So High Above

"It is just outrageous that the American people don't know that Congress doesn't know how much money he (Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson) has given away to anyone,'' the Oklahoma Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe told the Tulsa World. Here is a Republican Senator that doesn't even understand what has happened, duped by a President and Treasury Secretary from his own party. The Administration went to Congress with a one page bill that authorized the Secretary of Treasury to hand out $700 Billion at his discretion without spelling out what the money would be used for. The Congress haggled for a couple of days, then had a closed door meeting with the Federal Reserve Chairman and the Treasury Secretary and told the American Public that the money was indeed needed to shore up the credit markets otherwise the United States Financial System would collapse. The Congress acquiesced after the private meeting and passed a $700 Billion Bailout package to be issued in increm

As the Economy of the United States is pushed further and further down the road to another Republican inspired Great Depression the leadership of the Democratic Congress must stand up and ACT NOW, tomorrow is too late. Each day that passes with inactivity by the Democratic Congress will mean months and months more spent in in the next Great Depression. Any Republican who still believes in the policies of their Party which have led us to where we are now should resign from Congress in disgrace. Any Democrat who fails to stand up now after failing to stand up to the fallacies of the Republican Bush Administration should also resign in disgrace because in 2 years you will not be re-elected if you fail to stand up now and be counted on the side of the People and not on the side of the Corporate Occupation of our Government. The Democrats must not allow the credit card industry to be bailed out after years of loansharking violations, in fact, the credit card industry should be charged under

As the Bush Administration leaves office they are trying to lock our Nation into a Security Agreement with the Iraq Government effectively dictating our Iraq Occupation Policy even after they leave office. The Democratic Leadership can not let this happen. In 2006 the American Electorate gave the Democrats a majority in the House on the grounds that they wanted the occupation of Iraq to end. The Democrats failed to act. in 2008 the American Electorate elected a larger majority in the House and the Senate, and elected Barack Obama President with the belief that the Iraq occupation would end as quickly as possible. The Democratic Leadership can not let the Republican Bush Administration dictate the Iraq Occupation Policy even after it is out of office. It is clear today and will be even clearer as History recalls this age that the Iraq invasion and Occupation was a contributing factor to the downfall of the American Economic System. There was never a reason to invade Iraq and even less o

If the Congressional Leadership can not accomplish anything in this lame duck session of Congress than during the Holiday recess the Democratic Caucus should meet to change the leadership. The Obama Transition team must sit the leadership down and give them an agenda that they are to pass before the Holiday Recess. With Americans suffering more and more each day from the financial devastation created by the failed government of the Bush Cheney Republican Administration and businesses closing every day, it is incumbent upon the Democratic Leadership to propose and pass legislation that will offer immediate financial aid to Americans, their families and small business. It can not wait until the inauguration of President Obama, it must occur before the month is finished, and if the Republican President Bush vetoes the legislation the Congress must over ride the Veto. Take a page from the McCain Campaign, any Republican who fails to vote to over ride the Presidential Veto of immediate aid

In the midst of the Presidential Election season the White House and the Treasury Department announced to the Nation with panic that the Banking System was about to collapse and that immediate action was needed in the form a $700 Billion Bailout which the Treasury Secretary would Administer without Congressional Oversight. The Bill that was presented by the White House and Treasury department was a one page bill that gave unrestricted judgment to the Treasury Secretary as to how the money would be disbursed. When they were trying to sell the Bill to the public they proclaimed that a bulk of the money would be used to buy up bad mortgages that were the cause of the crisis. At least Congress didn't bite on the one page Bill, but they did pass a similar Bill with an additional few hundred pages most of which dealt with adding earmarks to the White House's original proposal. So basically the White House got what they wanted again, just like the vote authorizing the Iraq War, Congre

For those of us that lived through the turbulence of Viet Nam and the Republican Nixon Administration, living through the Republican Bush Administration makes remember those days with fondness. On August 9th, 1974 we all thought it would be the end to an unresponsive American President. Then Ronald Reagan was elected. Another Republican Administration that tore apart at the fabric of the working class and middle class. Nixon sent the children of the working class and middle class off to be maimed and killed in a occupation that grew by the day. Although Nixon eventually realized the folly of Viet Nam it was not until 55,000 Americans were killed and countless numbers broken and maimed. Viet Nam scarred the Nation and divided her People. But Nixon at least had some redeeming qualities, he was a world diplomat and saw a vision of a prosperous interactive world community. He extended a hand to the Communist Countries of China and Russia and at least accomplished the normalization of diplo

It is a cinch that not much will be accomplished in the lame duck congress being that this Congress was the "Do Nothing" Congress of our time. Now that the elections have swept in a larger majority for the Democrats there will be no excuse for not having an agenda driven, proactive Congress. Granted a lot of the Democratic Majority was swept in by column voters and the shirt tails of President Elect Obama, but that does not mean that the People are not expecting a Congress that will take action. If Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Ried do not have an aggressive agenda to deal with Alternative Energy and its funding, Health Care and its funding, the withdrawal of troops from occupied lands and the funding to reintegrate them into American Society, then they should resign their posts at the end of this Congress and let young leadership take over the Congress and drive it to enact programs with a vision for the future. Now that the majority is decisively Democratic there will be no excuses,