Sarah Palin: Dangerous Religious Fanatic

Fresh reason today to despise Sarah Palin and to say a prayer to God, today, right now, that He will see it in His will and best interest to eradicate this person from any position of power in the whole wide world.

As it turns out, Ms. Palin isn’t just your run-of-the-mill “whack job,” as the Republican handlers have leaked in recent days. She is a PRODUCT of an actual movement by some FRIGHTENING whack jobs that are also very well-organized.

I have recently been disgusted to find out that almost every major church in this country and even some of the less-recognized ones, all operate EXACTLY like large corporations. They have administrative arms, financial arms, employment arms, and whatever other kinds of departments you might find at any major corporation. They have their own retirement funds and other financial instruments. If you ever wondered what the deal is with this “prosperity gospel” that many churches are preaching now, well, it is REAL. It’s not wishing for prosperity, it is actually INVESTING in church businesses and financial instruments and getting rich. It may seem counter-intuitive or counter to Jesus’ teachings, but they are all organized beyond imagining and do not see any conflict-of-interest in getting rich off of Jesus.

Though this is enough in itself to turn anyone away from organized religion, there are also legal arms. Many of the evangelical churches have united together toward a common goal of taking over the country and forcing their teachings on us all. This movement is called “Dominionism.” They would like to rewrite the Constitution to conform to what they believe are “God’s Laws.” And they are EXTREMELY well-organized. And they have multiple legal organizations backing them up. It is chilling.

And this is where Ms. Palin comes in. Because, as it turns out, she belongs to a Dominionist church and has been counseled by some of the Dominionist legal organizations. Check out these websites to learn more:

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/about/Purpose/Default.aspx

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/sep/02/palin-no-stranger-focus-family/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/newsandviews/2008/09
/the_tax_man_cometh_to_church.html

Wikipedia defines Dominionism this way:

Dominionism describes, in several distinct ways, a tendency among some conservative politically-active Christians, especially in the United States of America, to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action — aiming either at a nation governed by Christians, or a nation governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism

In the same entry, Dominion Theology is defined this way:

Dominion Theology is a grouping of theological systems with the common belief that society should be governed exclusively by the law of God as codified in the Bible, to the exclusion of secular law, a view also known as theonomy. The most prominent modern formulation of Dominion Theology is Christian Reconstructionism, founded by R. J. Rushdoony in the 1970s. Reconstructionists themselves use the word dominionism to refer to their belief that civil government should be controlled by Christians alone and conducted according to Biblical law. Social scientists have used the word "dominionism" to refer to adherence to Dominion Theology as well as to the influence in the broader Christian Right of ideas inspired by Dominion Theology. Although such influence (particularly of Reconstructionism) has been described by many authors, full adherents to Reconstructionism are few and marginalized among conservative Christians.
According to Diamond, the defining concept of dominionism is "that Christians alone are Biblically mandated to occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns". In 1989, Diamond declared that this concept "has become the central unifying ideology for the Christian Right" (p.138, emphasis in original). In 1995, she called it "prevalent on the Christian Right." Journalist Chip Berlet added in 1998 that, although they represent different theological and political ideas, dominionists assert a Christian duty to take "control of a sinful secular society."
In 2005, Clarkson enumerated the following characteristics shared by all forms of dominionism:
1. Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe that the United States once was, and should once again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy.
2. Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity.
3. Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, insofar as they believe that the Ten Commandments, or "biblical law," should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles.

A website in Canada had this to say about Dominionism:

Its most common form, Dominionism, represents one of the most extreme forms of Fundamentalist Christianity thought. Its followers, called Dominionists, are attempting to peacefully convert the laws of United States so that they match those of the Hebrew Scriptures. They intend to achieve this by using the freedom of religion in the US to train a generation of children in private Christian religious schools. Later, their graduates will be charged with the responsibility of creating a new Bible-based political, religious and social order. One of the first tasks of this order will be to eliminate religious choice and freedom. Their eventual goal is to achieve the "Kingdom of God" in which much of the world is converted to Christianity. They feel that the power of God's word will bring about this conversion. No armed force or insurrection will be needed; in fact, they believe that there will be little opposition to their plan. People will willingly accept it. All that needs to be done is to properly explain it to them.
All religious organizations, congregations etc. other than strictly Fundamentalist Christianity would be suppressed. Nonconforming Evangelical, main line and liberal Christian religious institutions would no longer be allowed to hold services, organize, proselytize, etc. Society would revert to the laws and punishments of the Hebrew Scriptures. Any person who advocated or practiced other religious beliefs outside of their home would be tried for idolatry and executed. Blasphemy, adultery and homosexual behavior would be criminalized; those found guilty would also be executed. At that time that this essay was originally written, this was the only religious movement in North America of which we were aware which advocates genocide for followers of minority religions and non-conforming members of their own religion. Since then, we have learned of two conservative Christian pastors in Texas who have advocated the execution of all Wiccans. Ralph Reed, the executive director of the conservative public policy group the Christian Coalition has criticized Reconstructionism as "an authoritarian ideology that threatens the most basic civil liberties of a free and democratic society."

http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm

For more frightening reading, please check out these two articles which are both well-cited (with links):

http://dogemperor.newsvine.com/_news/2008/08/29/1803647-sarah-palin-dominionist-stalking-horse

http://correntewire.com/palin_dominionist_intimidation_and_actual_witch_hunters

And, for some truly worrisome reading, here is what they are using to brainwash their kids:

http://community.livejournal.com/dark_christian/209138.html

WOW! No wonder Palin draws such nutty crowds and no wonder they adore her with such an unthinking passion. They most likely believe, as they did of Bush, that she is ordained by God. I wish that by losing this election, it would cause some of these folks to question their beliefs. But, these are true fanatics.

We have SO much to worry about for a long time to come in this Country.

May God Bless America (by saving us from these nuts).

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More Evidence of the Fascist Wing of the Republican Party

The Republicans who have stayed in that party are comfortable with all manner of abuse of power, thuggery, justification and excuse-making. Real Republicans should be disgusted enough to take their party back. If they can't wrest control from these neo-fascist bullies, they should start a new party.

Check out the video below.

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McCAIN POISON EMAIL

Okay, I have received a new piece of Obama hate mail today that has not been debunked by snopes.com. It really irritates me that there are still people out there that will believe everything they read in an email. Especially because most of them do not have progressive friends that they can rely on to effectively debunk the lies contained therein. Below is the text of the latest smear campaign. I just wish I knew how to submit this to snopes so that it could receive the thorough debunking needed.

Obama Directly Tied to Voting Fraud Group
By Sher Zieve


In case you — like most of us — have difficulty keeping up with Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama's ties to corrupt, terrorist and anti-American groups and individuals a new one has emerged.

The mainstream press — as with Obama's other associations — is working overtime to cover this latest one up. Obama is directly tied to a group that has been both accused of and its members convicted of National Voter Fraud, embezzlement and misuse of tax payer funds — ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).

What are Obama's direct ties to the voter-fraud group? Let's take a look. Obama was not only ACORN's attorney but, actually trained the group in "community activism!" And, while Obama was Chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, he arranged funding for the voter-fraud group through the CAC. McCauley's Wor ld reports: "In Philadelphia alone ACORN has raised over $800,000 Dollars for Barack Obama's Campaign." In politics, scratching each other's back is always the order of the day.
The voter-fraud group is working almost non-stop — except when its members are arrested and taken into custody — to get Obama elected POTUS.

If Obama is elected, we could actually have the least experienced, most corrupt and first Socialist/Communist POTUS in world history. And the other Obama direct ties to corruption and anti-Americanism? Let's take another look — shall we?.

William Ayers-former head of terrorist group the Weather Underground — was Obama's colleague at the Woods Fund of Chicago and Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Note: Ayers lobbied to have Obama named Chairman of the CAC. Ayers is also a major fundraiser for Obama.

Obama's acknowledged over 20 year minister and mentor, Jeremiah Wright, has made and continues to make anti-American, anti-white and anti-Semitic "sermons".
Obama has direct ties to Saudi Arabian funders and the Black Panthers.
Depending on one's sources, Obama was either the #2 or #3 Fannie Mae (Democrats' personal slush fund) funded politician.

Obama is directly ties to now-convicted felon Antoin Rezko.
Obama wants to work with the very leaders of countries who want to destroy us.
The evidence against this man Continues to mount. But, still Democrats and the Democrats' media want him as POTUS.

Corruption, Recognizes and Supports it's Own, folks.

This could Never Happen in a Sane World.

If you have time to waste, google Sher Zieve; you might get a big kick out of the stuff you find. Or you might be repulsed by it. But how many gullible people out there just forwarded this garbage on without checking into the source of the trash?

Herein lies the difference between the Obama hate mail that you will sometimes receive from well-meaning, uninformed friends and the type of emails that are sent between progressives about McCain. Most of what I receive about McCain is regarding POLICY. Occasionally I will receive an email with an unflattering picture or an unsubstantiated rumor about McCain calling his wife the "c" word. (I know it was in a book, but it is not independently confirmed)




I have never received a negative email from anyone I know full of lies about McCain or Palin. Apparently, Democrats and progressives (and your good old-fashioned liberals) don’t usually just believe everything they read in an email. They don’t send these things out to their friends without investigation. They and their friends tend to go to the source to get their information and don’t rely on emails from friends, Bill O’Reilly (or other FOX talking heads-not journalists), or the “entertainers” on talk radio to get their news.

Secondly, if you had the time, I truly suspect that you could trace some of this stuff all the way back to the Republican Party. I know that the Democrats are imperfect, capable of arrogance and stupidity and prone to excesses of their own. But we all know that it is the Republican Party that has embraced the notion of the ends justifying the means as a political and moral imperative. For me, this became apparent back in the Reagan administration and has been evident in every successive Republican campaign and/or administration.

Lastly, you don’t have to be creative to send a scathing email full of John McCain’s faults, character failings, ties to scandal and corruption or unsuitability to lead. There are plenty of facts and documentable examples of this in existence. All you have to do is READ, copy and paste. Progressives don’t need to send these sort of emails because they are INFORMED already, but maybe we should start sending them back to the people that send us the Obama hatemail. Perhaps it will make them think?

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Will Our Votes Be Counted?

A Primer On How The Republican Party is Fixing Elections:



Part II:



What You Can Do Now:
Go to www.wakeupandsaveyourcountry.com (Click on the title of this blog)
Go to www.stealbackyourvote.org/

ACT.

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. -Albert Einstein

You must do the things you think you cannot do. -Eleanor Roosevelt

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will. -Frederick Douglass

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A Rabbit Story

"And it has big, sharp teeth...look at the bones, man!"

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Does McCain Have Control of his own Campaign?

The oft-asked question, answered daily, as McCain goes lower and lower: How low will he go? What would John McCain not do to achieve his goal of the Presidency?



Though he has pointed out Obama’s ambitions to become President, he ignores his own obvious ambitions and ignores the lengths that he has gone to in order to achieve those ambitions. His campaign has sunk SO low recently that even Republicans are complaining about the tactics he is using and the hate speech that the campaign is inspiring.

Check out this statement from an article on Yahoo News on Friday, Oct 10:

The raw emotions worry some in the party who believe the broader swath of swing voters are far more focused on their dwindling retirement accounts than on Obama’s background and associations and will be turned off by footage of the McCain events.
John Weaver, McCain’s former top strategist, said top Republicans have a responsibility to temper this behavior.
“People need to understand, for moral reasons and the protection of our civil society, the differences with Sen. Obama are ideological, based on clear differences on policy and a lack of experience compared to Sen. McCain,” Weaver said. “And from a purely practical political vantage point, please find me a swing voter, an undecided independent, or a torn female voter that finds an angry mob mentality attractive.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081010/pl_politico/14445;_ylt=Agc6EwS_vqq.dZJuGSW7yhJWr7sF

After three weeks of ever-heightening accusations, smears and outright lies about Barack Obama made by the campaign during these rallies and “town halls,” even other Republicans were disgusted by the tone and tenor of the statements and the visceral reactions that were occurring daily on the campaign trail. So much so that McCain was finally forced to say something himself to ratchet down the vitriol.

And I assume that we are supposed to be impressed by the fact that he was willing to finally stand up and be decent. But, of course, that ignores the fact that he is the one whose campaign started down this ugly path to begin with. And he only partially ratcheted down the innuendo and continues to lie about Obama. Also, I have yet to see any evidence that Palin is going to do the same. I guess we’ll wait and see whatever it is she has to say at whatever campaign stop she is making today.



Though they are trying to distance themselves now, they are doing so half-heartedly and are not being let off the hook so easily. This from cbsnews.com:

Palin, at a fundraiser in Ohio on Friday, told supporters "it's not negative and it's not mean-spirited" to scrutinize Obama's iffy associations.
But Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania an author of 15 books on politics, says the vitriol has been encouraged by inflammatory words from the stage.
"Red-meat rhetoric elicits emotional responses in those already disposed by ads using words such as 'dangerous' 'dishonorable' and 'risky' to believe that the country would be endangered by election of the opposing candidate," she said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/10/politics/main4514574.shtml


Having lead his followers down this road, how difficult will it be to turn them around? After all, they booed him when he corrected the folks at the Town Hall that were inferring that Obama was dangerous and an Arab. That is something that he might have considered before this whole mess began. (And perhaps, if any violence does ensue, his campaign and propagandists like Rush Limpballs should be charged with inciting a hate crime.)

Meanwhile, McCain is attempting to distance himself from this whole sordid affair. Déjà vu anyone-- McCain distancing himself?

And today we have a new smear, this time from the head of the republican party in Virginia. Check it out:

The chairman of the Virginia Republican Party has compared Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden because of the Illinois senator's past association with Bill Ayers, who has confessed to domestic bombings as a member of the Vietnam War-era Weather Underground…
According to a report in this week's Time magazine, the Virginia party chairman, Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William), told Virginia volunteers working for GOP nominee John McCain that Obama and bin Laden "both have friends that bombed the Pentagon."
That is scary," Frederick said while providing talking points to GOP volunteers in western Prince William County as they prepared for a door-to-door canvass.
Yesterday, Frederick said he stood by the comparison, even though bin Laden planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon that killed 184 people and Obama was a child and hadn't met Ayers when the Weather Underground planted a bomb at the Pentagon in 1972. No one was hurt in that blast, in which a bomb exploded in a restroom and caused flooding and damage to computer tapes containing classified information.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101201956.html

Further along in the same article, we see the pattern that has been established by the campaign; people close to the campaign or members of the Republican party say something nasty, then the campaign “distances” itself from the comment.

Gail Gitcho, a McCain spokeswoman, also denounced Frederick's remarks, calling them "not appropriate."
"While Barack Obama is associated with domestic terrorist William Ayers, the McCain campaign disagrees with the comparison that Jeff Frederick made," Gitcho said.
It was the third time in a little more than a week that Gitcho repudiated something said or written by someone affiliated with McCain's Virginia leadership team. Last week, the head of the McCain campaign in Buchanan County in southwest Virginia was forced to resign after a column surfaced in which he made disparaging remarks about Obama, African Americans and gay people. Last weekend, the McCain campaign distanced itself from McCain's brother, Joe McCain, after he referred to Alexandria and Arlington County as "communist country."

How do you “distance yourself” from your own brother? And am I the only one that noticed the back-handed way that this Gitmo person (Gitcho, whatever) attempted to distance McCain from the Frederick comment? She managed to link Obama with terrorists while denouncing Frederick's linkage of Obama to...terrorists.

Here is the pattern: somebody associated with the campaign says something outrageous that McCain does not have the balls to say himself, but that will appeal to the blood-sucking, salivating mob of ultra-conservative dittoheads. Then the campaign comes out with a message that McCain does not agree with the statement. Then, the next day, or sometimes the same day, somebody else comes out and makes a new outrageous statement.

Is this McCain’s way of having his cake and eating it too? His campaign appeals to the base and he stays above the fray by supposedly repudiating the appeal (obviously with a wink and a nod)?

Or is this evidence that McCain has no control over his campaign?



Either way, it does not instill confidence in his ability to lead a nation.

Please click on the title of this blog to read a beautifully written essay on what the McCain campaign's hate speech has wrought.

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Dangerous Times

The citizens of this democracy have become complacent and taken their democracy for granted. The natural course of things is degrading what was once the beacon of hope for all the world. This nation now more resembles the closed society of Communist USSR that we were taught to fear as children than it does the free and open society of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. BUT CHANGE IS COMING.

There is an excellent article on OpEdNews that clearly outlines the encroaching danger of the loss of civil liberties in this country. It is a must-read for anyone that questions how bad things have actually become. It may be depressing news, but there is a silver lining.

Change can happen in a good way, if everyone stands together. These are dangerous times, but in dangerous times it is our duty to stand up to tyranny. We can do this; our forefathers risked no more or less than we will and we stand to gain back all that they won. And we owe it to future generations to pass on what was gained so many years ago. If we have allowed it to slip away, it is our responsibility to regain it.

Don't believe that this election will fix anything without the vigilance, sheer force of will and determination by the people to win back all that has been lost. It is OUR government and we have to fight for it. But WE CAN DO IT. And NOW IS THE TIME.

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And So It Begins…

Make sure you are registered to vote. Check out this article from Yahoo News:

Tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in at least six swing states, and the voters' exclusion appears to violate federal law, according to a published report…The newspaper said it identified apparent problems in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina. It says some states are improperly using Social Security data to verify new voters' registration applications, and others may have broken rules that govern removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election…Democrats have been more aggressive at registering new voters this year, according to state election officials, so any closer screening of new applications may affect their party's supporters disproportionately, the Times said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_el_ge/voter_purges

But don't dispair! Bobby Kennedy and Greg Palast can help us all to make sure that our votes are counted this November. Find out how by clicking the title of this blog.

Vote early. Refuse a provisional ballot-know your rights and insist on them!

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Understanding the Economic Problem

Below is the introduction to a WONDERFUL blog that describes the basis of our economic crisis in a way that almost ANYONE can understand. It is important for all of us to be informed, so I hope that anyone who trips on to my blog will click on the title above and read the whole thing.


Something extraordinary is going on with these government bailouts. In March 2008, the Federal Reserve extended a $55 billion loan to JPMorgan to “rescue” investment bank Bear Stearns from bankruptcy, a highly controversial move that tested the limits of the Federal Reserve Act. On September 7, 2008, the U.S. government seized private mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and imposed a conservatorship, a form of bankruptcy; but rather than let the bankruptcy court sort out the assets among the claimants, the Treasury extended an unlimited credit line to the insolvent corporations and said it would exercise its authority to buy their stock, effectively nationalizing them. Now the Federal Reserve has announced that it is giving an $85 billion loan to American International Group (AIG), the world’s largest insurance company, in exchange for a nearly 80% stake in the insurer . . . .

The Fed is buying an insurance company? Where exactly is that covered in the Federal Reserve Act? The Associated Press calls it a “government takeover,” but this is not your ordinary “nationalization” like the purchase of Fannie/Freddie stock by the U.S. Treasury. The Federal Reserve has the power to print the national money supply, but it is not actually a part of the U.S. government. It is a private banking corporation owned by a consortium of private banks. The banking industry just bought the world’s largest insurance company, and they used federal money to do it. Yahoo Finance reported on September 17:

“The Treasury is setting up a temporary financing program at the Fed’s request. The program will auction Treasury bills to raise cash for the Fed’s use. The initiative aims to help the Fed manage its balance sheet following its efforts to enhance its liquidity facilities over the previous few quarters.”

Treasury bills are the I.O.U.s of the federal government. We the taxpayers are on the hook for the Fed’s “enhanced liquidity facilities,” meaning the loans it has been making to everyone in sight, bank or non-bank, exercising obscure provisions in the Federal Reserve Act that may or may not say they can do it. What’s going on here? Why not let the free market work? Bankruptcy courts know how to sort out assets and reorganize companies so they can operate again. Why the extraordinary measures for Fannie, Freddie and AIG?

The answer may have less to do with saving the insurance business, the housing market, or the Chinese investors clamoring for a bailout than with the greatest Ponzi scheme in history, one that is holding up the entire private global banking system. What had to be saved at all costs was not housing or the dollar but the financial derivatives industry; and the precipice from which it had to be saved was an “event of default” that could have collapsed a quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble, a collapse that could take the entire global banking system down with it.

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All That Needs to Be Said

Thanks to Joe Biden, who is intelligent, knowledgable, quick on his feet, down-to-earth, plain-spoken and, yes, even DISCIPLINED. Sir, your passion is not a character flaw, it's a welcome, needed asset, especially in these times.

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No BAILOUTS Act

We have all heard about this Wall Street bailout and NO POLITICIAN in this country today will go on record as a big supporter of it. Nobody likes this bill. They didn't like the initial plan proposed by Hank Paulsen, they did not like the first or second versions of this bill and they don't like the current version, either.

Personally, I believe that the most current version of the bill is the WORST and I hope Congress will fail to pass it AGAIN.

The reason that I say that is because we keep hearing this false choice that we either hold our noses and pass this one or do nothing. But those are not the only two choices that we have. There are other proposals out there, but you are not hearing about them. Now you are.

Below, I am posting a bill in the works from Pete DeFazio and several others are co-sponsoring. It is not a bailout, but it provides for the liquidity that the market is saying they currently lack.

The most immediate crisis that this economy faces is the lack of liquidity in lending. Banks are not lending money to other banks and businesses are facing the possiblity of not being able to get capital loans to make payroll and pay their vendors. This is what could break our whole economy. The answer is not to pay Wall Street but to ensure that banks will regain their ability to continue the inter-bank loans that enable businesses to run. DeFazio's bill addresses this need and some other important issues, without handing Wall Street a blank check.

I ask you to read this proposal and click on the title of this blog to read an article about this bill. Then please pass this on to your friends. We all need to get behind this sort of RESPONSIBLE legislation and make sure Congress does the right thing to fix the problem. Call your Congressperson and him/her to support a Responsible Solution to the current crisis.

Bringing Accounting, Increased Liquidity, Oversight and Upholding Taxpayer Security

1) Require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require an economic value standard to measure the capital of financial institutions.

This bill will require SEC to implement a rule to suspend the application of fair value accounting standards to financial institutions, which marks assets to the market value, no matter the conditions of the market. When no meaningful market exists, as is the current market for mortgage backed securities, this standard requires institutions to value assets at fire-sale prices. This creates a capital shortfall on paper. Using the economic value standard as bank examines have traditionally done will immediately correct the capital shortfalls experienced by many institutions.

2) Require the Securities and Exchange Commission to restricting naked short sells permanently.

This bill will require SEC to implement a rule that blocks naked selling, selling a stock short without first borrowing the shares or ensuring the shares can be borrowed. Such practices many times harm the companies represented in the sales and hurt their efforts to raise capital. There is no economic value produced by naked short sales, but significant negative effects.

3) Require the Securities and Exchange Commission to restore the up-tick rule permanently.

This bill will require SEC to implement a rule that blocks short sales without an up-tick in the market. On September 19, 2008, the SEC approved a temporary pause of short selling in financial companies “to protect the integrity and quality of the securities market and strengthen investor confidence.” This rule prevents market crashes brought on by irrational short term market behavior.

4) “Net Worth Certificate Program”

This bill will require FDIC to implement a net worth certificate program. The FDIC would determine banks with short-term capital needs and the ability to financially recover in the foreseeable future. For those entities that qualify, the FDIC should purchase net worth certificates in these institutions. In exchange, these institutions issue promissory notes to repay the FDIC, counting the amount “borrowed” as capital on their balance sheets. This exchange provides short term capital, with not cash outlay. Interest rates on the certificates and the FDIC notes should be identical so no subsidy is necessary.

Participating banks must be subject to strict oversight by the FDIC including oversight of top executive compensation and if necessary the removal of poor management. Financial records and business plans should be subject to scrutiny while participating in the program.

In 1982, Congress approved a program, known as the Net Worth Certificate Program, that allowed banks and thrifts to apply for immediate capital assistance. From 1982 to 1993, banks with total assets of $40 billion participated in the program. The majority of these banks, 75%, required no further assistance beyond the certificate program.

5) Increase the FDIC Insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000.

The bill will require the FDIC raise its limit to provide depositors confidence that their money is safe and help eliminate runs on banks which are destabilizing to the industry.

Peter DeFazio - Member of Congress

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