Does anybody remember the Keating Five? From Wikipedia:
The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisisof the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly aiding Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of an investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB).After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings. Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised "poor judgment".
Being "cleared" by the Senate Ethics Committee hardly means he's innocent.
Now flash forward to the newest economic crisis generated by Republican deregulation. The new bailout plan http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/business/21draftcnd.html?ex=1379649600&en=914ccd8eaf553546&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
gives dictatorial powers to the Treasury Secretary. Under a McCain presidency (remember the Keating Five) would probably be Phil Gramm. If that combination of Gramm & McCain alone doesn't scare you, read this from the bailout plan:
"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."
So these two would have virtually unlimited power to spend $700 BILLION of our money WITHOUT REVIEW.
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Comments: 9
Of course it is money and our money makes us do insane things. Read your history of any nation and see what stupid, harmful things people have done to each other because of money. Then read Invisible Hand and see what we could be doing instead.
If we adopt the solution in Invisible Hand the current problems will simply cease to exist. That's right, the whole problem simply doesn't exist any more. It's not magic. It's not an act of God. It's just a better kind of money than has ever existed in the world before. If you don't find out about it you are trampling a pearl underfoot.
This is straight out of Naomi Kline's Shock Doctrine, or hit 'em when their down.
Ask the average adult American who were or what was the Keating 5, and they'll
probably ask if that wasn't some hot new band.
This is why we continue repeating so many mistakes and remaking the same bad decisions over and over again.
There is NO ONE I trust enough to give 700 Billion Dollars of our money to without some mechanism of oversight or to review and change course.
That is a sure fire recipe for the Ultimate Disaster.
This needs to be changed before any bill is signed into law.
I personally will be making my thoughts known to my Federal Congressional Representative and both Senators ASAP!
I strongly urge everyone to do the same.
Unless you don't mind giving McSame and Gramm unlimited executive power over the future of our money supply.
Scary thought that.
All the bubbas with their guns ain't gonna stop this takeover of the nation.
http://www.truthout.org/article/democrats-reject-700-billion-blank-check