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Independence by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | July 4, 2010
July 4, 1776, Independence Day celebrates our fight to cast off colonial rule by a wealthy elite who were keeping the benefits of our labors for themselves. We fought this system and we won our independence. read more »The Lying Liars At Goldman Sachs by Zach Carter, OurFuture.org | July 1, 2010
Today, Goldman Sachs sent its second-highest-ranking officer to Washington, D.C. to tell the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that his company is staffed and managed by complete idiots. In an effort to evade investigation, Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer David Viniar claimed that his company really just doesn't know how to do basic book-keeping. read more »Why We Need to Pass the Wall Street Reform Bill by Chris Bowers , openleft.com | July 1, 2010
There are a lot of victories in this bill. We need to pass those victories into law. If the bill is defeated by pro-Wall Street forces over the next two weeks, the only parts which will be defeated are the victories, while all of its shortcomings will remain in place. If it is defeated, the 1999 financial deregulation package will remain the basic framework under which our financial system operates, and we all know how that worked out. If it is defeated, no one will ever really take on the banks again, as their victory even after a financial meltdown, even at the trough of their popularity, and even during wide Democratic control of Congress, would demonstrate their invincibility. read more »Lying And Spying, As Depression Fears Loom by Danny Schechter, | July 1, 2010
The FBI arrests 1,200 Americans for mortgage fraud in the largest crackdown of its kind in history. There is no media focus on the companies that securitized and insured their toxic loans. This white-collar crime sweep is, at best, a one-day story with most of the reports carried by local outlets. Clearly the FBI did not get the media punch it had hoped for. The issue of financial industry fraud did not even register on the media’s Richter scale. read more »Feingold v. Fernholz: Vote For Wall Street Reform by Zach Carter, OurFuture.org | July 1, 2010
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is defending his decision to vote against the Wall Street reform bill on the grounds that it is simply too weak to prevent future crises, and Tim Fernholz is crying foul. read more »Obama at Racine: Conservative Ideas Have Failed by Robert Borosage , ourfuture.org | July 1, 2010
Obama held a town meeting in Racine, WI. Full transcript here. He finally did contrast his record with conservative ideas that have failed. On economy, on jobs, on Wall Street, on energy. Gloves not off, but at least mixing it up. Striking, however, that he didn't use the riff to turn back to jobs and the need for action on jobs now. read more »Standing Up to the Unholy Alliance Between Washington and Wall Street by Sen. Russ Feingold, Huffington Post | July 1, 2010
Wall Street and its allies have been calling the shots in Congress for decades, so they must be glad to see how things are shaping up on financial regulatory reform. Congress is about to vote on a final bill that fails to fix the key flaws in the bills passed by both the House and Senate. At the start of this process I made clear that I had a simple test for financial reform -- will it stop another financial meltdown? This bill fails that test, and I won't support legislation that fails to protect the people of Wisconsin from the pain of another economic disaster. And I don't need to be lectured about this issue by people who supported the repeal of Glass-Steagall, which paved the way for this terrible recession. read more »The Fog of Reform: Dems Oversell While Tea Party Saves Billions For Hedge Funds by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | June 30, 2010
President Obama was right to call out John Boehner today for describing our economic catastrophe as an "ant" that didn't deserve a strong response. That "ant," as the President pointed out, "led to the loss of nearly eight million jobs" and "cost people their homes and their lives savings." But the President seriously oversold the Dodd-Frank bill in an otherwise stirring speech in Racine, WI when he said this: read more »John Boehner's too-honest preview of a Republican Congress by Alex Pareene, salon.com | June 30, 2010
House Minority Leader and would-be Speaker of the House John Boehner gave a wide-ranging interview to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It was, perhaps, a little too wide-ranging. Boehner shared with the paper an exciting preview of what Republicans have in store for us, should they retake Congress. Boehner on Rebellion, and the 1950s-'60s "They're snuffing out the America that I grew up in," Boehner said. "Right now, we've got more Americans engaged in their government than at any time in our history. There's a political rebellion brewing, and I don't think we've seen anything like it since 1776." read more »It's Time for Latino Congressional Reps to Fight for Immigration Reform Like They've Never Fought Before by Latina Lista, latinalista.net | June 29, 2010
It's only right to put pressure on the very people running opposition against addressing immigration reform in Congress since their inaction is only leading to the Latino community becoming more vilified in state legislatures, conservative talk shows and Main Street USA. read more »
The Latest
Democrats Court Republican Votes on Wall Street Reform, thehill.com | June 24, 2010
Democrats finalizing a 2,000-page bill that would overhaul Wall Street are moving to satisfy a handful of Republican senators whose votes may be necessary to pass the legislation.
The Democrats’ vote-counting strategy is strikingly different than on healthcare reform, which every congressional Republican opposed.
Final Derivatives Showdown Thursday: Read The House Offer , Huffington Post | June 24, 2010
The long-awaited showdown between banks and Sen. Blanche Lincoln over her derivatives reform section of the Wall Street bill begins Thursday morning. read more »
Blanche Lincoln Holds Ground as Democrats Seek Deal, Politico | June 24, 2010
Salazar Pledges New Order to Bolster Deepwater Drilling Ban, thehill.com | June 23, 2010
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday said he will soon issue a new order that freezes deepwater oil-and-gas drilling in response to a federal judge’s decision to block the existing ban.
A federal judge on Tuesday issued an injunction against the six-month deepwater drilling ban that Salazar imposed in late May in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Landrieu Urges White House to Reconsider Appeal, thehill.com | June 23, 2010
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) told The Hill that the White House should reconsider its plan to appeal a court decision that blocked a federal ban on deepwater offshore drilling.
A federal judge on Tuesday granted an injunction against the administration's six-month moratorium on deepwater wells, which the Interior Department imposed in the wake of the BP oil spill.
Lawmakers Agree to Broad Terms for Consumer Protection Agency, mcclatchydc.com | June 23, 2010
Oversight Exemption for Auto Dealers Gaining Traction, The Washington Post | June 23, 2010
Banking Lobbyists Make a Run at Reform Measures, The New York Times | June 21, 2010
Study: Speculation Tax Would Make Wall Street Pay, blog.aflcio.org | June 18, 2010
The AFL-CIO and the global union movement have been demanding that Wall Street pay for creating the global economic meltdown, in part through a financial speculation tax. read more »
Exclusive: House Ethics Office Asks Lobbyists for Info on Lawmakers , thehill.com | June 15, 2010
The House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) this month sent letters to officials on K Street requesting detailed information on the lawmakers, all of whom sit on the Financial Services Committee or the Ways and Means Committee. read more »
