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AccountabilitySome relationships are not the same.....
During the nineteen eighties, at the height of urban redevelopment (at least in the South--the North had it's boom earlier), I eventually got clued into the fact that the enthusiasm for cost/benefit analysis, which was supposed to make it possible to separate "good" projects from "losers" ahead of time, was not as objectively motivated as it seemed. Because, while one might assume from the pairing, which had been transitioned from traditonal business accounting practices and was part of the program to "make government more like a business," that the entity bearing the costs and enjoying the benefits would be the same, closer analysis of the projections revealed that was not the case. Urban redevelopment routinely relied on long-time residents and owners of marginal property bearing the cost (in time, energy and disruption) of relocating so the development community could enjoy the benefit of acquiring real estate on the cheap and, if they were really lucky, pocket a subsidy to boot.
By monica smith at 07/02/2009 - 10:09 | Accountability | monica smith's blog | login or register to post comments | read more
John Perkins: Transforming Turmoil into a New EconomySun, 08/02/2009 - 11:00am Monadnock Summer Lyceum 25 Main Street Peterborough, NH 03458 August 2 2009 at 11:00 Transforming Turmoil into a New Economy John Perkins For the first time in human history every human being faces the same crisis, including climate change, diminishing resources, and economic turmoil. Because of the internet and cell phones, we all know that the old approaches have failed. It is time, Perkins says, to develop a model that takes us out of war-based, exploitative economies into ones committed to creating a world that future generations will want to inherit. Every major crisis can be traced to corporate goals of maximizing profits regardless of the social and environmental costs. By recognizing that the market place is a democratic voting booth, we, the people, have the power to demand new goals, ones focused on generating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world. Economist and New York Times Bestselling Author As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm, John Perkins advised the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. He worked directly with heads of state and CEOs of major companies. By admin at 06/30/2009 - 12:28 | Accountability | Civil rights | Corporations | Economy | login or register to post comments | calendar
Shine a little light on it: open government and accountabilitySOURCE: sunlightfoundation.com Times like these are too important for us not to hold government to the highest possible standards. The House of Representatives is poised to take up debate on a health care bill in the coming weeks that will have a huge impact on each of our lives and our economy. The bad news is that if the last week is any example, it's not clear that we will even know what's in that bill. Indeed, it's not clear if even our representatives will have a chance to read the bill before they vote.Whatever you think about the "Cap and Trade" bill that was passed by the House last week, or however you feel about health care reform, the process for considering legislation is not as transparent as we need it to be. I'd bet you'd agree with us: Congress MUST read the bill and ensure that we, the public, have at least 72 hours to do the same. By admin at 06/29/2009 - 11:42 | Accountability | Action alerts | login or register to post comments | read more
The seven deadly signing statementsThe Emperor's Seven Signing Statements By David Swanson SOURCE: http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/43996 Lawless detention is the least of it. State secrets and warrantless spying scrape the surface. Drone attacks and ongoing torture begin to touch it. But central to the power of an emperor, and the catastrophes that come from the existence of an emperor, is the elimination of any other force within the government. Signing statements eliminate congress. Not that congress objects. Asking congress to reclaim its power produces nervous giggles. Look at how the latest war supplemental funding bill was passed. The Emperor's people wrote most of the bill. The Emperor combined it with the IMF banker bailout. The Emperor threatened and bribed his way to deals with enough congress members to pass it. The Emperor preemptively told other nations the bill would pass and then badgered congress with the claim that this nation (He, the nation) would be damaged if he turned out to have lied. The Emperor lied to congress members and the public that this would be the last war supplemental bill. Congress members claimed to back it because it was the last one (not that this made the slightest sense), and others openly, proudly, and obliviously declared that they were switching their votes to yes in order to please the Emperor. When the bill came to Emperor Barack he signed it and released his sixth and only legal signing statement announcing that he'd signed it. Two days later (Fridays being the favored day for signing statements) Obama released his seventh signing statement, claiming to have signed the same bill on that day as well, but perhaps beginning to establish the precedent that "signing statements," like "executive orders," can be issued at any time. The seventh signing statement did what the first five had done: it illegally and unconstitutionally altered the law in favor of bestowing illegal powers on the Emperor. The seven statements are posted here. Here's the heart of the seventh statement:
"Provisions of this bill within sections 1110 to 1112 of title XI, and sections 1403 and 1404 of title XIV, would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by directing the Executive to take certain positions in negotiations or discussions with international organizations and foreign governments, or by requiring consultation with the congress prior to such negotiations or discussions. I will not treat these provisions as limiting my ability to engage in foreign diplomacy or negotiations." By admin at 06/28/2009 - 07:30 | Accountability | Civil rights | login or register to post comments | read more
The binary fallacy and the end of both partiesDemocratic loyalists are acting as though the Republican demise is an accomplishment on their part. It is as though their understated -- but very complicit -- support of the Republican policies of empire and wealth transfer to the ultra wealthy will go unnoticed. The Binary Fallacy and The End of Both Parties 06/06/09 SOURCE: The People's Voice, BY: Michael Collins (Wash., DC) The results of eight years of Bush-Cheney at the helm make the demise of the Republican Party an easy call. Our financial system is on life support. The major banks are insolvent, according to banking and legal authority William K. Black. If they're not, they're in intensive care. No matter how many trillions of dollars worth of infusions they receive, they're not making loans. The economy is in a free fall with growth down 6% a quarter and job losses running at nearly 600,000 a month. We're stuck in two catastrophic wars. Despite President Obama's election, we're viewed with suspicion and disregard throughout the world. By admin at 06/21/2009 - 07:20 | Accountability | Democrats | Features | Republicans | login or register to post comments | read more
Grand Theft Auto: How Stevie the Rat bankrupted GMSOURCE: - Greg Palast - http://www.gregpalast.com - Grand Theft Auto: How Stevie the Rat bankrupted GM, Posted By Greg Palast On June 4, 2009 @ 2:34 am
Dimon is the CEO of JP Morgan Chase bank. While GM workers are losing their retirement health benefits, their jobs, their life savings; while shareholders are getting zilch and many creditors getting hosed, a few privileged GM lenders – led by Morgan and Citibank – expect to get back 100% of their loans to GM, a stunning $6 billion. By admin at 06/21/2009 - 07:10 | Accountability | Civil rights | Corporations | Crime | 1 comment | read more
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics sues Obama administration for open records
SOURCE: Yahoo.com
Lawsuit: White House won't release visitor records By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer Pete Yost, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jun 16, 2:44 pm ET WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is declining to release documents that would identify visitors to the White House, embracing a legal position taken by the Bush administration, according to a watchdog group that filed a federal lawsuit over access to the records. The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed its lawsuit after being denied access to Secret Service records, including White House entry and exit logs, that would identify coal and energy industry visitors. The government's refusal to release the records contrasts with President Barack Obama's pledge of transparency. The Secret Service also turned aside a request by msnbc.com for the names of all White House visitors since Jan. 20. By admin at 06/21/2009 - 06:51 | Accountability | Civil rights | login or register to post comments | read more
Senators held stock in bailed-out banksSOURCE: Truthout.org Senators Held Stock in Bailed-Out Banks Friday 12 June 2009 by: Reid Wilson and Kevin Bogardus | Visit article original @ The Hill
Senators who oversee the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package held stocks in many of the banks bailed out towards the end of last year, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday. According to the reports detailing senators' finances in 2008, nearly half of the members of the Senate Banking Committee had holdings in financial institutions that have taken funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The panel has jurisdiction over the bailout fund and other relief efforts directed by federal regulators to save the nation's financial system. Bailout bank execs get payoutsSOURCE: ProPublica.org
Yesterday, the Treasury Department released new rules on how much banks that received TARP money can pay their executives. Among the rules is one that prohibits golden parachutes – defined as any payment to a departing exec simply because the exec is leaving. But an examination of public filings shows that a number of executives at banks that received TARP funds have received large payments just for resigning. It’s unclear if the new rules will apply retroactively. CLICK FOR PROPUBLICA'S FULL LISTING OF EACH HIGH ROLLER THEFT FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE As if it wasn't bad enough, the torture story gets worseBy admin at 06/11/2009 - 16:14 | Accountability | Civil rights | Crime | Video | login or register to post comments
SCOTUS rules against bought and paid for judges, but what about bought and paid for Congress?
SOURCE: Washington Post
Court Ties Campaign Largess to Judicial Bias By Robert Barnes Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 9, 2009 The Supreme Court yesterday ruled for the first time that excessive campaign contributions to a judge create an unconstitutional threat to a fair trial, a decision that could have a nationwide impact on whether judges must recuse themselves in cases involving their political benefactors. In a case that crystallized a growing national debate over how multimillion-dollar judicial campaigns are affecting the public's view of impartial justice, the court decided that in some "extreme" cases, the risk of bias violates the constitutional guarantee of due process. A five-member majority of the court decided that West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin erred in participating in a case overturning a $50 million verdict against a company headed by a man who spent $3 million on the justice's election. By admin at 06/10/2009 - 12:48 | Accountability | Civil rights | Corporations | Crime | login or register to post comments | read more
Sotomayor's record on election law
SOURCE: ballotaccessblog.org
Sotomayor Has Very Good Record in Election Law May 26th, 2009 On May 26, news reports revealed that President Barack Obama will choose Sonia Sotomayor for the David Souter seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Sotomayor was the first federal judge to rule favorably in a constitutional case involving write-in voting, after the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled against write-ins. Irving Gelb, a candidate for Bronx Borough President in 1995, was removed from the Democratic primary ballot, and thus became a write-in candidate. However, he discovered that New York city was not printing write-in space on absentee ballots, nor on sample ballots, nor was it obeying a state law that required pencils to be in the voting booth. He was a taxi driver, not an attorney, but he filed a pro se lawsuit in U.S. District Court, and drew Sotomayor. By admin at 05/27/2009 - 08:48 | Accountability | Civil rights | Fair elections | login or register to post comments | read more
Analysis of SCOTUS nomination of Sonia Sotomayor
SOURCE: SCOTUS BLOG
The Dynamic of the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 7:34 am | Tom Goldstein | The White House will announce a Supreme Court nominee at 10 a.m. The Senate Judiciary Committee will likely hold hearings in the third week of July, permitting written committee questions the following week and a floor vote before Congress leaves for its summer recess on the weekend of August 8. Absent the discovery of an ethical transgression, the Democratic majority on the Senate guarantees confirmation, so the new Justice will take her seat when the Court opens its 2009 Term on October 5. Well before the hearings and votes, the immediate struggle will be to define both the nominee and the President (in light of his selection). In several prior posts, we have summarized Sonia Sotomayor’s principal opinions. Here, I discuss the lines of attack that likely will be directed at her if she is nominated by the President this morning. By admin at 05/27/2009 - 08:42 | Accountability | Civil rights | login or register to post comments | read more
The truth about Dick Cheney as told by former Dept. of State Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson
SOURCE: washington note
The Truth About Richard Bruce Cheney Wednesday, May 13 2009, 5:32PM This is a guest post exclusive to The Washington Note by Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson, who is former chief of staff of the Department of State during the term of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Lawrence Wilkerson is also Pamela Harriman Visiting Professor at the College of William & Mary. Last night I was on Rachel Maddow's show on MSNBC at the top of the hour. But before I came on, through the earpiece I listened to the five minutes that Rachel sketched as a lead-in. Most of it was videotape from the last few days of former Vice President Dick Cheney extolling the virtues of harsh interrogation, torture, and his leadership. I had heard some of it earlier of course but not all of it and not in such a tightly-packed package. Let's just say that five minutes of the Sith Lord was stunningly inaccurate. So, when I got home last night, I thought long and hard about what I knew at this point in my investigations with respect to the former VP's office. Here it is. By admin at 05/15/2009 - 14:54 | Accountability | Civil rights | Corporations | Crime | login or register to post comments | read more
Rove to be questioned on US Attorney firings
SOURCE: WaPo
Prosecutors to Question Rove on U.S. Attorney Firings By Carrie Johnson Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:09 PM Former top White House official Karl Rove will be interviewed tomorrow as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys during the Bush administration, according to two sources familiar with the appointment. Rove has remained in the news as a commentator and political analyst since departing the White House. In an essay in today's Wall Street Journal, he criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), arguing that she may have misled the public about her knowledge of detainee interrogation tactics that critics assert are torture. As a senior adviser to President George W. Bush, Rove emerged at the center of numerous policy and political debates. He will be questioned tomorrow by Connecticut prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy, who was named last year to examine whether any former senior Justice Department and White House officials lied or obstructed justice in connection with the dismissal of federal prosecutors in 2006. By admin at 05/15/2009 - 07:40 | Accountability | Civil rights | login or register to post comments | read more
Congress: Rotten to the coreI, like many others, believed that changing the Congressional majority in 2006 was going to bring about some of the needed changes; the pursuit of accountability being one. We were proven wrong. In 2008, many genuinely bought in to the promise of change, and thus far, they've been let down. SOURCE: OpEdNews May 4, 2009 In Congress We Trust... Not By Sibel Edmonds
By admin at 05/06/2009 - 08:53 | Accountability | Civil rights | Corporations | Crime | login or register to post comments | read more
GAO Report on Recovery Act Accountability
SOURCE:Recovery.gov
April 28, 2009
What GAO FoundThe report is in a portable document file (pdf) and, consequently, difficult to copy and paste. However, the highlights of the GAO report are only two pages and well worth reading here.
By monica smith at 05/03/2009 - 04:49 | Accountability | News | login or register to post comments | read more
Throw the bums out, all of them! Senate tycoons kill mortgage aid for Main StreetWritten by Michael Collins Friday, 01 May 2009 The Senate Millionaires turned down even limited mortage assistance to those facing foreclosure. The magic Democratic majority in the Senate could produce only 45 Yea votes while 51 voted Nay. Michael Collins goes behind the scenes of another rigged defeat or the interest of the citizen brought to you by inept leaders. May 1, 2009 – Washington, DC (electionfraudnews.com) – The United States Senate took a swipe at the spirit of May Day in a spectacular show of callous indifference when it voted down a bill to provide limited assistance to citizens at risk for losing their homes. The final vote was 45 in favor, 51 opposed to Senator Richard Durbin's (D-IL) mortgage assistance bill. The original version of the bill covered some but not all of those requiring assistance. The final version was even more restricted. It applied to only homeowners currently in foreclosure as a result of actions prior to the start of 2009. By admin at 05/02/2009 - 06:45 | Accountability | Corporations | Features | login or register to post comments | read more
Crime is contagious
" Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law breaker, it breeds contempt for the law."
-- former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis The banality of our collective acceptance of evilPresident Obama can talk all he wants about not looking back, but this grotesque past is bigger than even he is. It won’t vanish into a memory hole any more than Andersonville, World War II internment camps or My Lai. The White House, Congress and politicians of both parties should get out of the way. We don’t need another commission. We don’t need any Capitol Hill witch hunts. What we must have are fair trials that at long last uphold and reclaim our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. SOURCE: NYT April 26, 2009 OP-ED COLUMNISTThe Banality of Bush White House Evil By FRANK RICHWE don’t like our evil to be banal. Ten years after Columbine, it only now may be sinking in that the psychopathic killers were not jock-hating dorks from a “Trench Coat Mafia,” or, as ABC News maintained at the time, “part of a dark, underground national phenomenon known as the Gothic movement.” In the new best seller “Columbine,” the journalist Dave Cullen reaffirms that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were instead ordinary American teenagers who worked at the local pizza joint, loved their parents and were popular among their classmates. |
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