Without the common courtesy of a reach-around

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

What – no AstroGlide?

At least when they wiretapped our phones, they had the courtesy to tell us it was for national security reasons.

At least when they funneled hundreds of billions of dollars straight from middle class Americans’ pockets direct into the coffers of their Very Good Friends, they had the courtesy to make up some cockamamie story about smoking guns and mushroom clouds. At least they had the courtesy to shrinkwrap the 363 tons of $100 bills so they wouldn’t fall off the pallets and spill all over the cargo areas of the CH-47s that were delivering them. At least they had the courtesy to make sure a few thousand people died, to make it look like it was Something That Needed To Be Done.

At least when they tried to open up millions of acres to drilling, they had the courtesy to say it was about helping Americans buy cheap gas, and improving our national security.

At least when they gutted the Department of Justice, they had the courtesy to remind us that it was within the president’s prerogative to place thoroughly unqualified partisan fanatic hacks into positions of huge responsibility.

At least in most of those instances, they had the courtesy to put up an appearance of operating within the bounds of the law – in fact, in some cases, they went out of their way to redefine the law just so they could operate within it, as twisted as their understanding of it might have been.

But this time it’s different. This time, when there’s nothin’ but money on the line, when they can’t explain away their criminal, mendacious, venal, corrupt, incompetent, callous, arrogant, stupid actions with some higher-sounding rationalization (because this time it’s only about the money, no matter how you slice it) – this time, courtesy has gone out the window.

Jesus, these guys are brazen. What Paulson has proposed is nothing more or less than a naked, raw power grab that is unconstitutional on its face.

Let me say that again:

What Treasury Secretary Paulson has proposed is unconstitutional on its face.

This is the language in Paulson’s proposal (Be advised – this might take your breath away):

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Holy crap – no court can review the actions taken under the provisions of the law? A law that is going to make hundreds of billions – perhaps trillions – of dollars available to big business from all over the world?

Sheesh – where do I sign up for that kind of bailout?

Only one little problem with that:

Article III

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court . . .

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority . . .

Now, if Secretary Paulson wants to seek a constitutional amendment to help him out in this matter, I’m fine with that.

Republicans have long relied on people being stupid and timid and scared. Fear is their greatest weapon.

BOO! Iraq has nukular weapons!! INVADE!!!

BOO! Terrists are using your telephone!! WIRETAP!!!

BOO! Moozlims are keeping you from driving your Hummer!! DRILL HERE! DRILL NOW!!!

And now –

BOO! The world as we know it is coming to an end!! GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR MONEY, RIGHT NOW!!!

Fear. Republicans always go to that. No wonder.

Well, I say f**k fear.

It’s time for cooler heads to prevail – not the heads that are so far up their asses that they couldn’t see this thing coming even two months ago.

There’s no way on earth we should trust the people who got us into this mess to get us out of this mess. No way they should be writing their own ticket. If Americans (and their Democratic representatives) have learned anything over the past eight years, it should be that whenever Big Business stands to benefit from a law being written, it will make sure that it has a big hand in writing it.

Iraq was just a warmup. This time it’s only about the money, with no veneer of patriotism. No “spreading democracy,” no “defending us from terrorists,” no “protecting America from foreign oil interests” – it’s as simple as, “Hand over a few hundred billion so I can keep doing what I’ve been doing.” This time it’s only about the money – they can’t hide it, and they know it.  So they want to try to make sure they can’t be prosecuted for it. Lobbyists for Big Money say, “No oversight, or no deal.”

Gimme a break. What are they gonna do – hold their breath until they turn bankrupt? By all means, please go ahead. After all those years of pushing for – and getting – removal of regulation, Big Money is finding that karma is a bitch.

And now you come to me with your filthy hand out?

Screw you. Go pray to Saint Ronnie, you hypocritical POS.

Oh, what’s that you say? Saint Ronnie is inoperative?

That’s right, I forgot:

News flash to Americans Who Haven’t Been Paying Attention:

Reagan is dead

– of course, even when he was alive, he was dead – or at least, the sanitized, mythologized version of Reagan that Republicans wanted (and still desperately want) you to believe in was dead: Reagan oversaw the then-biggest increase in government spending and debt in world history.

Only George W. Bush, the Useful-Idiot-in-Chief, could make Reagan look like a fiscal conservative by comparison. By the time Gee Dubya sneaks out of the Oval Office, the national debt will have nearly doubled on his watch.

Doubled.

Meaning – U.S. taxpayers will owe twice as much as they did the day George Bush took office.

And where has that money gone? You and I both know.

Has it gone to improve healthcare for children? Umm, no. To improvements in our educational system? Umm, no. To improvements in mine safety? Umm, no. To improvements in energy efficiency? Umm, no. To advances in stem-cell research? Umm, no. To improvements in veterans’ benefits? Umm, no. To increase environmental protection? Umm, no. To improve disaster response? Umm, no.

To stronger oversight over the financial system in this country?

Yeah, right.

No, the bulk of the $5 trillion increase in our national debt since George Bush took office has gone to Big Business – the very same Big Business that has fought so long and so hard for NO REGULATION.

Free market! Free market! they shouted.

And now they have their invisible hand out, grubbing for more money from U.S. taxpayers. And there is nothing – NOTHING – in Paulson’s proposal that mandates any benefits for American citizens. The proposal only provides for benefits for corporations – domestic and foreign – but nothing for American citizens.

It’s a straight-up, out-and-out grab of my money – more of it at one time than ever in human history.

And we’re supposed to just bend over and take it. If that’s gonna happen, I have just one request:

Hey, Congress – before you do what you’re about to do, could you at least have some consideration and show all of us taxpayers the common courtesy of a reach-around?

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