it will be the subtext of our deliberations.

 

However, though its direction is most definitely radical, it is not the intention of this document to unite conference participants around a comprehensive ideological position. Nor does it attempt to analyze the capitalist crisis, or address many issues of importance to all of us. This document is a framework for planning action. read more

 

 

Stop Foreclosures and Evictions!

Bail Out the People Movement

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Cheney defends 8 years in office

This article enrages me to no end! I'll never understand why Dick Cheney & George W.Bush weren't impeached! There's always the hope that they be charged with war crimes at a later date? Wishful thinking on my part, possibly.

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney blamed Congress for failing to bail out the auto industry, saying the White House was forced to step in to save U.S. car companies.

In an interview broadcast Sunday, Cheney said the economy is in such bad shape that the car companies might not have survived without the $17.4 billion in emergency loans that President George W. Bush approved on Friday.

"The president decided specifically that he wanted to try to deal with it and not preside over the collapse of the automobile industry just as he goes out of office," Cheney said in an interview broadcast on "Fox News Sunday."

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The part of the article that caused the above rant by me ;-)

Cheney leaves office Jan. 20 as one of the most powerful, if unpopular, vice presidents in recent history. He played a key role in many of Bush's major policy decisions and, in the interview, was unapologetic in his review of the past eight years.

He staunchly defended the Bush administration's use of executive power in the fight against terrorism and disagreed with calls to limit presidential authority. "If you think about what Abraham Lincoln did during the Civil War, what FDR did during World War II. They went far beyond anything we've done in a global war on terror," the vice president contended.

Cheney said he was unconcerned about polls showing him as unpopular, saying that people who spend too much time reading polls "shouldn't serve in these jobs."

Caglepost: Santa Claus Government

Cartoon by Jimmy Margulies Comment on the cartoon


We have a great collection of cartoons called "Santa!" LOOK!

Santa Claus Government
by Cal Thomas - Comment on the column

Most children have probably finished their Christmas lists to Santa Claus. Some elected officials, however, are still compiling theirs.

Close behind Detroit's wish list comes a long one from America's mayors.

Last Monday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors sent its list of wishes to the political equivalent of Santa Claus: Congress. The mayors apparently figure with all the talk from President-elect Obama about infrastructure repair and job creation, they might as well try to pile onto Santa's lap, too.

The mayors claim the economy will be stimulated if their wishes are granted. What do they want? The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has analyzed the 72-page list. Here are some of the lowlights.

-- $1.102 billion in projects involving sidewalks;

-- $1 million for annual sewer rehabilitation in Casper, Wyo. (emphasis mine);

-- $6.1 million for corporate hangars, parking lots, and a business apron at the Fayetteville, Ark., airport.

-- 15 projects with the term "stadium" in them, including a $150 million Metromover extension to the Florida Marlins' baseball stadium; and

-- 81 projects mentioning "landscaping" and/or beautification efforts.

Kristina Rasmussen, NTU's director of government affairs, offers more analysis of the mayors' report on ... READ MORE

U.S. May Give Car Czar Power to Force Bankruptcy

By John Hughes
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury may adopt a plan that would let a car czar or the Treasury secretary force General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC into bankruptcy if the automakers don’t show they can survive without government aid, a U.S. senator said.
GM and Chrysler would be required to submit viability plans by March 31 or lose any further U.S. support, Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, told reporters in Detroit yesterday. The Treasury plan would resemble a measure passed by the U.S. House last week that was rejected by the Senate.
“I expect that the terms would be similar to the ones that were in the House bill,” Levin said. “The power rests in the hands of either the czar or the Secretary of the Treasury to force bankruptcy by March 31.”
GM and Chrysler are seeking $14 billion to keep operating through the first quarter of next year. Without an infusion of cash, the largest U.S. automaker and No. 3 Chrysler may be only weeks from insolvency.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto declined to speculate on when a plan might be finished, though he said yesterday on Bloomberg Television that the administration wants to make sure taxpayers will get their money back.

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GOP Senators 'not acting as Americans' - Michigan governor

I thought dissent is the highest form of patriotism...
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm expresses her feelings about the Republican Senators who opposed the Detroit bailout. Granholm explains, "They are not acting as Americans. They are acting with their parochial interests, and I think it is astonishing."



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Jan 17: Bail Out the People, NOT Wall Street

 

 

Endorse the Jan 17 Call to Action |  Donate | Download Leaflet | Download Call

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear activists and organizers,
The Bail Out the People Movement invites you to come together on Jan. 17, 2009 to talk, share and plan to fight back. If there was ever a time for us to recommit ourselves to Dr. King’s struggle for economic and social justice, there can hardly be any doubt that now, 80 years after his birth, is that time.
The people made history by electing Barack Obama president. Certainly that accomplishment realizes a measure of King’s dream. Yet poverty, racism and war remain a growing part of our reality--especially now, as people’s lives are being devastated by the biggest worldwide economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In addition to the almost $1 trillion dollars that the U.S. government has wasted on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it plans to spend almost $8 trillion dollars to save the crisis-ridden economic system. Most of this fortune has been given to the big banks. An undetermined yet small percentage of that money is pledged towards an infrastructure renewal project that promises to create jobs. Yet unemployment is rising so fast that the infrastructure renewal proposal is far too little and too distant to have any impact on the depression-level joblessness that we face.
Given the remarkable scope of the government’s intervention into the financial sector of the economy to shore up the banks, it is shockingly criminal that the government hasn’t declared a moratorium on the evictions and home foreclosures that throw thousands of families onto the streets everyday.
It is no less shocking that the government has done nothing to stop the waves of cruel budget cuts that are forcing students to quit school, raising public transportation fares, making healthcare even more inaccessible for millions, and pushing more workers onto the unemployment line.
King devoted the last year of his life planning the beginning of what he considered to be the second phase of the civil rights struggle--for the right of all to a decent paying job, or an income for those unable to work. King realized that this phase of the struggle would be harder, and that because Wall Street holds the real power, no election or president--however historical and inspiring--could be a substitute for organization and mass action in the struggle for economic rights.
Whether you are an antiwar activist; a union organizer; someone who first became excited about politics because of Obama’s campaign; or someone who is losing a job, a home, the ability to go to school, healthcare, a pension and are ready unite and fight back, let’s come together and determine what we can do during the first 100 days of the new administration and beyond to help give birth to a desperately needed mass struggle to fight for all that people need to survive and thrive.

Endorse the Jan 17 Call to Action |  Donate | Download Leaflet | Download Call

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Naomi Klein Breaks Down the Bailout

Nation magazine columnist Naomi Klein speaks at a Nation/Brecht Forum event about the financial crisis. She offers some blunt advice to Barack Obama ("Larry Summers and Bob Rubin have got to go") and one big proposal: Nationalize Exxon.



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I need a bailout...by Nick Anderson

Gocomics.com: Comics, editorial cartoons, email comics, comic strips

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Bush, Hill leaders: Job losses argue for auto help

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush and congressional leaders seized on the latest grim unemployment data Friday to try to fire up lukewarm support on Capitol Hill for bailing out U.S. automakers. But they clashed anew over terms of the rescue plan and the source of any aid.
As the Big Three auto chiefs pressed their case for $34 billion in a second day of hearings, Bush said in the Rose Garden that the loss of 533,000 jobs in November was even more reason to help the companies.
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The Bailout Isn't Being Policed Properly

Lawmakers want the Treasury to do a better job of insisting that banking institutions sharing in the $700 billion bailout comply with limits Congress imposed on executive salaries and use the money for its intended purposes.

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Goodbye, jets: Ford CEO will make trip to D.C. in a Ford

Forget the corporate jets. When the Big Three automakers come back to Washington for hearings later this week on the proposed auto bailout, Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be making the more than eight-hour trip from Detroit to the Capitol by car, the company said today. The company won’t say yet, however, what kind of car Mulally will take.

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Bush Administration Weakened Lending Rules Before Crash

The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.
"Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories," California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to U.S. regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job.

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Left Out of the Bailout: The Poor

Signs of the recession's impact on America's impoverished are increasingly apparent, Greenstein said, pointing to a dramatic rise in food stamp caseloads in recent months. The number of people using food stamps has risen 9.6%, or roughly 2.6 million people, between August 2007 and August 2008, the last period for which data are available.

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Auto bailout is for the workers, not the corporate fatcats

Congressional Democrats just announced that they want auto-industry leaders to present them with a plan before they proceed with any vote on an auto-industry bailout bill.

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Paulson: Don't Use Bailout Money for Automakers

WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Tuesday that the administration remains firmly opposed to dipping into the government's $700 billion financial bailout fund for a $25 billion rescue package for Detroit's Big Three automakers, no matter how badly they need the help."There are other ways" to help them, Paulson told...

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Naomi Klein: The Borderline Illegal Deals Behind the $700 Billion Bailout

We've been had. The bailout is all a lie...
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!. Posted November 18, 2008...
The bailout is a parting gift to the people that George Bush once referred to jokingly as "my base."
Amy Goodman: World leaders from nearly two dozen countries met in Washington over the weekend to discuss plans to increase regulation of international financial activity. They acknowledged that a failure of market oversight in countries like the United States had precipitated the financial crisis.

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