Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems

Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art One-half Banana Stems - www.kevindayhoff.com Address: PO Box 124, Westminster MD 21158 410-259-6403 kevindayhoff@gmail.com Runner, writer, artist, fire & police chaplain Mindless ramblings of a runner, journalist & artist: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, technology, music, culture, opera... National & International politics www.kevindayhoff.net For community: www.kevindayhoff.org For art, technology, writing, & travel: www.kevindayhoff.com

Showing posts with label Politics Moonbat(s). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics Moonbat(s). Show all posts

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The arrival of the spacecraft in Westminster

“The arrival of the spacecraft behind Willis Street in Westminster” by Kevin Dayhoff November 25, 2009

It was the night before Thanksgiving in 2009 when it happened.

When the spacecraft first landed at the old Westminster Playground; no one, at first, quite knew what to do…

Crickey, folks were flummoxed.

This picture was captured by happenstance and shows homes along the otherwise quiet, tree-lined, and bucolic Willis Street in Westminster, to be silhouetted by the bright landing lights of the craft.

Was it an attack by Cylons? Or perhaps it was an invasion of intergalactic Velociraptors

Oh no…

Wait a minute. It’s. It’s. Holy @!@$%^$$%...

We’ve suspected all along that “they” are among us.

Various folks have had dreams of android cattle. Could this be the beginning of the attack of the chrome toasters?

Persons around town have appeared to have siren Cylon tendencies, in which it has been suspected that a Six copy has been downloaded into their bodies.

They are seductive and they look the part and have the correct vocabulary, but there is no there – there and the results are hollow.

They were first suspected to have landed sometime in May 2005. Some do a great job with press releases.

It was a sensational story but only maintained a fugacious claim on the public's attention; as if it happened on a pair of fast chucks.

[20091125 Willis St arrival] Dayhoff Daily Photoblog, Dayhoff literature of the absurd, Dayhoff photos, Dayhoff photos Westminster, Politics Moonbat(s)

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/11/arrival-of-spacecraft-in-westminster.html http://tinyurl.com/yln46do

Was it an attack by Cylons? Or perhaps it was an invasion of intergalactic Velociraptors http://tinyurl.com/yln46do http://twitpic.com/qzb9f http://kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/post/257974600/was-it-an-attack-by-cylons-or-perhaps-it-was-an


*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The many faces of Bill Moyers

The many faces of Bill Moyers http://tinyurl.com/yjdj2sa Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/qunnw

November 23, 2009 by Kevin Dayhoff

It’s a great day in American, “Bill Moyers is leaving weekly television.”

Yes, that’s right, Mr. Moyers, the liberal hypocritical smug Prince of thug-journalism who raised concepts such as situational ethics and moral relativism to a high art form, will be leaving public television on April 30, 2010, according to a recent item in the New York Times by Elizabeth Jensen in her “Media Decoder” column.

“Mr. Moyers said he had been planning for some time to retire the program on Dec. 25, but was asked by PBS to raise the funds to continue through April, which he did,” writes Ms. Jensen.

The “program” to which she is referring is “Bill Moyers Journal,” which began in April 2007. It is a weekly no-holds-barred advocacy program on the Public Broadcasting System for the liberal agenda in America.

According to Ms. Jensen, Mr. Moyers said, that his program has recently been having a “good run of it … so I feel it’s time.” He said he was not quitting television work, although he has no new projects planned.

No word as to whether or not he will be taking a position in the administration of Venezuelan President Hug Chavez, although Mr. Moyers is well qualified to work with heads of state.

Our younger readers may not be aware that Mr. Moyers, who was born on June 5, 1934, first distinguished himself on the national stage as the White House press secretary for President Lyndon Baines Johnson from 1965 to 1967.

Mr. Moyers and President Johnson shared a long history of working together. Mr. Moyers had interned for then-Senator Johnson. In addition to several positions as a print media journalist for several newspapers in Texas, he also worked in the mid-1950s at KTBC radio and television stations, which were owned by Lady Bird Johnson.

It is ironic to note that Mr. Moyers is an ordained minister; when one considers the course, blunt, if not profane behavior that historians have characterized President Johnson’s rise and maintenance of power.

Mr. Moyers first came to Washington to work in the administration of President Kennedy in various capacities in the newly formed Peace Corps.

In an April 3, 1966 article in the New York Times by Patrick Anderson, “No. 2 Texan in the White House,” Mr. Moyers explained his relationship with President Johnson as “I work for him despite his faults and he lets me work for him despite my deficiencies.”

His quote from 1966 may have been the only hint at humanity he may have ever had in a career that has witnessed him, in his later years, become unbearably preachy, condescending, boorish, and blinded by his politically ideology, which has tarnished his conflicted and complicated legacy.

For every mean-spirited thing I have to say about Mr. Moyers, I have a half-dozen much nastier remarks for which I was held back by my shriveled but nevertheless functional sense of decency.

In a much-touted dust-up between Mr. Moyers and Fox News Channel personality, Bill O’Reilly in April 2007; Mr. O’Reilly may have said it best:

“I do know that Moyers has, for years, been heavily involved with people like George Soros and the far left. Yet PBS is paying him to produce documentaries that are purported to be "objective." Bill Moyers is not objective, has a problem with the truth, and should no longer be receiving taxpayer money. And that is the truth.”

This after Fox News aired a tape in which Mr. Moyers said: “The FOX News, the talk radio, The Weekly Standard have not only mongered for war along with the administration, not only embraced the administration's policies because they were "conservative", including going to war, but also mounted a slime machine to discredit any journalist who dared to stand against the official view of reality.”

Of course, since President Obama has taken office and has continued the war efforts, for which Mr. Moyers was so critical during the Bush Administration years – now Mr. Moyers seems to have forgotten that we remain at war.

This, in spite of campaign promises from President Obama that once in office, he would withdrawal American troops out of Iraq quickly and re-invent our efforts in Afghanistan.

Funny how that works.

On March 9, 2009, Bernie Goldberg said in an interview with Mr. O’Reilly about Mr. Goldberg’s book, “A Slobbering Love Affair,” that Mr. Moyers is among the top five “five worst offenders in the mainstream media.”

“No. 4 is Bill Moyers because he represents the most elite wing of the most liberal elite media. Bill Moyers is a true believer who these days is posing as a journalist. He's very civil and highbrow to an extent, but also despises conservatives.

“During the Bush administration, he said that the right-wing wrecking crews in government, right-wing wrecking crews were deliberately, intentionally, trying to destroy the United States of America. Really, Bill? I mean, right wing wrecking crews and the government are deliberately trying to destroy America? And he's on PBS.”

Fortunately for America, Mr. Moyers days on PBS are numbered.

Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the behind as you are leaving.

Perhaps the only thing that might be as equally good for American would be if Katie Couric would also retire. We can only wish.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com.

####

20091123 SDOSMKED The many faces of Bill Moyers Dayhoff Art, Journalists Moyers-Bill, Media liberal, Politics Liberal double standards, Politics Liberal hypocrisy, Politics Moonbat(s)

For another version of this column, please read: “Goodbye, and Good Riddance” by Kevin E. Dayhoff November 25, 2009 The Tentacle http://tinyurl.com/yf5sgp2

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=3479 http://tinyurl.com/yf5sgp2

~~~~~

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2009/11/many-faces-of-bill-moyers.html http://tinyurl.com/yjdj2sa

The many faces of Bill Moyers http://tinyurl.com/yjdj2sa Click here for a larger image: http://twitpic.com/qunnw

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://www.westgov.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Mark Sanford – Don’t Cry for me Argentina




Mark Sanford – Don’t Cry for me Argentina


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrx5Ve7y0xM



Lyrics to Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Evita)
:
It won't be easy
You'll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel
That I still need your love
After ll that I've done
You won't believe me
All you will see
Is a girl you once knew
Although she's dressd up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you

I had to let it happen
I had to change
Couldn't stay all my life down at heel
Looking out of the window
Staying out of the sun
So I chose freedom
Running around trying everything new
But nothing impressed me at all
I never expected it too

Don't cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance

And as for fortune and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world
They were all I desired
They are illusions
They're not the solutions
They promise to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me

Don't cry for me Argentina

Don't cry for me Argentina
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don't keep your distance

Have I said to much?
There's nothing more I can think of to say to you
But all you have to do
Is look at me to know
That every word is true
[ Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Evita) Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]


Artist: Andrew Lloyd Webber lyrics

Title: Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Evita)






20090625 SDOSM Mark Sanford Dont cry for me Argentina


Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoffart.com Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: www.westgov.net Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040426835

Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoff.com (http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/)

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Missing atheist sign found in Washington state By Mallory Simon CNN

Missing atheist sign found in Washington state By Mallory Simon CNN

Fri December 5, 2008

For those of us who are aggressive protectors of the right to free speech, we have to wonder what it is that the atheists wish to accomplish...

Having said that, I understand that intent is certainly not an arbiter of the expression of free speech. However, manipulating some obscure interpretation of equal opportunity in order to attack Christmas, is certainly a unique approach to attempting to be compelling and persuasive about one’s cause…

Story Highlights

NEW: Placard from Washington state Capitol found in a ditch, radio station says

Atheists' place placard was next to Nativity scene in Olympia, Washington, building

Sign calls religion a myth that "hardens hearts and enslaves minds"

Some residents, Christian groups say atheists attacking celebration of Jesus' birth

Don't Miss: iReport.com:
Over-the-top holiday displays?

(CNN) -- An atheist sign criticizing Christianity that was erected alongside a Nativity scene was taken from the Legislative Building in Olympia, Washington, on Friday and later found in a ditch.

An employee from country radio station KMPS-FM in Seattle told CNN the sign was dropped off at the station by someone who found it in a ditch.

"I thought it would be safe," Freedom From Religion Foundation co-founder Annie Laurie Gaylor told CNN earlier Friday. "It's always a shock when your sign is censored or stolen or mutilated. It's not something you get used to."

The sign, which celebrates the winter solstice, has had some residents and Christian organizations calling atheists Scrooges because they said it was attacking the celebration of Jesus Christ's birth.

"Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds," the sign from the Freedom From Religion Foundation says in part.

The sign, which was at the Legislative Building at 6:30 a.m. PT, was gone by 7:30 a.m., Gaylor said.

[…]

The scene in Washington state is not unfamiliar. Barker has had signs in Madison, Wisconsin, for 13 years. The placard is often turned around so the message can't be seen, and one year, someone threw acid on it, forcing the group to encase it in Plexiglas.

In Washington, D.C., the American Humanist Association began a bus ad campaign this month questioning belief in God.

"Why believe in a God?" the advertisement asks. "Just be good for goodness sake."

That ad has caused the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to field hundreds of complaints, the group said, but it has heard just as much positive feedback, said Fred Edwords, the association's spokesman.

Edwords said the ad campaign, which features a shrugging Santa Claus, was not meant to attack Christmas but rather to reach out to an untapped audience.

[…]

Read the entire article here: Missing atheist sign found in Washington state By Mallory Simon CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/05/atheists.christmas/?iref=mpstoryview

20081205 Missing atheist sign found in Washington state

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Merry Christmas from the Left Red White and Impeach


Merry Christmas from the Left Red White and Impeach

December 2, 2008


Apparently the left dos not rest for the holidays.

For those of us who feel passionately about the right to free speech, we also understand that it comes with responsibilities.

Memo: I’d love to see the elite media’s reaction if something like this were to occur during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Hat Tip: Don Surber: “Maturity” “Ornament maker does something inappropriate. The White House refuses to retaliate.”

Read on, according to Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach,” By The Reliable Source December 2, 2008:

[…]

Laura Bush asked members of Congress to pick local painters to decorate ornaments for this year's 20-foot Fraser fir in the Blue Room. The globes (to be unveiled by the first lady tomorrow) are supposed to showcase something special about each congressional district. Washington state's Rep. Jim McDermott contacted a local arts organization, which asked Lawrence, a collage artist, to create the local entry.

"I was at first nauseated, then realized it was an opportunity," said Lawrence, 55, who frequently combines politics and satire in her work and saw this as the perfect way "to highlight Jim McDermott because he's a hero of mine."

The nine-inch ball is covered with swirly red and white stripes -- and, in tiny glued-on text, salutes the Democratic congressman's support for a resolution to impeach President Bush.

See a picture of it here.

Sally McDonough, the first lady's press secretary, said yesterday that hundreds of ornaments were submitted for display and there were no plans to pull Lawrence's artwork or her invitation. But, she said, "it really is too bad. I haven't seen the ornament, but I would hope that no one would take this as an opportunity to be divisive and partisan. There is a time and place for everything, and I don't think this is either."

Read the entire account here: “Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach

And be sure to read Don Surber’s post also: “Maturity


And be sure to read all the comments...

Commenter “dhender999aolcom” said: “When Deborah Lawrence arrives in the White House she will be treated graciously by her hosts, because that is the nature of George W and Laura Bush…”

“olukemi": said: “I applaud Deborah Lawrence for her courage in celebrating her equally forthright Congressman. Freedom of speech does not take a rest on Christmas. Happy Holidays to all!”

Then in a flourish of the holiday spirit, “editwest” wrote: “To dehender999@aol.com: ‘Gracious’ people do not steal elections, subvert the Rule of Law and the judiciary and the Department of Justice, attack and occupy sovereign states for imperialist goals, profit from the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, order the death/maiming of tens of thousands of our own troops in a war of naked aggression forged in lies, loot the treasury and destroy the futures of America's children, channel fortunes to cronies, attack the Constitution and its protections against tyranny, destroy America's position in world opinion, and so much more. Gracious people don't do these things. Thugs and ghouls do.”


Nice.

Oh Merry Christmas

20081202 Merry Christmas from the left Red White and Impeach

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Pelosi Charm

The Pelosi Charm

Monday, September 29, 2008

Democrat Speaker of the House left no doubt that she skipped the class in charm school that taught that it is to one’s advantage to be nice to folks when you want something from them.
“Reps. Boehner, Blunt, and Cantor said they had at least a dozen more votes for the bill until Nancy Pelosi came to the floor just after 12:20 eastern time and gave an exceedingly partisan speech that effectively killed the bill.” (GOP: Pelosi Killed Bill With Partisan Speech Posted by TOM BEVAN on the Real Clear Politics blog)

This speech was incomprehensible reprehensible revisionist history in which, what may very well be the most galling moral relativism, she praises Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) whose fingerprints are over the causes of current financial meltdown.

Representative Frank said in 2003: “I think it is clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sufficiently secure so they are in no great danger... I don't think we face a crisis; I don't think that we have an impending disaster. ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do very good work, and they are not endangering the fiscal health of this country.” (Doug Ross The Fannie Mae testimony that will make you scream in anger)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said in 2003: “I have sat through nearly a dozen hearings where, frankly, we were trying to fix something that wasn't broke. [sic] ...These GSEs have more than adequate capital for the business they are in: providing affordable housing. As I mentioned, we should not be making radical or fundamental change... If there is anything to fix or improve, it is the [regulators].” (Doug Ross The Fannie Mae testimony that will make you scream in anger)

“Five years ago, Republicans proposed ‘the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry [in a decade].’ (Source: New York Times) Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee blocked efforts at fixing Fannie and Freddie. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said, ‘Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... are not facing any kind of financial crisis,’” (Doug Ross: Any Questions)

Speaker Pelosi says that the current meltdown is all the fault of President George W. Bush and free market capitalism. Yet this is inconsistent with: Wayne Barrett at the Village Voice: “[Clinton appointee] Andrew Cuomo... made a series of decisions between 1997 and 2001 that gave birth to the country's current crisis. He took actions that... helped plunge Fannie and Freddie into the subprime markets without putting in place the means to monitor their increasingly risky investments. He turned the Federal Housing Administration...into a sweetheart lender with sky-high loan ceilings and no money down, and he legalized what a federal judge has branded "kickbacks" to brokers that have fueled the sale of overpriced and unsupportable loans. Three to four million families are now facing foreclosure, and Cuomo is one of the reasons why.” (Doug Ross The Fannie Mae testimony that will make you scream in anger)

Hat Tip for AP photo: Don Surber – “A confident Democrat Barney Frank promises solvency in our time as he announces the breakthrough bailout. Voting is only a formality…”

Related:

Transcript of Speaker Pelosi’s Floor Statement on the partisan Financial Rescue Legislation moments before it was voted down

Doug Ross: Any Questions

Doug Ross The Fannie Mae testimony that will make you scream in anger

Don Surber

20080928 The Pelosi Charm

Transcript of Speaker Pelosi’s Floor Statement on the partisan Financial Rescue Legislation moments before it was voted down


Transcript of Speaker Pelosi’s Floor Statement on the partisan Financial Rescue Legislation moments before it was voted down

September 29, 2008


Madam speaker, when was the last time anyone ever asked you for $700 billion? It’s a staggering figure. And many questions have arisen from that request. And we have been hearing, I think, a very informed debate on all sides — of — of this issue here today. I’m proud of the debate.

$700 billion. A staggering number. But only a part of the cost of the failed Bush economic policies to our country. Policies that were built on budget recklessness. When President Bush took office, he inherited President Clinton’s surpluses — four years in a row, budget surpluses, on a trajectory of $5.6 trillion in surplus. And with his reckless economic policies, within two years, he had turned that around.

And now eight years later, the foundation of that fiscal irresponsibility, combined with an anything goes economic policy, has taken us to where we are today. They claim to be free market advocates, when it’s really an anything goes mentality. No regulation, no supervision, no discipline. And if you fail, you will have a golden parachute, and the taxpayer will bail you out.

Those days are over. The party is over in that respect. Democrats believe in a free market. We know that it can create jobs, it can create wealth, it can create many good things in our economy. But in this case, in its unbridled form, as encouraged, supported, by the Republicans — some in the Republican Party, not all — it has created not jobs, not capital, it has created chaos.

And it is that chaos that the secretary of the Treasury and the chairman of the Fed came to see us just about a week and a half ago — seems like an eternity, doesn’t it, so much has happened, the news was so bad. They described a very, very dismal situation. A dismal situation describing the state of our economy, the fragility of our financial institutions and the instability of our markets, our equity markets, our credit markets, our bond market.

And here we were listening to people who knew of what they spoke. Secretary of the Treasury brings long credentials and knowledge of the markets. More fearful, though, to me, more scary, was the statement — were the statements of Chairman Bernanke [Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve], because Chairman Bernanke is probably one of the foremost authorities in America on the subject of the Great Depression. I don’t know what was so great about the Depression, but that’s the name they give it. And we heard the secretary and the chairman tell us that this was a once in a hundred year phenomenon, this fiscal crisis was so drastic. Certainly once in 50 years, probably once in a hundred years.

And how did it sneak up on us? So silently, almost on little cat feet. That they would come in on that day — and they didn’t actually ask for the money, that much money that night. It took two days until we saw the legislation that they were proposing to help calm the markets. And it was on that day that we learned of a $700 billion request.

But it wasn’t just the money that was alarming. It was the nature of the legislation. It gave the secretary of the Treasury czar-like powers, unlimited powers, latitude to do all kinds of things and specifically prohibited judicial review or review of any other federal administrative agency to review their actions.

Another aspect of it that was alarming is it gave the secretary the power to use any money that came back from these infusions of cash to be used at the discretion of the secretary. Not to reduce the deficit, not to go into the general funds so that we could afford other priorities. To be used at the discretion of the secretary. It was shocking. Working together in a bipartisan way, we were able to make major improvements on that proposal, even though its fundamental basis was almost arrogant and insulting.

The American people responded almost immediately. Overwhelmingly, they said they know that something needs to be done. Say 78 percent of the American people said Congress must act. Fifty-eight-some percent said, but not to accept the Bush proposal. And so here we are today, a week later and a couple of days later, coming to the floor with a product — not a bill that I would have written, one that has major disappointments with me, beginning with the fact that it does not have bankruptcy in this bill — and we will continue to persist and work to achieve that.

It’s interesting, though, to me that when they describe this, the magnitude of the challenge and the precipice that we were on and how we had to act quickly and we had to act boldly and we had to act now, that it never occurred to them that the consequences of this market were being felt well in advance by the American people. And unemployment is up, and therefore we need unemployment insurance. That jobs are lacking, and therefore we need a stimulus package. So how can on the one hand could this be so urgent at the moment, and yet so unnecessary for us to address the effects of this poor economy in the households of America across our country?

We’ll come back to that in a moment. Working together, we put together some standards — and I am really proud of what Barney Frank did in this regard. The first night, that night, that Thursday night, when we got the very, very dismal news, he immediately said, if we’re going to do this — and Spencer Bachus was a part of this as well — in terms of if we’re going to do this, we must have equity for the American people. We’re putting up $700 billion, we want the American people to get some of the upside. So equity, fairness for the American people.

Secondly, if they were describing the root of the problem as the mortgage-backed securities, Barney insisted that we would have forbearance on foreclosure. If we’re now going to own that paper, that we would then have forbearance to help responsible homeowners stay in their home.

In addition to that, we have to have strong, strong oversight. We didn’t even have to see the $700 billion or the full extent of their bill to know that we needed equity and upside for the taxpayer, forbearance for the homeowner, oversight of the government on what they were doing, and something that the American people understand full well, an end to the golden parachutes and the — a — review and reform of the compensation for C.E.O.’s.

Let’s get this straight. We have a situation where on Wall Street people are flying high, they are making unconscionable amounts of money. They make a lot of money, they privatize the gain, the minute things go tough, they nationalize the risk. They get a golden parachute as they drive their firm into the ground, and the American people have to pick up the tab. Something is very, very wrong with this picture.

So just on first blush, that Thursday night, we made it clear, meeting much resistance on the part of the administration, that those four things, equity, forbearance, oversight, and reform of compensation. Overriding all of this is a protection of the taxpayer. We need to stabilize the markets. In doing so, we need to protect the taxpayers.

And that’s why I’m so glad that this bill contains a suggestion made by Mr. Tanner [Representative John Tanner, Democrat of Tennessee] that if at the end of the day, say in five years, when we can take a review of the success or whatever of this initiative, that if there is a shortfall and we don’t get our whole $700 billion back that we have invested, that there will be an initiative to have the financial institutions that benefited from this program to make up that shortfall.

But not one penny of this should be carried by the American people. People asked, and Mr. Spratt [Representative John M. Spratt Jr., Democrat of South Carolina] spoke with great knowledge and eloquence on the budget and aspects of the budget. $700 billion, what is the impact, what is the opportunity cost for our country of the investments that we would want to make?

O.K., now we have it in place where the taxpayer is going to be made whole and that was very important for us. But why on the drop of a hat can they ask us for $700 billion, and we couldn’t get any support from the administration on a stimulus package that would also help grow the economy?

People tell me all over the world that the biggest emerging market, economic market in the world, is rebuilding the infrastructure of America. Roads, bridges, waterways, water systems in addition to waterways. The grid, broadband, schools, housing, certain schools. We are trillions of dollars in deficit there.

We know what we need to do to do it in a fiscally sound way, in a fiscally sound way that creates good-paying jobs in America immediately. Brings money into the treasury by doing so, and again does all of this in an all-American way. Good-paying jobs here in America.

We can’t get the time of day for 25, $35 billion for that, which we know guarantees jobs, et cetera, but $700 billion. So make no mistake, when this Congress adjourns today to observe Rosh Hashanah and have members go home for a bit, we are doing so at the call of the chair. Because this subject is not over, this discussion about how we save our economy.

And we must insulate Main Street from Wall Street. And as Congresswoman Waters [Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California] said, Martin Luther King Drive, in my district Martin Luther King Drive, and Cedar Chavez Road and all of the manifestations of community and small businesses in our community. We must insulate them from that. And so we have difficult choices, and so many of the things that were said on both sides of this issue in terms of its criticisms of the bill we have and the bill that we had at first, and the very size of this, I share. You want to go home, so I’m not going to list all of my concerns that I have with it.

But it just comes down to one simple thing. They have described a precipice. We are on the brink of doing something that might pull us back from that precipice. I think we have a responsibility. We have worked in a bipartisan way. I want to acknowledge Mr. Blunt and Mr. Boehner, the work that we have done together, trying to find as much common ground as possible on this.

But we insisted the taxpayer be covered. We all insisted that we have a party-is-over message to Wall Street. And we insisted that, that taxpayers at risk must recover — that any risk must be recovered. I told you that already. So, my colleagues, let’s recognize that this Congressional — this legislation is not the end of the line.

Mr. Waxman [Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California] will be having vigorous oversight this week, hearings this week on regulatory reform and other aspects of it. I hope you will pursue fraud and mismanagement and the rest. Mr. Frank and his committee will continue to pursue other avenues that we can stabilize the markets and protect the taxpayer. For too long, this government, in eight years, has followed a right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation.

Again, all of us are believers in free markets, but we have to do it right. Now, let me again acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of Mr. Frank. He has been an exceptional leader in the Congress, but never has his knowledge and his experience and his judgment been more needed than now. And I thank you, Mr. Frank, for your exceptional leadership, Mr. Chairman.

I also — so many people worked on this, but I also want to acknowledge the distinguished chair of our caucus, Mr. Emanuel. His knowledge of the markets, the respect he commands on those subjects, and his boundless energy on the subjects served us well in these negotiations. But this, this is a bipartisan initiative that we are bringing to the floor. We have to have a bipartisan vote on this. That is the only message that will send a message of confidence to the markets.

So I hope that — I know that we will be able to live up to our side of the bargain. I hope the Republicans will, too.

But my colleagues, as you go home and see your families and observe the holiday and the rest, don’t get settled in too far, because as long as the American — this challenge is there for the American people, the threat of losing their jobs, the credit, their credit, their jobs, their savings, their retirement, the opportunity for them to send their children to college.

As long as in the households of America, this crisis is being felt very immediately and being addressed at a different level, we must come back, and we will come back as soon and as often as it is necessary to make the change that is necessary. And before long we will have a new Congress, a new president of the United States, and we will be able to take our country in a new direction.


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20080929 Pelosi Fl St on Bipartisan Fin Rescue Leg

20080929 Transcript of Speaker Pelosi’s Floor Statement on the partisan Financial Rescue Legislation moments before it was voted down