“kinda sweet” for the fat cats

Yowser

This young man (15) from the Maldives ask all of us “Would you commit murder” during his incredible interview with Amy Goodman in Copenhagen

“Would You Commit Murder?”–15-Year-Old Maldives Climate Ambassador Asks World Leaders to Take on Climate Change
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/8/would_you_commit_murder_15_year

AMY GOODMAN: If you could speak right into that camera, Axam, and tell us—tell people here your final message, as we actually begin the climate change summit here, especially young people, what they can do and what climate change means to you?

MOHAMED AXAM MAUMOON: OK. My final message will go generally out as a question. This is a general question. I would like to ask you: Would you commit murder? On the basis that you know what you’re doing is wrong and you can see that the victim is begging for mercy and for you to stop what you’re doing, yeah, would you commit murder? I mean, yeah, people who are sensitive at heart would take this seriously, but others, I wouldn’t mention right now.

And yeah, it’s like this in the scenario that we are in, because our country, the Maldives—not only Maldives, but other countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya and Zambia—all those countries are suffering to the point that we can’t see the end of it, because the mistakes other countries are making, for the mistakes that you are—that many people don’t try to redeem themselves from. And it’s as good as killing us off. So I ask you again, would you commit murder, even while we are begging for mercy and begging for you to stop what you’re doing, change your ways, and let our children see the future that we want to build for them?

AMY GOODMAN: Mohamed Axam Maumoon, I want to thank you very much for being with us. Axam is fifteen years old. He’s the climate ambassador from the Maldives. And we’ll follow him through this two weeks to see if his demands are being met.

Mohamed mentioned a term I had not heard.

FAB (fair, Ambitious, Binding) climate agreements

Keep up the heavy lifting Jane, we love you for it & we’re better because of it.

oops wrong thread sorry need to put this over at Seminal. Goodman streaming live from Copenhagen.

Apologies

Thanks, Jane!

It seems everyday I learn a new part of the system of politics from you guys. But every part seems to be designed specifically toward the detriment of the American people. I think sooner or later I am going to get too depressed and just watch sports again, because it does not seem, no matter how hard devoted people like you all try, that anything really changes. No matter how much we protest and petition and vote, it seems we still get left with crooks in office, who forget about the voters as soon as they get into office . . . sigh

We have just begun to plum the depths so hang in there. The more info we have, believe or not, the more power. It takes awhile to see the results. Wouldn’t you rather know what to fight against and how hard the fight will be?

I heard yesterday about #44 by Hinchey, et. al. to reinstate Glass-Steagall. Looking at that one first.

Actually, it should inspire the opposite.

It’s hard to beat huge lobbying sums when they’re all telescoped on the place you’re working. That’s why health care was such a bitch.

When nobody is looking you have way, way more leverage. “Audit the Fed” went through because the banks were consumed somewhere else. By the time they woke up to what was happening, it was difficult for them to turn the ship around.

The public never lobbies Rules. Ever. And there are many members who are facing tough elections in 2010 who cannot afford to have their GOP opponents attack them for being in the tank for the banks.

Once something reaches the floor, it’s hard for 100,000 people to have an impact. The deals are already cut. At this point in the process, just a handful of committed people can have a huge impact.

That’s the secret to effective progressive activism with limited resources — finding the weak spot, and then pointing your efforts straight at it.

Louise Slaughter (An appropriate family name for her treatment of voter friendly amendments) NY28, $106,250 from 60 PAC contributors, no contributions from Individuals in the 2010 election cycle.

Buy her back. $5/month from 1,000 people. $60,000/year. We’d have her attention.

Banks are too big to navigate!

Bachmann (MN) #192 Would prohibit employees and former employees of organizations that have been indicted of Federal or State election law violations from serving on the Consumer Financial Protection Oversight Board.

Bachmann figures that mere indictments are cause enough. Perhaps expanding it to all Corporate Persons would not be a bad idea.

Hansarling is a piece of work…

I just read the Project on Government Oversight’s take on Collin Peterson’s amendment. POGO wrote about a loophole that could eventually lead to the same old situation: secret and risky trading behavior that could lead to financial collapse. They write:
“Chairman Peterson’s amendment defines an “alternative swap execution facility” as anything that facilitates swap trades. Such a facility would not be subject to the requirements of an actual exchange, thereby avoiding the new requirements for increased transparency and accountability. What’s particularly troubling is that the amendment would allow prices to be set in secret through a voice brokerage (i.e., a telephone).”
POGO thinks this amendment should be, as they wrote, “left on the cutting room floor.”

**8 d%4^&esw

***cough*** choke*** sputter****

I just got a call this minute from the DNC telling me Harry Reid would match 3-to-1 contributions to keep Dem control of the Senate!!!!! ***choke *** choke*** I can’t stand it!!

I told the caller” What god has it done us to date??? HUH???
My money goes to Firedoglake and Act Blue******

Michell Bachman, MN05, 2010 election cycle, Individuals for $0, PACS for $147,063 with 113 contributions, Individuals against $263,425 with 227 contributions, PACS against $26,000 with 9 contributions.

She’s bought & paid for, and hated.

sorry for typos, folks. I’m just so 0——-dam mad!

good for you. they haven’t called me in months. I guess they decided that the last conversation we had was quite enough.

Thanks for the pep talk guys. Actually, Mary, you are right, it is easier to fight the good fight after you find out when and where to put up the most effective battle. Thanks for pointing out that important point. Alright, I am back to being energized and enthusiastic about things to come. Oh and Im glad that we have people like you, Jane, on TV who get to speak to millions of people and actually have those people’s interests in mind.

Lee, Christopher (NY), Hensarling (TX) #56

Would limit the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to prescribe regulations when the national unemployment rate is above 8%.

This one insinuates that we are about to experience a brand new normal in unemployment. Unemployment at 8% expected to become the new normal?!

The real unemployment poo has not hit the fan yet.

B(L)S has been busily scrubbing data, I’m sure.

No, that doesn’t happen.

If I understood “debts secured by the debtor’s principal res-
idence if the value of such residence as of the date
of the order for relief under chapter 13 is less than
the applicable maximum amount of noncontingent,
liquidated, secured debts specified in this subsection;” I could offer a more informed opinion but Conyers seems to be headed in the right direction.

BUT there is this and I am surprised there is not more outrage about it.

The Sarbanes exemption seems to be saying there will be no exemption but that a study will be done; is that correct?

And Peterson’s amendment seems to be saying that he doesn’t want the SEC or CFTC to be regulating derivatives; who’s padding his wallet?

Just like a cancerous tumor, these people need to be excised from the politcal system one way or another.

I just started going through the amendments via the link to the House site, almost all of them are an incredible pile of shit. Some like Bachmann’s are about sticking a shiv in somebody. Others are about various corporate whores doing the bidding of those that pay them. And then there are the crackpot loony tunes, let’s stick it to ACORN group, which come to think of it is probably whom Bachmann is aiming at. Then there is something like the one that has Hensarling’s name as a cosponsor as a substitute. The description sounds halfway reasonable, but with Hensarling on board it is a given to be some piece of half-baked libertarian wingnuttia. And I am not even out of the B’s yet.

Meanwhile, House Finance Committee Chair Barney Frank sent out an email today via the DCCC’s list to ask supporters for money because, he says, House Democrats need help to stop teabaggers from fucking up finance reform and to stop teabaggers from getting in the way of the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Seriously. I’m not joking.

I wrote about Barney’s ridiculous email here.

Jane, thanks for this outstanding post. Great insight behind the curtain and very informative!

Great, just one more thing to set our sights on.

Thanks Jane for shining light on this farce. I am sure there are many other ways in which Congress works to frustrate democracy. What conceivable justification could there be for this way of operating, except to escape accountability?

I think that we all need to be as well informed as to the various blatantly undemocratic procedures in Congress. These people must believe that their devious devices are terribly clever and will escape the public’s notice. This is just one more misapprehension these idiots need to be disabused of.

Filibuster rule, exclusionary Rules Committee, what else should we be aware of? Looks like Congress just like the Fed needs to be audited and revamped. The more we see of this Congress the more it needs to be overhauled and replaced.

Of course any system no matter how well designed will work only if the people that work within it have integrity and honesty. I guess insuring this is the most immediate way to proceed.

I recall many a dkos diary from Slaughter – another 1 bites the dust! They REALLY count on us workign stiffs being too busy with our b.s. jobs to keep tabs on their b.s. to hell with her.

rmm.