Saturday, January 22, 2011

WATCH:
President's Weekly Address

" We Can Out-Compete
Any Other Nation "

President Obama discusses the steps he is taking to make America competitive in the short and long terms, and why he chose GE CEO Jeff Immelt to head up the new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.



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Friday, January 21, 2011


Sasha Obama Practices Her Chinese

On China's President

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Talk about a high level language exchange.

President Barack Obama's nine-year-old daughter, Sasha, wanted to test her developing Chinese skills this week while Hu Jintao was in town.

Just whom did she want to practice them with?

The Chinese president himself, according to a White House official who recounted the story on Thursday after a formal state dinner the previous night.

"The president pointed out last night at the state dinner that his daughter, Sasha, is a very young girl but her class is studying Chinese," Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser, told a video conference with Chinese bloggers.

"She's under 10 years old and they're studying Chinese, and she wanted to have the chance to practice her Chinese with President Hu."

Sasha attended Hu's welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn on Wednesday morning with friends and could be seen waving a Chinese flag excitedly as her father and Hu walked around the grounds.

The two presidents paused to visit when they reached the nine-year-old and her friends behind the rope line.

"Not every (child) has the opportunity to try out their first phrases of Chinese with the president of China, but she had that chance," Rhodes said.

He said the anecdote illustrated Americans' desire to get to know China better with more people studying the country and doing business there.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Vicki Allen)

So Proud of Our 1st Daughters !

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

B4B Photos of the Week


President and 1st Lady host state dinner
for Chinese President Hu Jintao

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This stunt simply exemplifies how anti-American and PATHETIC the GOP
actually is. What kind of people would have a GOAL..an AGENDA..to see millions of Americans be forced to struggle
without life-sustaining access to quality health care.
Just PATHETIC !

House repeals healthcare law



By Russell Berman
THE HILL

The House voted on Wednesday to repeal the sweeping healthcare law enacted last year, as Republicans made good on a central campaign pledge and laid down the first major policy marker of their new majority.

The party-line vote was 245-189, as three Democrats joined all 242 Republicans in supporting repeal. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the healthcare law on the books would increase spending, raise taxes and eliminate jobs.

“Repeal means paving the way for better solutions that will lower the costs without destroying jobs or bankrupting our government," Boehner said in remarks on the floor before the vote.

“Let’s stop payment on this check before it can destroy more jobs or put us into a deeper hole.”

The vote to roll back the president’s signature domestic achievement of the 111th Congress just 10 months after its passage underscores the deep divisions that still surround the new law. But whether House action will signal the beginning of a rapid dismantling of the healthcare overhaul or serve merely as a historical footnote remains to be seen.

Democratic leaders in the Senate have vowed to shelve the repeal bill, and President Obama has said he would veto repeal if it ever reached his desk.

With those threats in mind, GOP leaders dared the Senate to take up the measure, and they promised to fight the healthcare law in other ways if repeal failed.

“The American people deserve to see a vote in the Senate, and it ought not to be a place where legislation goes into a dead end,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said.

Cantor noted that Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had said the debate over repeal of healthcare would be a “political win” for Democrats.

“If so, let’s see the votes,” Cantor said.

Absent action in the Senate, Republicans defended their move to hold a repeal vote as upholding a key tenet of the “Pledge to America” unveiled during the midterm election campaign.

“Today we are keeping that pledge, and it is a start,” GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) said.

If repeal were ultimately unsuccessful, Cantor has said, Republicans would “do everything we can to delay and defund the provisions of the bill.”

The seven hours of floor debate on repeal served as something of an extension of the nearly yearlong debate that preceded the law’s initial passage, as lawmakers argued over the merits of a measure that has yet to be implemented fully. Republicans said scrapping the law would allow Congress to start over on healthcare, while Democrats said repeal would increase costs and remove access to healthcare for millions of needy Americans.

The three Democrats who voted for repeal were Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), and Mike Ross (Ark.), all of whom opposed the law last year. Seven other Democrats who opposed the original law also opposed its repeal. Only the hospitalized Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) missed the vote.

No amendments were allowed on the bill, and Republicans fought back a Democratic motion that would have required a majority of members of both the House and Senate to forgo federal health benefits for repeal to take effect. The motion was aimed at highlighting what Democrats argue is the hypocrisy of Republican members opposing expanded health insurance for ordinary Americans while they accept the benefits themselves.

The second-ranking House Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), was one of only five Democrats to oppose his party on the motion.

The Obama administration and congressional Democrats mounted a full-throated campaign to defend the healthcare law, using the repeal effort to increase support for a measure that, overall, never gained popularity with the public.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who as Speaker shepherded the reform law to passage last year, staged a hearing on Tuesday featuring testimony from citizens who said they’d be negatively affected by repeal. (Read rest of article)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Happy MLK Day !

**********
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to
Our Lovely Fir
st Day !


CLICK HERE
For 1st Lady:
Fashion Photo Gallery


Turns 47 today Monday, Jan. 17.
SO Proud of Our 1st Lady !

B4B Home Page

Sunday, January 16, 2011


THANK YOU ! Just a B4B note to thank all of The Warriors who have worked tirelessly, some for years now, for The Future of America. As you all know, although much has been accomplished, some even historic...there is yet Much Work Ahead. We are to always remember, as we've shown repeatedly....People Power though Unity....WORKS !
Thanks Again...Stay FIRED UP !

Saturday, January 15, 2011

WATCH:
President Obama's Weekly Address

"Before We are Democrats or Republicans,

We are Americans"

As Congress returns to work, the President calls on them -- and all of us -- to debate our differences vigorously but to live up to the spirit of common cause we felt following the tragedy in Arizona.




Subscribers CLICK B4B MAIN PAGE for video

Thursday, January 13, 2011

WATCH:
President Obama Consoles Nation
at Arizona Memorial

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Our Prayers go out to all of the victims and their Families

President Calls for Moment of Silence

President Obama is asking Americans to observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m. Monday in recognition of those who were killed in the Tucson, Ariz., shooting. "It will be a time for us to come together as a nation in prayer or reflection, keeping the victims and their families closely at heart," President Obama said in a statement.
##########


B4B Q.O.D: Should Beck, Palin & Limbaugh be held accountable for their hate-filled, fertilization of violence, Call To (harmful) Action, dangerous rhetoric ? It is of my opinion that Now Is The Time to DEMAND, in mass, for Media Reform which will make it illegal for anyone to spew violence generating rhetoric via any forms of the media, particularly by way of the airwaves which are the property of We The People. (Greg Jones)

ACTION TIME !

Friday, January 7, 2011

READ:

The President's Official Response to the GOP's (sic)

Attempt to Repeal Health Care Reform




EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503

January 6, 2011

(House Rules)

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

H. R. 2 – Repealing the Affordable Care Act

(Rep. Cantor, R–VA, and 162 cosponsors)

The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 2 because it would explode the deficit, raise costs for the American people and businesses, deny an estimated 32 million people health insurance, and take us back to the days when insurers could deny, limit or drop coverage for any American.

In a preliminary analysis of H.R. 2, the Congressional Budget Office found that repealing the law would increase the deficit by $230 billion in the first decade and roughly one-half of one percent of GDP, or over a trillion dollars, in the second decade; increase the number of uninsured Americans by 32 million; impose higher premiums on large firms; and cause consumers who buy coverage in the individual market to pay more out of pocket for fewer benefits. Medicare’s insolvency would be accelerated by repeal – the Medicare actuaries previously stated that the Affordable Care Act extended solvency by 12 years. Repealing the Affordable Care Act would not only increase deficits in the coming decade, but would also significantly worsen the long-term fiscal burdens on American businesses and families.

When the Affordable Care Act provisions are fully in effect, insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate against any American with a preexisting condition, charge women higher rates, or charge drastically higher premiums for older Americans. H.R. 2 would eliminate the important patient protections, coverage expansions, affordability provisions, and fiscal savings in the Affordable Care Act. If the President were presented with H.R. 2, he would veto it.

* * * * * * *
B4B NOTE: Anticipate this ignorant bill to pass in the House with their strong majority thanks to Dems not voting in November.Then, for the next 2 years the Pubs (with constant corporate media assistance) will try to use this passing to energize support claiming ' help us regain the Senate and Presidency in 2012 too and we'll complete the repeal !'. Where some are claiming this tactic to be 'a waste of time'....it is, in fact, a well orchestrated strategy/plot.

BE PREPARED FOR THE
BATTLE(S) AHEAD !


B4B Home Page

Wednesday, January 5, 2011


THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release January 5, 2011

Statement by the President on the Departure of Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

“For the last six years, Robert has been a close friend, one of my closest advisers and an effective advocate from the podium for what this administration has been doing to move America forward. I think it’s natural for him to want to step back, reflect and retool. That brings up some challenges and opportunities for the White House – but it doesn’t change the important role that Robert will continue to play on our team.”

###


NEW SESSION BEGINS

The 112th session of Congress gavels in at noon today. In the House of Representatives (which controls America's purse strings) there will be 242 Republicans to 193 Democrats. In the Senate will be 51 Democrats (some of whom are still Blue Dogs and may side with the Pubs)-47 Republicans and 2 Independents. As he has stated from the start The President can NOT do it all on his own....He will need OUR help. So GET READY WARRIORS ! There's MUCH Work Ahead !
Yes We CAN !

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Monday, January 3, 2011


Be Inspired...Be Informed...
Be INVOLVED !!!

And Warriors...
Be Ready for a Busy Year Ahead !

B4B Home Page

Sunday, January 2, 2011


WARNING:
Rough Year (2011) Ahead !

Greg Jones
Blacks4Barack
National Director

BE PREPARED ! 2011 is expected to be a very trying year packed with massive lies and corporate media manipulation; frivolous witch hunts directed toward The President; state and local governments in dire straits due to anticipated blocking of much needed federal aid by the GOP leading to massive layoffs; continuous attempts to de-energize Dem support by popular Lefty, so-called Progressive (should be called Re-gressive) media; strategically orchestrated GOP attacks against union agreements and pension plans with the goal being their 'dissolvement'; continuous attempts to diminish and label as mediocre all accomplishments of The President; constant use of the midterm election results to create false claims of what 'Americans want'; increased attacks/attempts to dismantle health care reform through lawsuits and defunding-stripping the basic right to access life-sustaining quality health care; blame for America's economic and unemployment situation continuously being placed on The President aided by corporate media with no mention/reminder that the collapse actually occurred during the Bush regime; redistricting to omit powerful Dem seats; and MORE....will all occur...
if we are not in Unity to
Be Inspired...Be Informed...
BE INVOLVED !!!


GET FIRED UP...
America Needs YOU !


B4B Home Page

Saturday, January 1, 2011


WATCH:
The President's New Year Message


WATCH:
Align Center

Wishing a joy-filled, productive, safe and prosperous
HAPPY NEW YEAR of 2011 to ALL ! VERY SPECIAL THANKS to all The Warriors who worked diligently throughout the past year proving that People Power through UNITY ....WORKS ! Rest up...Get Fired Up and energized....as you know...there's STILL Much Work Ahead ! Together......Yes We WILL (again and again).


Subscribers CLICK B4B MAIN PAGE for video

Friday, December 31, 2010

THE WHITE HOUSE'S
2010 The Year in Photos



CLICK HERE for
2010 WHITE HOUSE
200 Pic Slideshow

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

B4B
Thought of the Day:


BE PREPARED
for the Right-Wing Plot !

Although the deficit is a concern, it is NOT the #1 priority regarding the future of America's economy as we are strategically being mislead to believe. What IS of more urgency will be much needed state aid (funding) in the short term, which unfortunately will be blocked due to the GOP gaining Congress (thanks to Dems not voting in November), which will have devastating results on state and local budgets, forcing reductions in social services and massive layoffs. The GOP plan is to block state aid (click here for revealing link)...you'll hear the topic of 'state bankruptcies' mentioned more and more in corporate MSM...with the ultimate goal being the bankrupting of states...dissolved union agreements and pension plans....followed by 'privatization plans' designed to 'come to the rescue'. They'll call for joint gov't/private ventures which simply means the federal funds that normally go directly to states will now go to the private companies, i.e. Halliburton, who will 'claim' they can run things 'more efficiently', supposedly saving states 'lots and lots of money'. The private companies will then rehire all who lost jobs through forced layoffs but without union agreements or pension plans. That is what is ahead...if we are as asleep and side-tracked by whining as many have been up until now.
(Greg Jones)


It's WAKE UP TIME !

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Monday, December 27, 2010


Gallup Poll: President Obama

'Most Admired Man' in the WORLD !

(again !)

WASHINGTON - President Obama has topped the most-admired-man list again this year, while Hillary Clinton extended her long reign as the No. 1 woman.

Obama was the runaway favorite in the Gallup Poll released yesterday, with 22% giving him the nod as most admired worldwide.

Everybody else in the top 10 was in single digits, with former Presidents George W. Bush at 5% and Bill Clinton at 4%.

Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates, Pope Benedict XVI, Rev. Billy Graham, Jimmy Carter and Glenn Beck were all at 2%, and the Dalai Lama rated 1%.

Among the most admired women, Secretary of State Clinton was first for the ninth year straight year with 17%, trailed by Sarah Palin for the second year.

Palin was rated at 12%, topping even Oprah Winfrey at 11% and First Lady Michelle Obama at 5%.

The other top women were Condoleezza Rice and Queen Elizabeth II at 2%.

A-list celeb Angelina Jolie, ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Burmese peace activist Aung San Suu Kyi, and former First Ladies Laura Bush and Barbara Bush - all tied at 1%.

Clinton earlier this month had to stomp on rumors that she might parlay her popularity into another presidential run.

On a Mideast trip, Clinton said once again that she is "out of politics."

For Obama, it was his second year as most admired, but his ratings slipped from 30% to 22%.

In his first two years in the Oval Office, Bush had ratings of 39% and 28%, reflecting his surge in popularity after the 9/11 attacks.

Among Democrats, Obama was most admired by 46%. Independents gave him 17% and Republicans put him at 6% - still two points ahead of Beck.

For Billy Graham, it was his 54th appearance on Gallup's Top 10 list. Only Queen Elizabeth, with 43 appearances, came close.


Yes !
It IS A New Day !


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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


Statement by the President and First Lady on Kwanzaa

Michelle and I extend our warmest thoughts and wishes to all those who are celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today is the first of a joyful seven-day celebration of African American culture and heritage. The seven principles of Kwanzaa -- Unity, Self Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith -- are some of the very values that make us Americans.

As families across America and around the world light the Kinara today in the spirit of umoja or unity, our family sends our well wishes and blessings for a happy and healthy new year.

###

CLICK HERE: To learn more about Kwanzaa

B4B Home Page


Saturday, December 25, 2010

A Very Merry Christmas and
Happy Holidays to ALL !


WATCH:
Christmas Message from The President & 1st Lady




Subscribers CLICK B4B MAIN PAGE for video

Friday, December 24, 2010


WATCH: HISTORY MADE (again)
President's Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Repeal Act of 2010
signing ceremony



Subscribers CLICK B4B MAIN PAGE for video

Monday, December 20, 2010

Despite all of the naysayers, outright haters and those whose primary goal is to tear-down, 'mediocritize' and minimize....


WE'RE PROUD
of Our President and 1st Family !

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Saturday, December 18, 2010

HISTORY MADE ! (again)
DADT REPEALED !!!...65-31

Chalk ANOTHER one up for...


THE PRESIDENT !


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 18, 2010

Statement from the Press Secretary on
Senate Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"


"As the President has long said, ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the military, will strengthen our national security while upholding the basic equality on which this nation was founded. The President looks forward to signing the bill into law."

###

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Thursday, December 16, 2010


PRESIDENT OBAMA'S TAX CUT DEAL

PASSES ! DONE DEAL !!!

Now to The President's Desk !

Means there will be an unemployment benefit extension of 13 months for American families struggling, tax credits of $2500 per year for college students, the extension of the tax cuts for ALL Americans, tax credits for small businesses, a payroll tax holiday (extra 2% in your pocket) and More. GREAT NEGOTIATING MR. PRESIDENT !
You got the Party of NO....
to say YES for the first time !

The President is Just Cleaning Up
the Congressional Democrats Mess


By: Rikyrah

Jack & Jill Politics

According to the U.S. Constitution, there are three different branches of government: Executive, Judicial, Legislative. Each branch has its own responsibilities.

If you listen to the howling from Congressional Democrats , one would think that the deal the President cut with the GOP just dropped out of the sky, and he just strolled on into negotiations with them, without any CONTEXT whatsoever.

Here’s the thing.

The President might have gotten a better deal, hell, he might not have had to make a deal at all..

IF CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS HAD TAKEN CARE OF BUSINESS.

It was Congressional Democrats who didn’t do squat about the 99ers. They’ve known about them for months…how do I know that? Because I heard rant upon rant from Ed Schultz about this topic.

The extension of unemployment benefits was no surprise either for Congressional Democrats. At any time, with a majority in the House, and Senate, they could have done unemployment benefit extensions.

Now, we get to the tax cuts.

Was the President the only person in Washington that knew that the tax cuts were going to expire and a vote needed to be taken on them?

Ummm……NOPE.

The Congressional Democrats were asked to vote on the tax cuts and make them an issue for the fall elections – by the President – in September.

They could have decoupled the tax issue between those making less than $250,000 and those making more than $250,000. They could have done an up or down vote on the tax issue BEFORE November 2010.

But, they didn’t.

Not only did they not, but now, we’re getting a list of Congresscritters who weaseled their way to the White House, begging off a vote on the tax issue.

So, the DEMOCRATS in Congress FAIL Align Centerto live up to their legislative responsibilities. They chose NOT to vote on Unemployment Extensions. They chose NOT to add another tier to take care of the 99ers (which is the only part of the President’s deal that I disagree with entirely). They chose NOT to vote on the tax cuts by decoupling them. They chose NOT to vote on them at the beginning of the lame duck session. They chose NOT to ram through their proposal on the Estate Tax that they’ve had on the table for at least a year.

So, they chose NOT to do all those things.

AND, now, they have the NERVE to be yelping like a beaten dog when the President steps in and tries to clean up their neglect. Their mess.

(Read rest of article)

A Good Deal...

For THE PEOPLE !

B4B Home Page

Wednesday, December 15, 2010


Addressing the Pro-Left LIE
That Taxes Will Now GO UP
For The Poor

By Greg Jones
Blacks4Barack
National Director

Unfortunately, some on the Pro-Left have been spreading the misleading info that the Obama Tax Deal will end up costing the poor more in taxes. What they
are referring to, while strategically not giving all of the facts, is a tax credit that PRESIDENT OBAMA CREATED (!!!) and included in his Recovery Act of 2009 which is called Making Work Pay, which was written as part of the '09/'10 budget and is also scheduled to expire at years end. What they fail to tell folks is that in his new budget for 2011, The President proposed a year-long extension to the Making Work Pay tax credit. Therefore, if for some reason the Making Work Pay is not extended in the '11 budget...it would IN NO WAY be the fault of The President (who created MWP in the first palce and wants it extended)...or this Tax Deal Compromise, but the fault of Congress for stripping it out of the '11 budget.

Right this minute Congress is working the new budget for '11 which was recently presented for passage by Senator Harry Reid as McCain, McConnell, Kyle, Rush & Co. whine about how it's 'too many pages'. Making Work Pay is a tax credit for earners under $75000 per year to receive a tax credit of up to $400 per year for singles and $800 for couples....while higher earners receive partial credit. This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the Tax Deal/Bush tax extension being voted on right now!!!! 2 SEPARATE THINGS !!!

Don't believe the Pro-Left whose #1 objective is to mislead while generating donations so they can 'fight for you'. In fact, The President not only plans to extend the MWP tax credit through '11 but he added in the tax bill deal an additional 2% payroll tax holiday which will put more spendable money in ALL paychecks to help the economy...another positive that the Pro-Left is presenting as a negative, claiming falsely that it will lead to the 'demise of Social Security' !!! (expect to see soon from Pro-Left sites..."so send us donations today so we can save SS".) Bottom line my friends...BEWARE of the Pro-Left !!! (and, it saddens me to have to report that Keith O. & Big Eddie just help spread the misinformation...again, unfortunately)


UPDATE: Senate PASSES President Obama's " Tax Cut and UI Benefits for The People " Deal....Now bill goes to the House. Will save average Americans close to $3000 PER YEAR (!!!) in taxes...gives $2500 tax credit per year to college students...Extends UI benefits for 13 MONTHS (instead of just 3)!...HUGE tax credits for ALL small businesses and ...MORE ! All in exchange for extension of the rich tax cuts for just 2 yrs. instead of FOREVER (like they wanted).
That's a pretty darn good deal !

Knowledge Is Power...
Pass It On !!!


B4B Home Page

Monday, December 13, 2010

HONESTY TIME !

The President has convinced the Party of No to say YES (for the 1st time !) to UI benefit extension for 13 MONTHS (instead of just 3), tax cut extension for the middle class saving an average of $3000 per family/per year, tax breaks for college students and small businesses and more. 97% of the bill is for The People !
‎....and all for just a 2 year rich tax extension instead of permanent ! Rather incredible actually. PLUS...if the rich tax had not been extended the Repubs would have had a great excuse for not creating jobs. I call THAT some pretty darn good negotiating. Should be called The "Tax Cut Bill for The People"...since that's what it really is.

Related Article:
Close to 65% Americans Favor President's Tax Deal

B4B Home Page

B4B THOUGHT of the Day !

Wish more people cared about those in need instead of the false concept of "we'll punish the rich"....who will remain rich either way while millions of struggling American families literally starve. Has anyone come to the realization that through this 'compromise'....it is the FIRST time since the Inauguration that the Party of No has said YES to ANYTHING for People in Need. From the unemployed to college students to small businesses, the middle-class tax cuts and more, it is amazing how the list of true benefits is being strategically minimized....as the DEMS are now the ones appearing to be the Party of No. Bottom line: Unemployment benefits RAN OUT for multitudes this past Nov. 30th and the ranks of the starving grows more and more with each day....a FACT to keep in mind as folks (with full bellies) rant that we should just 'wait...and fight'. We MUST remember those in NEED....NOW ! We could find ourselves in the same position on any given day ahead.
Ask yourselves....how secure IS your job ?

The Time Is Now...

To CARE !


B4B Home Page

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Senator Bernie Sanders Discusses
Bush Regime's SECRET
$3.3 TRILLION BAI
LOUT !


Bailout monies went to foreign banks and U.S. Corps
like Honeywell, GE, Caterpillar, Verizon eve
n McDonalds !

B4B NOTE: First....we're now learning that as the Bush Regime had America debating the original $787 BILLION bank bailouts, they were SECRETLY dishing out $3.3 TRILLION to NO knowledge of We The People ! Secondly, this revelation, as discussed by Senator Sanders below, has received NO mention in our great MSM. THAT IS AMAZING !!!! America is manipulated through the media like a third-world country by both what it DOES report and what it DOESN'T. VERY disgusting ! p.s. Hoping one day it is more known that the economic collapse of '08 was the result of the U.S. being audited by the IMF/WBO in Sept. 2008 under Bush which is what actually lead to the resetting of our ponzi economic system (which they blamed on 2.3% sub-prime borrowers missing a few mortgage payments). Thus the need to do cash injections to our banks and major corporations (to keep our AA credit rating while minimizing stock market decline) while paying back foreign banks/entities as 'sorry you lost so much investing in our ponzi scheme' payments. To France, Germany, etc.: "Trust Us....we PROMISE to never do it again".....thus 'Financial Reform' was born. Here's the exposing article by Senator Sanders:

Senator Bernie Sanders:
A Real Jaw Dropper at the Federal
Reserve

By Senator Bernie Sanders

At a Senate Budget Committee hearing in 2009, I asked Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to tell the American people the names of the financial institutions that received an unprecedented backdoor bailout from the Federal Reserve, how much they received, and the exact terms of this assistance. He refused. A year and a half later, as a result of an amendment that I was able to include in the Wall Street reform bill, we have begun to lift the veil of secrecy at the Fed, and the American people now have this information.

It is unfortunate that it took this long, and it is a shame that the biggest banks in America and Mr. Bernanke fought to keep this secret from the American public every step of the way. But, the details on this bailout are now on the Federal Reserve's website, and this is a major victory for the American taxpayer and for transparency in government.

Importantly, my amendment also required the Government Accountability Office to conduct a top-to-bottom audit of all of the emergency lending the Fed provided during the financial crisis to be completed on July 21, 2011, which will take a hard look at all of the potential conflicts of interest that took place with respect to this bailout. So, in many respects, details that the Fed was forced to divulge on Wednesday about the $3.3 trillion in emergency loans that until now were totally kept from public scrutiny, marked the beginning, not the end, of lifting the veil of secrecy at the Fed.

After years of stonewalling by the Fed, the American people are finally learning the incredible and jaw-dropping details of the Fed's multi-trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and corporate America. As a result of this disclosure, other members of Congress and I will be taking a very extensive look at all aspects of how the Federal Reserve functions and how we can make our financial institutions more responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans and small businesses.

What have we learned so far from the disclosure of more than 21,000 transactions? We have learned that the $700 billion Wall Street bailout signed into law by President George W. Bush turned out to be pocket change compared to the trillions and trillions of dollars in near-zero interest loans and other financial arrangements the Federal Reserve doled out to every major financial institution in this country. Among those are Goldman Sachs, which received nearly $600 billion; Morgan Stanley, which received nearly $2 trillion; Citigroup, which received $1.8 trillion; Bear Stearns, which received nearly $1 trillion, and Merrill Lynch, which received some $1.5 trillion in short term loans from the Fed.

We also learned that the Fed's multi-trillion bailout was not limited to Wall Street and big banks, but that some of the largest corporations in this country also received a very substantial bailout. Among those are General Electric, McDonald's, Caterpillar, Harley Davidson, Toyota and Verizon.

Perhaps most surprising is the huge sum that went to bail out foreign private banks and corporations including two European megabanks -- Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse -- which were the largest beneficiaries of the Fed's purchase of mortgage-backed securities.

Deutsche Bank, a German lender, sold the Fed more than $290 billion worth of mortgage securities. Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank, sold the Fed more than $287 billion in mortgage bonds.

Has the Federal Reserve of the United States become the central bank of the world?

The Fed said that this bailout was necessary to prevent the world economy from going over a cliff. But three years after the start of the recession, millions of Americans remain unemployed and have lost their homes, life savings and ability to send their kids to college. Meanwhile, big banks and corporations have returned to making huge profits and paying their executives record-breaking compensation packages as if the financial crisis they started never happened.

What this disclosure tells us, among many other things, is that despite this huge taxpayer bailout, the Fed did not make the appropriate demands on these institutions necessary to rebuild our economy and protect the needs of ordinary Americans.

For example, at a time when big banks have nearly a trillion dollars in excess reserves parked at the Fed, the Fed did not require these institutions to increase lending to small- and medium-sized businesses as a condition of the bailout.

At a time when large corporations are more profitable than ever, the Fed did not demand that corporations that received this backdoor bailout create jobs and expand the economy once they returned to profitability.

I intend to investigate whether these secret Fed loans, in some cases, turned out to be direct corporate welfare to big banks that used these loans not to reinvest in the economy but rather to lend back to the federal government at a higher rate of interest by purchasing Treasury Securities. Instead of using this money to reinvest in the productive economy, I suspect a large portion of these near-zero interest loans were used to buy Treasury Securities at a higher interest rate providing free money to some of the largest financial institutions in this country. That is something that we have got to closely examine.

At a time when Wall Street executives are now making more money than before the financial crisis, how many big banks that paid back TARP funds in 2009 to avoid limits on executive compensation received no-strings-attached loans from the Federal Reserve?

At a time when millions of Americans are paying outrageously high credit card interest rates, why didn't the Fed require credit card issuers to lower interest rates as a condition of the bailout?

The four largest banks in this country (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup) issue half of all mortgages in this country. We now know that these banks received hundreds of billions from the Fed. How many Americans could have remained in their homes, if the Fed required these bailed-out banks to reduce mortgage payments as a condition of receiving these secret loans?

We have begun to lift the veil of secrecy at one of most important agencies in our government. What we are seeing is the incredible power of a small number of people who have incredible conflicts of interest getting incredible help from the taxpayers of this country while ignoring the needs of the people.

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