michelle
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Post by michelle on Jul 10, 2008 19:38:55 GMT 4
7/10/08 11:37AM EST See 2 previous posts for more info/links on the Articles of Impeachment and petition....M
Impeachment on the House floor TODAY
Dear Friends,
Congressman Dennis Kucinich will present a single Article of Impeachment to the House of Representatives sometime between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm (EDT) today, Thursday, July 10th. Sessions of the House of Representatives are broadcast live on C-SPAN (check your local cable listings for channel) and streamed live via the Internet (http://www.cspan.org/). The article of Impeachment will deal directly with President Bush fraudulently obtaining support for an attack on Iraq by creating a false case for war. Full details of the Article of Impeachment will be available after they are read on the floor of the House by Congressman Kucinich. Please spread the word and continue to circulate the online petition that Congressman Kucinich will personally present to members of Congress.
Thank you. Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Jul 15, 2008 20:08:06 GMT 4
7/15/2008 11:54:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time Impeachment Resolution: First Reading TodayDear Friends,This afternoon, at approximately 5 p.m. (EDT), the Clerk of the House of Representatives will give the first reading of the Article of Impeachment of President George Bush. Article One charges the President with deceiving Congress with fabricated threats of Iraq WMDs to fraudulently obtain support for an authorization of the use of military force against Iraq. Once the Clerk reads the bill, I will move to refer the bill to the Judiciary Committee for hearings. I believe the American people have a right to an open airing of the charges against this President. Did he or did he not lie to take us into a war? I believe the evidence is overwhelming that President Bush knew that Iraq was not an imminent threat, was not in possession of WMDs at the time, and had nothing to do with 911 or with al Queda's role in 911. And yet, despite having facts to the contrary, he took the U.S. into war with devastating consequences for our troops, our nation, and the people of Iraq. Congress must hold hearings. There can be no greater offense of a President or a Commander in Chief than to conjure a war based on lies to Congress, to the troops, and to the people of America. I love our country with all my heart and I intend to persist until America is America again. Please contact your friends and neighbors and ask them to go to our website at impeachment.kucinich.us/petition/. Thank you for your continuing support and for your love of our country and its people. Sincerely, Dennis
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Jul 21, 2008 11:22:32 GMT 4
I don't what's going with the following just yet or who the foreign official is that Kucinich is referring to; I haven't had time to dig anything up...if any know more, please feel free to add it here...MichelleKucinich Says Unidentified Foreign Official Wants to Speak at Impeachment TalksBy Molly K. Hooper, CQ Staff July 15, 2008 – 8:45 p.m. An unidentified government official of a U.S. ally wants to participate if and when Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich makes his case to impeach President Bush before the House Judiciary Committee, according to the Ohio Democrat. The House voted, 238-180, on Tuesday to send Kucinich’s latest impeachment effort (H Res 1345) to the Judiciary Committee. Chairman John Conyers Jr. said he will hold a broad hearing on the general topic of abuses of power by the Bush administration. “There’s never been one [hearing] that accumulated all the things that constitute an imperial presidency,” Conyers said, explaining that the anticipated hearing would review more than a year of committee inquiry into such matters as the firing of U.S. attorneys, the leak of the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame and the information provided to Congress in the run-up to the Iraq War. Kucinich contends that President Bush ought to be impeached for allegedly lying to Congress in order to get approval to invade Iraq. Conyers does not intend to specifically debate or hold a committee vote on Kucinich’s article of impeachment, though issues important to Kucinich would get a public airing. A ‘New Angle’ No matter how the eventual hearing is framed, Kucinich said he would like to be joined at the witness table by a foreign official he would not name. “I’ve been contacted by representatives of a U.S. ally who are seeking an opportunity to appear before the Judiciary Committee,” he said in an interview. “Legislative leaders of a foreign capital” have a “new angle that I haven’t thought of before but is relevant,” he said. “This interest in whether we’ve been told the truth has extended to other countries.” Kucinich would not provide further detail. And in any event, the power to control the witness list of any congressional hearing rests with the committee chairman — in this case, Conyers. The article of impeachment that was referred to committee on Tuesday was the fourth introduced by Kucinich. He also introduced a broader version against Bush (H Res 1258) and two against Vice President Dick Cheney (H Res 333, H Res 799). Source: CQ Today Round-the-clock coverage of news from Capitol Hill. © 2008 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved. Source:public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002917906.html
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Jul 23, 2008 0:30:19 GMT 4
Thanks to you, impeachment will be heard FridayVideo Message from Dennis - July 22 2008 I want to thank you for the support which you have given to my efforts to hold this administration accountable for taking us into a war based on lies and for the destruction of the rule of law and the destruction of cherished constitutional principles. Because of your support, this Friday in Washington, D.C., I will make a presentation before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives, at which time I will make the case that this president has violated his oath of office; violated United States law and international law; has separated our nation from our Constitution, and has taken us on a course that has been so profoundly anti-democratic that it has threatened the core of our nation.
Because of your support, I have been able to advance this series of matters right to the table of the Judiciary Committee. Because of your support, I have been able to create an opening where we are finally getting a chance in Washington to discuss the abuses of power; to discuss a war based on lies; to discuss the whole architecture of constitutional principles that have been taken down.
Every serious matter that faces the people of this country today can be linked to an administration which is not accountable. For example, the price of gasoline: you know that Vice President Cheney, with the permission and blessing of President Bush, held secret meetings with leaders of the oil industry where they laid out maps of Iraq far in advance of the attack on Iraq. You know and I know the war was about oil, and if we can force the Vice President of the United States to have to testify, we can get the information that's necessary to be able to prove that not only has U.S. law been violated, but that the public trust has been under a continuous assault by an alliance between the White House and the oil companies.
You look at the subprime lending fiasco, with millions of Americans having the dream of home ownership threatened, and you look at an administration that took the cops off the beat at the Securities and Exchange Commission, that enabled the Fed to look the other way when they should have been disciplining the banks. The American people had a right to expect that government would protect their interests. When you look at the shakeout in the stock market and all these small investors who are losing their life savings—again, the Bush administration and their alliance with interest groups—violating an oath of office; enabling these interest groups to steal from the American people over, and over, and over again. For the first time, we are going to have a chance to raise these issues in the Judiciary Committee in the context of a hearing at which I am going to present the Articles of Impeachment, so that the Committee cannot say well, they just didn't know. We are going to force this issue because of you.
We are in danger of losing our country—to a war based on lies; to destruction of our civil liberties. But it is your commitment and your willingness to stand up and speak out that has enabled me to take a stand and to say: not only are we going to save what's right and save what's dear to us, but we are going to hold this administration accountable so that it never happens again.
This is truly our moment. Friday is the beginning. Thank you for supporting this effort—with singing petitions; with your emails and your letters and your phone calls. I pledge to you that I will continue my efforts to defend a way of life that the American people have a right to expect—to expect to have a government they can call their own. To expect to have a government that will tell them the truth. To expect to have a government that is worthy of the tradition of democracy.
Thank you.Source: kucinich.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2360&Itemid=75[glow=red,2,300]ACT NOW![/glow] Only 3 days remain to send your message to Congress 7/22/2008 3:50:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time In hearings to be held by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee this Friday July 25th, Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich will present a petition bearing the names of thousands of citizens who believe, as he does, that the Bush Administration has committed high crimes and misdemeanors in total disregard for their Constitutional obligations. This is your opportunity to make history! Let Congress know that you are watching and believe that they are duty-bound to pursue impeachment by signing the petition now. [glow=red,2,300]SIGN:[/glow] kucinich.us/impeachment/petition/index2.phpEmpower your friends and family: Email the petition by circulating this link: kucinich.us/Print and circulate the petition by downloading this PDFkucinich.us/impeachment/ImpeachmentPetition.pdf Make July 25th, 2008, the day when "We the People" take our country back!Sincerely, The Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Jul 23, 2008 20:43:31 GMT 4
Subject: Support the Kucinich Impeachment Hearing on Friday Date: 7/23/2008 10:08:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time Support the Kucinich Impeachment Hearing on FridayTell your Representatives to support impeachment by cosponsoring H. Res. 1345:www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/142Rep. Dennis Kucinich has led the fight for impeachment since April 2007, when he courageously introduced 3 Articles of Impeachment (H.Res. 333/799) against Vice President Cheney. On June 10, Kucinich introduced 35 Articles of Impeachment (H.Res. 1258) against President Bush.
When Speaker Pelosi refused to allow hearings on any of the 38 Articles, Kucinich returned to the floor of Congress to introduce one more Article of Impeachment against President Bush (H.Res. 1345). Thanks to massive pressure from Democrats.com and our pro-impeachment allies, Speaker Pelosi finally allowed Chairman Conyers to hold a hearing this Friday. Kucinich will get a few minutes to argue for impeachment along with Rep. Robert Wexler, former Rep. Liz Holtzman, and former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson. Kucinich made a video to thank us for our efforts. H.Res. 1345 focuses on Bush's ultimate crime - invading Iraq on the basis of lies. The evidence is overwhelming that George Bush and other top officials manufactured those lies to "sell" an invasion whose real purpose was to gain control of Iraq's oil and establish military bases in the heart of the Middle East - the agenda of the Project for a New American Century that Bush and McCain fully embraced. When Kucinich testifies on Friday, he will naturally face hostile questions from rightwing Republicans who impeached President Clinton. But Kucinich will also face hostile questions from key Democrats who oppose impeachment. Some of these Democrats supported the invasion of Iraq: Howard Berman (CA28), Rick Boucher (VA09), Adam Schiff (CA29), Brad Sherman (CA27), and Anthony Weiner (NY09). But most of these Democrats oppose impeachment because they are cowering in fear of a counterattack from the White House and FOX News: John Conyers (MI14), Artur Davis (AL07), Bill Delahunt (MA10), Zoe Lofgren (CA16), Jerry Nadler (NY08), Linda Sanchez (CA39), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL20), Bobby Scott (VA03), Betty Sutton (OH13), and Mel Watt (NC12). Only a few Judiciary Democrats understand that the Founding Fathers gave Congress the power of impeachment as the only way to stop a President from defying the Constitution and becoming a dictator, as Bush has done: Robert Wexler (FL19), Tammy Baldwin (WI02), Steve Cohen (TN09), Keith Ellison (MN05), Luis Gutierrez (IL04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX18), Hank Johnson (GA04), and Maxine Waters (CA35). If anti-impeachment Democrats get their way, Friday's 2-hour hearing will be the only "impeachment" hearing for this entire Congress - and then Bush will try to pardon himself and everyone else before leaving office next January, just as his father pardoned six Iran-contra criminals. So it is crucial for all of us - now over 500,000! - to tell our Representatives today to support impeachment by cosponsoring Kucinich's H. Res. 1345:www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/142And if you can do more, please make free calls to every Judiciary Democrat who opposes impeachment through CauseCaller:www.causecaller.com/causes.php?c=House_Judiciary_Democrats_ImpeachmentSimply enter your phone number and click the "Start Calling" button. (Click "Call me back if I accidentally hang up" in case you hang up by mistake.) In a few seconds, your phone will "magically" ring and CauseCaller will say the name of the first Representative on the list. Listen carefully for the name of each Member so you can repeat the name to the receptionist - or just say "The Representative." Don't hang up between calls - let the receptionists hang up and CauseCaller will dial the next Representative. If you want to do even more, call your favorite radio or TV talk shows and tell them how important Friday's hearings will be, and how strongly you support impeachment for whichever reasons are most important to you. Prepare your thoughts in advance so you sound informed and determined. And if you're near Washington DC, join Veterans for Peace to lobby Congress on Thursday and hold a pro-impeachment rally on Friday:www.democrats.com/node/17211 Lots more details and actions here:www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34943
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Jul 29, 2008 13:21:28 GMT 4
Tuesday July 29's PDA edition on Richard Greene's "Clout" on Air America features:Congressman Dennis Kucinich and House Candidate, State Senator Joan Fitz-GeraldPlease join me on Richard Greene's Clout on Air America this Tuesday, July 29--I'll be co-hosting with Tim Carpenter. Keep us on the air by listening to the live-stream on your computer, and by calling into the show. Click here to listen in at 9:00 PM EDT, 6:00 PM PDT, Tuesday July, 29. airamerica.com/listenPDA response is measured through the live stream. The more of you who listen on your computer, the more likely we’ll stay on the air. Just click here. The same is true for phone calls, so please call in to the show at 866-303-2270, too. Now that we are well into the countdown to Denver, our first guest in the first hour will be PDA's endorsed Healthcare NOT Warfare candidate from Colorado's 2nd Congressional District, State Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald. www.joanfitz-gerald.com/Stay online and listen to the second hour featuring my friend, the Honorable Congressman from Ohio, Rep. Dennis Kucinich. www.kucinich.us/Hear about the Judiciary Committee hearing held last Friday on the "Abuses of Executive Power."Listen online here--it's going to be an exciting show. Please join us! airamerica.com/listenUntil Tuesday, Mimi Kennedy PDA Advisory Board Chair P.S. PDA will have a big presence in Denver. Read about it here, and look for our announcement this week. pdamerica.org/articles/news/2008-07-15-20-24-08-news.php
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Aug 8, 2008 14:22:34 GMT 4
We did it!We did it!8/7/2008 2:22:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time Dear Friends,Last week, Congressman Dennis Kucinich delivered a petition bearing more than 100,000 names to the Speaker of the House urging that impeachment proceedings begin into the conduct of President Bush. In a special video message, Dennis is asking for your help to deliver an even more powerful message to Congress when it reconvenes in September. With new disclosures that the Administration tried to "cook the books at the CIA" by creating a phony, forged link between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, "We cannot step back and let this President escape accountability." If you have already signed the impeachment petition at www.kucinich.us/, thank you. If you haven't, please do. And, in the next few weeks, please ask just one more person to sign so we can let the members of Congress hear our collective demand that they meet their obligation to uphold the Constitution. Thank you. The Re-Elect Congressman Kucinich Committee
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Aug 9, 2008 15:56:32 GMT 4
BUSH GUILTY OF 1ST DEG MURDER" - BUGLIOSI TELLS CONGRESS"LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS BEING PAID TO NOT COVER - TO IT'S OWN PEOPLE!" And Folks, please let the world know that it is fearless Representative Dennis Kucinich who is leading the charge in our name...Michelle Friday July 25, 2008 SHARE & DIGG THIS VIDEO - LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA IS BEING PAID TO NOT COVER - TO IT'S OWN PEOPLE!digg.com/politics/SENSATIONAL_... Vincent Bugliosi is heard by Congressman John Conyers, Chairman House Judiciary Committee Inquiry Hearing on Articles of Impeachment Former L.A. County Prosecutor, Vincent Bugliosi and author of "The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder", which details prosecutable evidence of murder by George Bush and Dick Cheney and others. George W Bush knew and purposely lied to America and mislead The Congress about "Saddam Hussein NOT being an IMMINENT threat to the United States by deleting that critical sentence in a declassified report (The White Papers) by his own Intelligence Advisors in order to start the War with Iraq. And the SAME PATTERN IS BEING PLAYED NOW regarding IRAN. This "President" NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! In his book, Bugliosi says he has irrefutible proof to convict both George W Bush and Dick Cheney for 1st Degree Murder, a crime for which there is NO Statute of Limitations. Bugliosi is best known for his successful 1970 prosecution of Charles Manson. Main Stream Media is not covering this Historic Event, brought by the moving papers of Articles of Impeachment, authored by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, (D) Ohio and former presidential candidate.CSPAN 1 is the only network to have covered this Hearing gavel to gavel. CSPAN: cspan.org/
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Aug 27, 2008 16:34:32 GMT 4
"WAKE UP AMERICA!"Dennis Kucinich at the Democratic National Convention Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) speaking at the Democratic National Convention, 8/26/08 Runtime: 03:05 minutes Text: U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich Remarks to DNCIt’s Election Day 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake-up call. Wake up, America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo-con artists seized the economy and have added 4 trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt. We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil and twice what we paid for health care.
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid with borrowed money. Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the president’s oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq’s oil.
Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia, while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.
If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating, this administration would take the gold. World records for violations of national and international laws. They want another four-year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children’s inheritance and hollow out our economy.
We can’t afford another Republican administration. Wake up, America. The insurance companies took over health care. Wake up, America. The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing.
Wake up, America. The speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up, America. They want to take your Social Security. Wake up, America. Multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs lost.
Wake up, America. We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more. War against Iran will mean $10-a-gallon gasoline. The oil administration wants to drill more, into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost 5 to 10 trillion dollars.
This administration can tap our phones. They can’t tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can’t open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline and electricity skyrockets. They skillfully played our post-9/11 fears and allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many. Every day we get the color orange, while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors get the color green.
Wake up, America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left. This is call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers. Up with wages. Up with fair trade. Up with creating millions of good paying jobs, rebuilding our bridges, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions and protect the environment.
Up with health care for all. Up with education for all. Up with home ownership. Up with guaranteed retirement benefits. Up with peace. Up with prosperity. Up with the Democratic Party. Up with Obama-Biden.
Wake up, America. Wake up, America. Wake up, America.Text Source: www.clipsandcomment.com/2008/08/26/text-us-rep-dennis-kucinich-remarks-to-dnc/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Questions for Dennis Kucinich The Wild Card Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON Published: August 22, 2008 Before you ended your quixotic bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in January and continued on as a congressman from Cleveland, did you believe you could really be president? No one runs unless they think they can. But you’re a vegan. Do you think America is ready to elect a non-beef-eating president? I think America is ready for a president with a blood pressure of 90 over 60 who could beat most people half his age in a sprint. I see you are scheduled to speak at the convention on Tuesday, at the Pepsi Center, which sounds like the name of a soda plant. Why is it called that? My guess is that Pepsi probably bought the naming rights. Naming rights are another thing my subcommittee — the Domestic Policy Subcommittee — is looking into. What is the point of having a convention when the candidate has been preselected? Isn’t it just an excuse for a party? This is a great opportunity for Democrats to come together, to indicate our solidarity on providing jobs; helping people save their homes; health care for all; retirement security. Is it hard to come together with people you have sharp disagreements with? When it comes to uniting for the American people, that’s what we do. That is what we have always done. Democrats are famous for their ability to come together. I never thought of you as such a booster. I am not a booster by any means. But Barack Obama is our candidate. We have to be practical about this.You’ve met with opposition from Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats for continuing to push for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The process of democracy is a slow process, and it’s important that I do what I know to be the right thing. But why bother with impeachment when Bush is on his way out of Washington anyhow? This president is capable of taking us into war, in October, on the eve of an election, to try to change the outcome of the election. We need to keep the ability to impeach at the ready in the event that this president continues to exercise a wanton approach toward the use of power, particularly the war power. The events in Georgia are a premonition. A premonition of what? A premonition of an attack on Iran. When Georgia moves against South Ossetia as the Olympics are starting, the Bush administration begins its own Olympics — the war Olympics. Are you saying the Bush administration is likely to declare war soon just to help Republican candidates pick up some votes? Well, you know, they increased the funding to Georgia a while back for military purposes. You think President Saakashvili of Georgia was encouraged, possibly by the American government, to cry victim? Look. Saakashvili had an American lobbyist who is now part of the McCain campaign, and I am sure he was given advice. The idea of striking during the Olympics would have to come out of Madison Avenue. We have to be able to see through this. And the one thing I have shown an ability to do is to cut through the b.s. Have you had a chance to talk to President Bush lately? The last time I had a word with him was at the State of the Union address. I told him, “Mr. President, I wish you peace.” How did he respond? He said, “I know you believe that.” What should we make of your friend Shirley MacLaine’s recent memoir, in which she mentions that you once spotted a U.F.O. at her house? I saw something, absolutely. I don’t know what it was. It was unidentified. What did it look like? End of story for me. Around Washington, the truth is an unidentified flying object. INTERVIEW CONDUCTED, CONDENSED AND EDITED BY DEBORAH SOLOMONSource:www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/magazine/24wwln-Q4-t.html?_r=2&ref=magazine&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
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michelle
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Post by michelle on Sept 24, 2008 14:10:34 GMT 4
This should be interesting...I'll post his update when I get it....MichelleSubject: Protecting the public interest in any economic "bailout" Date: 9/23/2008 11:57:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time Dear Friend,The U.S. government has been turned into an engine that accelerates the wealth upwards into the hands of a few. The Wall Street bailout, the Iraq War, military spending, tax cuts to the rich, and a for-profit health care system are all about the acceleration of wealth upwards. And now, the American people are about to pay the price of the collapse of the $513 trillion Ponzi scheme of derivatives. Yes, that’s half a quadrillion dollars. Our first trillion dollar compression bandage will hardly stem the hemorrhaging of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme built on debt "de-leverages." Does anyone seriously think that our public and private debts of some $45 trillion will be paid? That the administration's growth of the federal debt from $5.6 trillion to $9.8 trillion while borrowing another trillion dollars from Social Security has nothing to do with this? Does anyone not see that when we spend nearly $16,000 for every family of four in our society for the military each year that we are heading over the cliff? This is a debt crisis, not a credit crisis. Just as FDR had to save capitalism after Wall Street excesses, we have to re-invigorate our economy with real - not imaginary - growth. It does not address the never-ending war on the middle class. The same corporate interests that profited from the closing of U.S. factories, the movement of millions of jobs out of America, the off-shoring of profits, the out-sourcing of workers, the crushing of pension funds, the knocking down of wages, the cancellation of health care benefits, the sub-prime lending are now rushing to Washington to get money to protect themselves. The double standard is stunning: their profits are their profits, but their losses are our losses. This bailout will not bring real jobs back to America. It will not bring back jobs that make things. It does not rebuild our schools, streets, neighborhoods, parks or bridges. The major product of this financial economy is now debt. Industrial capitalism has been destroyed. In the next few days I will push for a plan that includes equity for every American in any taxpayer investment in this so-called bail-out plan. Since the bailout will cost each and every American about $2,300, I have proposed the creation of a United States Mutual Trust Fund, which will take control of $700 billion in stock assets, convert those assets to shares, and distribute $2,300 worth of shares to new individual savings accounts in the name of each and every American. I will also insist that all of the following issues be considered in whatever Congress passes:Reinstatement of the provisions of Glass-Steagall, which forbade speculation Re-regulation of the finance, insurance, and real estate industries Accountability on the part of those who took the companies down: a) resignations of management b) givebacks of executive compensation packages c) limitations on executive compensation d) admission by CEO's of what went wrong and how, prior to any government bailout Demands for transparencey a) with respect to analyzing the transactions which took the companies down b) with respect to Treasury's dealings with the companies pre and post-bailout An equity position for the taxpayers a) some form of ownership of assets Some credible formula for evaluating the price of the assets that the government is buying. A sunset clause on the legislation Full public disclosure by members of Congress of assets held, with possible conflicts put in blind trust. A ban on political campaign contributions from officers of corporations receiving bailouts A requirement that 2008 cycle candidates return political contributions to officers and representatives of corporations receiving bailouts And, most importantly, some mechanism for direct assistance to homeowners saddled with unreasonable or unmanageable mortgages, as well as protection for renters who have lived up to their obligation but fall victim to financial tragedy when the property they live in undergoes foreclosure. These are just some thoughts on the run. You will hear more from me tomorrow. Dennis J Kucinichwww.kucinich.us/216-252-9000 877-933-6647
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Post by michelle on Sept 28, 2008 1:47:28 GMT 4
Follow-ups to previous post. I'd think we'll hear more, soon.... From Dennis:Subject: Kucinich's Main Street Recovery Plan Date: 9/24/2008 5:35:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time Dear Friend,While Wall Street and the Bush Administration try to blackmail Congress into a $700 billion bailout for corporations that have shown zero concern about the plight of the American people through the last decade, I have been working on a comprehensive alternative. Today, I am releasing a plan for economic recovery that will provide not only economic stimulus, but also fairness for everyday people on every "Main Street" in America. The plan is detailed below, and it will also be available on the campaign website www.kucinich.us/. Of course, this is a plan that has not only economic implications, but also moral and spiritual implications as well. The social, economic, and political divisions in our nation must be healed. We can make a new beginning, seizing this moment of crisis and transforming it into a moment of rebirth for our nation. I hope you will take the time to read it, consider it, and share it with your friends. I welcome your comments and your support. More tomorrow. Thank you, Dennis www.kucinich.us/216-252-9000 877-933-6647 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kucinich’s Main Street Recovery Plan
1. Health Care for All: Insurance companies make money not providing health care. As the co-author of HR 676, a universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care system, Medicare for All, I understand millions of Americans want health care that is accessible and affordable. Medicare for All will help businesses large and small, create jobs as well as save the jobs of thousands of people including those of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who are currently leaving medicine because it is run by the insurance companies. $1 in every 3 dollars of the $2.4 trillion spent annually in America for health care goes to the insurance companies. If we take that money ($800 billion in unproductive wasteful spending) and put it directly into care, we will have enough money to cover everyone. We are already paying for Medicare for all, but not receiving it. HR 676 changes that! 2. Prescription Drug Benefit for Seniors: HR 6800 is the MEDS Act, which provides a fully paid prescription drug benefit, under Medicare, for all seniors. I wrote this bill to help alleviate the economic pressure that comes from the high cost of prescription drugs. We can pay for it by letting the government negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies as well as by permitting re-importation. 3. Stop the Oil Companies’ Price Gouging: As you know, I was the first one to step up to challenge of the corrupt price gouging and market speculation of the oil companies by proposing a windfall profits tax, on oil and natural gas companies, with revenues put into tax credits for the purchase of fuel-efficient American-made cars. However, it may be that nationalization is the only way to put an end to the oil companies' sharp practices. 4. Protecting the American Homestead: As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Oversight Subcommittee, I am working to protect your basic right to have a roof over your head, whether as an owner or renter. I have investigated and helped to expose the manipulation of mortgage markets, and I am crafting a new federal policy so that neighborhoods with the highest number of foreclosures get the most help. 5. Jobs for All: Congressman LaTourette and I have co-authored the bi-partisan New Deal-type jobs program, HR 3400, "Rebuilding America's Infrastructure." It will create millions of good-paying new jobs rebuilding our roads, bridges, water systems and sewer systems. 6. American Manufacturing Policy: I am drafting the American Manufacturing Policy Act, which for the first time, will state that the maintenance of U.S. steel, automotive, and aerospace industries are vital to our national economic security and must be maintained through integrated public-private cooperation, new trade policies, and investment. 7. Works Green Administration: I am also drafting plans for a green New Deal jobs program, in which the government creates millions of jobs by incentivizing the design, engineering, manufacturing, distribution and maintenance of millions of wind and solar micro-technologies for millions of homes and businesses, dramatically lowering energy costs and reducing our dependence on oil. 8. Fair Trade: The U.S. has lost millions of good-paying jobs, and more jobs have been out-sourced. As you know, I have helped to lead the way in opposition to trade giveaways. I strongly urge repeal of NAFTA. We must include workers' rights, human rights and environmental quality principles in all trade pacts. We must also protect the Great Lakes' water resources from the reach of multi-national corporations. 9. Education for All: I know families need help with the rising cost of day care. That is why I introduced HR 4060, a universal pre-kindergarten program to ensure that all children ages 3-5 have access to full-day, quality day care. 10. Protecting Pensions: I am working to change bankruptcy laws so pensioners' claims will be first, ahead of banks, and that corporate executives who misuse workers' pension funds are subject to criminal penalties. I want to fully fund the Pension Benefit Guarantee Board. 11. Social Security: From my first moments in Congress, I have exposed Wall Street's efforts to privatize Social Security and attacked it in the Democratic Caucus when it was being proposed. Can you imagine where seniors would be today if Social Security had been turned over to the stock market? Social Security is solid through 2032 without any changes. 12. Protect Bank Deposits: I will work to make sure the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has sufficient funds to provide for insurance of deposits up to $200,000 at all banks and savings and loans. This is an urgent matter since so many banks are said to be vulnerable. 13. Protect Investors: Bring back strong regulation to Wall Street. As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, I challenged the Wall Street hedge fund speculators as a threat to small investors. I intend to keep active watch over the machinations on Wall Street. 14. Strength through Peace: You'll remember when I led the effort against the ill-conceived Iraq war, which has now cost more than 4,100 US soldiers' lives, cost U.S. taxpayers between $3 trillion and $5 trillion, and resulted in the deaths of more than a million Iraqis. We must bring our troops home and end the war. We must engage in diplomacy. We must reduce the military budget, and we must stop outrageous cost overruns by the likes of Halliburton. 15. Safety in America: I am proud of my work for peace. In July 2001, I introduced a bill, which today is HR 808, that for the first time creates a comprehensive plan to deal with the issues of violence in American society, particularly domestic violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, gang violence, gun violence, racial violence, and violence against gays by establishing a Cabinet-level Department of Peace and Restorative Justice. This proposal has sparked a national movement and when implemented will save tax payers millions of dollars. 16. Monetary Policy: It is long past the time that we looked at the implications of our debt based monetary system, the privatization of money created by the 1913 Federal Reserve Act, the banks fractional reserve system and our debt-based economic system. Unless we have dramatic reform of monetary policy, the entire economic system will continue to accelerate wealth upwards. I am currently working on drafting legislation for an 'American Monetary Act' to address these and other issues in order to protect the economic wellbeing of America. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Serious questions demand comprehensive approach Added: September 26, 2008
In a wide-ranging interview that included discussion of the responsibilities of the Presidential candidates in addressing the financial crisis, Congressman Dennis Kucinich says there are "serious questions as to why we should be engaged in any bailout of companies that did the wrong thing."
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
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Post by michelle on Oct 1, 2008 16:24:48 GMT 4
More on the bailout from Dennis in his straight forward manner of speaking to us...See previous posts for more on this...MSubject: The Bailout and What's Next Date: 9/30/2008 4:07:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time Dear Friend,Yesterday marked a day that will go down in history, when Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike took on full responsibility to protect the interests of taxpaying Americans, and defeated the deceptive bail out bill, defying the dictates of the Administration, the House Majority Leadership, the House Minority Leadership and the special interests on Wall Street. Obviously Congress must consider quickly another course. There are immediate issues which demand attention and responsible action by the Congress so that the taxpayers, their assets, and their futures are protected. We MUST do something to protect millions of Americans whose homes, bank deposits, investments, and pensions are at risk in a financial system that has become seriously corrupted. We are told that we must stabilize markets in order for the people to be protected. I think we need to protect peoples' homes, bank deposits, investments, and pensions, to order to stabilize the market.We cannot delay taking action. But the action must benefit all Americans, not just a privileged few. Otherwise, more plans will fail, and the financial security of everyone will be at risk. The $700 billion bailout would have added to our existing unbearable load of national debt, trade deficits, and the cost of paying for the war. It would have been a disaster for the American public and the government for decades and maybe even centuries to come. To be sure, there are many different reasons why people voted against the bailout. The legislation did not regard in any meaningful way the plight of millions of Americans who are about to lose their homes. It did nothing to strengthen existing regulatory structures or impose new ones at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve in order to protect investors. There were no direct protections for bank depositors. There was nothing to stop further speculation, which is what brought us into this mess in the first place.This was a bailout for some firms (and investors) on Wall Street, with the idea that in doing so there would be certain, unspecified, general benefits to the economy. This is a perfect time to open a broader discussion about our financial system, especially our monetary system. Such a discussion is like searching for a needle in a haystack, and then, upon finding it, discussing its qualities at great length. Let me briefly describe the haystack instead. Here is a very quick explanation of the $700 billion bailout within the context of the mechanics of our monetary and banking system:The taxpayers loan money to the banks. But the taxpayers do not have the money. So we have to borrow it from the banks to give it back to the banks. But the banks do not have the money to loan to the government. So they create it into existence (through a mechanism called fractional reserve) and then loan it to us, at interest, so we can then give it back to them.Confused? This is the system. This is the standard mechanism used to expand the money supply on a daily basis not a special one designed only for the "$700 billion" transaction. People will explain this to you in many different ways, but this is what it comes down to. The banks needed Congress' approval. Of course in this topsy turvy world, it is the banks which set the terms of the money they are borrowing from the taxpayers. And what do we get for this transaction? Long term debt enslavement of our country. We get to pay back to the banks trillions of dollars ($700 billion with compounded interest) and the banks give us their bad debt which they cull from everywhere in the world. Who could turn down a deal like this? I did. The globalization of the debt puts the United States in the position that in order to repay the money that we borrow from the banks (for the banks) we could be forced to accept International Monetary Fund dictates which involve cutting health, social security benefits and all other social spending in addition to reducing wages and exploiting our natural resources. This inevitably leads to a loss of economic, social and political freedom. Under the failed $700 billion bailout plan, Wall Street's profits are Wall Street's profits and Wall Street's losses are the taxpayers' losses. Profits are capitalized. Losses are socialized. We are at a teachable moment on matters of money and finance. In the coming days and weeks, I will share with you thoughts about what can be done to take us not just in a new direction, but in a new direction which is just.Thank you, Dennis www.kucinich.us/216-252-9000 877-933-6647 PS Watch the 47 minute 'Money as Debt' animated documentary in video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279. This is a useful, though by no means definitive, introduction to the topic of debt and the monetary system. Let me know what you think.
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
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Post by michelle on Oct 13, 2008 11:36:19 GMT 4
Dennis Kucinich on the Democrats’ Bailout BetrayalPosted on Oct 5, 2008 By Chris Hedges The passing of the $850-billion bailout pulled the plug on the New Deal. The Great Society is now gasping for air, mortally wounded, coughing up blood. It will not recover. It was murdered by the Democratic Party. We are on our own. And don’t expect any help from Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who lobbied hard for the bill and voted for it. Ignore their rhetoric. Look coldly at the ballots they cast against us. We, as citizens, have only a handful of representatives left in Washington, most of whom were left sputtering in rage and frustration on the House floor. The sad irony is that some of them were Republican. “This was the largest single act of class warfare in the modern history of this country,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who led the fight in the House against the bailout, told me by phone from Cleveland. “It is a direct attack on the American people’s ability to be able to stabilize their homes and their neighborhoods. This single vote will define the careers of everyone. We are back to taxation without representation, to markets that are openly rigged.” “We buried the New Deal,” he said of the vote. “Instead of Democrats going back to classic New Deal economics where we prime the pump of the economy and start money circulating among the population through saving homes, creating jobs and building a new infrastructure, our leaders chose to accelerate the wealth of the nation upwards. They did so in a way that was destructive of free-market principles. They ripped away all the familiar moorings. We are in an uncharted sea where the traditional roles of the political parties are being switched. The Democrats have unfortunately become so enamored and beholden to Wall Street that we are not functioning to defend the economic interest of the broad base of the American people. It was up to the Republicans to protect not just a so-called free market but the American taxpayer and attempt to block this. This is an outrage. This was democracy’s Black Friday.” Obama arrived on the Senate floor Brutus-like to thrust a knife into the back of the working and middle class. He lobbied hard for the bill. He did so, according to some who met with him on Capitol Hill, because he feared that if he opposed the bailout and it triggered a market collapse it could cost him the election. Better to placate the thieves on Wall Street than stand up for the masses of enraged and swindled citizens. Obama’s betrayal is the betrayal of the Democratic Party. The Democrats gave us the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, which ripped down the firewalls that were put in place by the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act. The 1933 act, designed to prevent the kind of meltdown we are now experiencing, established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). It set in place banking reforms to stop speculators from hijacking the financial system. With Glass-Steagall demolished, and the passage of NAFTA, the Democrats, led by Bill Clinton, tumbled gleefully into bed with corporations and Wall Street speculators. They achieved fundraising parity with the Republicans. They used institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a welfare gravy train. The Democrats, including Obama, are as compromised as the Republicans. Obama’s voting record in the Senate is in line with the corrupt Democratic mainstream, including Biden, who works on behalf of corporations and especially the credit card industry. Obama knows where power lies in the United States. It is not with the citizens, who with ratios of 100 to 1 pleaded with their representatives in Washington not to loot the national treasury to bail out Wall Street investment firms. Power lies with the corporations. These corporations, not us, pick who runs for president. You cannot be a candidate without their blessing and money. These corporations, including the Commission on Presidential Debates, a private corporation, determine who gets to speak and what issues candidates can or cannot challenge, from universal, not-for-profit, single-payer health care to Wall Street bailouts to NAFTA. If you do not follow the corporate script you become as marginal and invisible as Ralph Nader or Bob Barr or Cynthia McKinney. Obama has always served his corporate masters. He opposed Rep. John Murtha’s call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq and supported continued funding for the war. He voted in July 2005 to reauthorize the Patriot Act. He did not support an amendment that was part of a bankruptcy bill that would have capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent. He opposed a bill that would have reformed the notorious Mining Law of 1872, which allows mineral companies to rape federal land for profit. He did not back the single-payer health care bill HR 676, sponsored by Kucinich and John Conyers. He advocates the death penalty and nuclear power. He backed the class-action “reform” bill—the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA)—that was part of a large lobbying effort by financial firms, which make up Obama’s second-biggest single bloc of donors. CAFA would effectively shut down state courts as a venue to hear most class-action lawsuits. Workers, under CAFA, would no longer have redress in many of the courts where these cases have a chance of defying powerful corporations. CAFA moves these cases into corporate-friendly federal courts dominated by Republican judges. Obama’s support for the bailout, however, is his most egregious betrayal. He had a brief, shining moment to prove he could lead, to capitalize on a popular revolt that cut across the political spectrum. He never attempted to address or mobilize the aspirations and passions of the vast majority of Americans. He was as craven, servile and cowardly as the party he represents. He returned to the campaign trail after Friday’s vote as a slick and polished sales representative for our corporate state, telling us to calm down and accept the inevitable. “Some of the most powerful speeches against this were given by members of the Republican Party who are on the political right,” Kucinich said. “They did a superb job in poking holes in the underlying assumptions of the bailout. They say what they believe. Give me somebody who says what they believe and I can figure out how to get them to a new place. When people say one thing and do another it is very hard to be able to move a debate.” So let us honor, in our moment of defeat, the handful of elected officials who valiantly defied their party leaderships in the House to stage a remarkable revolt that at first succeeded. Kucinich is one. There were others—Brad Sherman, Marcy Kaptur, Peter DeFazio, Lloyd Doggett and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott. They are about all that is left of the old Democratic Party, the party that once looked out for the poor and the working class. Send them a note of thanks. They deserve it. And if you live in their districts make sure you get to the polls in November. They did not sell you out. “We had two take-it-or-leave-it propositions and the second one was worse than the first,” Kucinich said, referring to the plan that came loaded with pages of tax cuts. “Tax cuts are antithetical to a bailout. We never solved the problem. There were never any hearings on the bill. This premise, that we could prop up the stock market with a $700-billion investment and create some liquidity, was flawed. The problem is that banks do not want to loan to each other. It is not a liquidity problem. Banks are afraid they are going to collapse in short selling. There is a war going on between security firms and banks. Banks are under assault. They are not loaning. The dynamic is driven by the Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Fed.” The root of the financial crisis, as critics of the bailout plan point out, is that millions of homeowners cannot pay their mortgages. The bailout, as the market decline on Friday following the vote illustrated, does not address the crisis. It solves nothing for the 10 million Americans who face foreclosure. It solves nothing for the growing numbers of unemployed and underemployed. It may well be the equivalent of tossing $850 billion of taxpayer money (including $150 billion in tax cuts) into a furnace and watching passively as our economy continues its plunge. “We face a perfect financial storm,” Kucinich warned. “The elements are the deficit spending for the war of 3 to 4 trillion dollars, the trillion and more tax cuts, the war itself and the lack of serious investment in the country. We are being hollowed out. We are going to see more unemployment and more people losing their homes. With $700 billion we could have made a real investment in the country, in jobs, in infrastructure and in homes. Instead, we got robbed.” Source:www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081006_dennis_kucinich_on_the_democrats_bailout_betrayal/
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