wall street

Rumors have surfaced that the White House and Pentagon are completing plans to bomb Wall Street into submission as a final solution to bringing to an end the current string of economic problems fomented by the evildoers of high finance.

Two years ago, I made a decision to run for United States Senate because I believed that we, as a country, need to focus less on powerful special interests and more on middle class families and small business owners. While we came up just short in our fight last year, those very same issues that inspired me to run then still exist now.

That's why I'm proud to announce today that I have decided to run for re-election as North Carolina's Secretary of State!

I took a break to enjoy the holiday, as I’m sure many of you did, but my inbox kept busy, and on Friday came a doozy, courtesy of the Washington Post.

You remember that little bit of a banking crisis we had a couple of years back, where banks around the world might have possibly, maybe, just a little, conspired in a giant scheme to package toxic mortgage loans into Grade A, investment-ready securities instruments, which then blew up in everyone’s faces to the tune of a whole lot of taxpayer bailouts?

Well all of a sudden, it looks like an agency of the Federal Government is looking to do something about it, in a real big way.

Last Friday the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced they’re suing 17 firms (I’ll give you a list, bit it’s pretty much all the usual suspects); depending on who you ask the Feds are seeking an amount as high as $200 billion.

As Joe Biden would say, it’s a big…well, it’s a big deal, anyway, and that’s why we’re starting the new week with this one.

Senator Sanders speech in the Senate yesterday is a stunning indictment of just how feckless our Congress is. I'm waiting for the war to spread to the streets and elected officials to be hung from street lamps. The truth is being spoken. Who's listening? Watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5OtB298fHY&feature=player_embedded

It’s part two of our “Netroots Nation Goes To Vegas Piano Bar Extravaganza”, and in keeping with tradition that means we are again taking a story request.

This time we won’t be talking about energy security or “climate security”; instead, we’ll discuss retirement security, keeping your money for yourself instead of paying it out in “mystery fees”, and how one of the “usual suspects” is at it again.

And if all that wasn’t enough…we also have pie.

Last night, Richard Burr joined his Goldman Sachs funders and 36 of his Republican colleagues in voting against the historic Wall Street reform bill that passed the Senate 59-39. The Wall Street Reform bill has been lauded by economists across the political spectrum as the most significant package of reforms since the Great Depression.

Elaine Marshall:

"Richard Burr's vote against financial reform is a slap in the face to anyone who has lost a job, watched their savings shrink or been harmed in this recession," said North Carolina Secretary of State and U. S. Senate candidate Elaine Marshall. "He has once again shown that his allegiance lies with Wall Street banks, not the people of North Carolina. It's time to send Richard Burr home."

I don't like being lied to. I believe when you get right down to it unless someone is complimenting your haircut or convincing you that those sunglasses don't look ridiculous, nobody enjoys being lied to. As such, it's easy for someone to get incensed by a shameless display of dishonesty such as those recently spouted by the leaders of the grand old party in North Carolina, and such a response would not be unreasonable. In fact it's become alarming how quickly Republicans in North Carolina are willing to break the glass and pull out the tattered playbook entitled "complete fabrications" whenever they feel threatened.

We are not amused here at Democracy North Carolina when politicians mislead the public by manipulating money in politics data. The following press release is going out to the media even as I type. Remember: you read it here first:

FETZER AND BURR CRITICIZE WALL STREET FUNDRAISING, BUT MISLEAD ON THE REPUBLICANS’ HAUL

The debate in the U.S. Senate over imposing new regulations on banks, derivative traders and other segments of the financial industry hit a snag yesterday, as Republicans and Democrats accused each other of blocking real reform and kowtowing to Wall Street. In an odd twist, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr(R-NC) and Tom Fetzer, chair of the NC Republican Party, both issued press releases to discredit the Democratic leaders’ legislation by highlighting the sizable donations they have taken from the financial services industry.

Democracy North Carolina, a nonpartisan watchdog group, decided to review the numbers Burr and Fetzer presented in their statements. It’s not often that one hears Republican Party leaders indicate that large amounts of private money can unduly sway public policy.

Yesterday, about 20 members of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity -- with nearly as many members of the media in tow -- gathered in downtown Durham, North Carolina to protest "Wall Street corruption" and the financial reform bill now moving through Congress.

Why Durham? Because it's home to the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group that has pushed for tougher banking rules.