Was The Fed Audit 'Start Date' Changed To September 2008? (Excusing The Bear Stearns-JPMorgan Deal From Scrutiny)
It might simply be a mistake by a C-Span intern, but during the debate on the Sanders' amendment to audit the Fed (which passed 96-0), C-Span showed the following text on the screen the entire time:
"...permits GAO to audit financial records of the Federal Reserve since September 2008."
It's clearly visible in the screenshot above.
As originally modified to get White House support the Sanders amendment was set to cover Federal Reserve activities beginning December 1, 2007. If it wasn't a C-Span error, and the Sanders amendment was modified again this morning prior to the vote, then the entire Bear Stearns - JPMorgan transaction would be excluded from GAO scrutiny. Obviously, this would not be a positive development.
Still working the story...waiting for final word from Bloomberg reporter Craig Torres...will update as soon as we get confirmation either way.
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Does the modified Audit the Fed amendment of Bernie Sanders do the job?
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UPDATE:
From Dr. Pitchfork
Here's today's press release from Sanders, along with the text of the amendment. Unless HIS interns are goofing up, I think we got a good deal. Maiden Lane, etc. are mentioned by name in the text of the bill. The press release is set to go out on Sanders' RSS feed at 4:48pm today and it references the December 2007 time-frame.
"Under his amendment, the Government Accountability Office would conduct a top-to-bottom audit of all emergency actions by the Fed since the start of the financial crisis in 2007."
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C4A45B70-1837-4F76-8606-1F7FAF1932D2
Text of the Amendment:
http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Document2.pdf
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UPDATE II:
From Dr. Pitchfork
Sanders speaks at press conference today (5/11). Gives shout-outs to Stephen Friedman and Lloyd Blankfein. Nice.
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It's a positive step...96-0 will make the nightly news...maiden lane (1,2 and 3) are mentioned by name...what we learn will lead to more momentum for a full audit...what we learn in a full audit could build momentum to end the fed...it's gonna be a long road.
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DailyBail
It appears to have been a C-Span goof. Dr. Pitchfork has an update.
Reader Comments (14)
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/senate-backs-one-time-audit-of-feds-bailout-role/?src=busln
TAMPA to be evacuated...
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/46069
"Under his amendment, the Government Accountability Office would conduct a top-to-bottom audit of all emergency actions by the Fed since the start of the financial crisis in 2007."
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=C4A45B70-1837-4F76-8606-1F7FAF1932D2
Text of the Amendment:
http://sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Document2.pdf
The Federal Reserve is destroying the American middle class in favor of the IMF and Wall Street. Congress is so corrupted with special interest money they pretend to listen to the people with bills like HR-1207 and S-604, then when it comes to the floor for a vote It's a useless gutted amendment.
Do you really think Dodd, Harry reid, the White house, and all the bankster senators would have signed on to Sander's amendment if it had any chance of a real audit of the FED? This is the way they make it look like they are actually doing something without actually doing anything. They know the sheeple are too stupid to realize what's happening and Cable News and the Networks say their auditing the FED end of story.
END THE FED.
The only way we are ever going to get rid of these crooks is to reform the electoral process with public campaign financing and get rid of the 12,553 lobbyists in Washington DC. Also the Supreme Court needs to realize corporations are not individuals. Maybe then we can have a Democratic Government instead of a Corporatocracy supported by sacrificing our futures.
Corporatocracy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Corporatocracy or Corpocracy is a form of government where a corporation, a group of corporations, or government entities with private components, control the direction and governance of a country.
Corporatocracy is that type of politics,wherein a country is run by a corporation or a group of corporations or governmant entities with privatisation. This is sometimes considered to be a form of fascism.
"Corporatocracy is that type of politics,wherein a country is run by a corporation or a group of corporations or governmant entities with privatisation. This is sometimes considered to be a form of fascism. "
It is funny Sagebrush, most do not view this as Fascism, they still see it as "free markets". As I have stated before, both paths are leading to the same destination.
"Capital must protect itself in every possible manner through combination (conspiracy) and legislation."
The Bankers Manifesto of 1892
End the FED, but do what Lincoln (R), Kennedy (D), and J. Stamp and others said was possible. It is the only sane thing left for America.
"The most hated sort of money-making, and with the greatest reason, is usury, which makes a gain out of money itself and not from the natural use of it-for money was intended merely for exchange, not for increase at interest. And this term interest, which implies the birth of money from money, is applied to the breeding of money, because the offspring resembles the parent. Wherefore of all modes of money-making, this is the most unnatural."
Aristotle
Aristotle defined the characteristics of a good form of money – which must be:
* Durable: Money must stand the test of time and the elements. It must not fade, corrode, or change through time;
* Portable: Good money needs to hold a high amount of 'worth' relative to its weight and size;
* Divisible: Money should be relatively easy to separate and re-combine without affecting its fundamental characteristics. An extension of this idea is that the item should be "fungible", defined as "being freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind."
* Intrinsically Valuable: This value of money should be independent of any other object and contained in the money itself, starting with rarity.
We can have the dream, but it will be bitterly opposed, right down to your friends and neighbors who still suffer from the herd mentality, and the worship of snake oil salesmen in flashy suits...
"We will pay all legitimate claims, We will pay all legitimate claims, We will pay all legitimate claims, Question mark"...? Hold onto your ass.
Right on all points. The Herd of sheeple are the real problem. They'll give up their rights, their money, and their futures out of fear of some catastrophe the politicians or the bankers say is imminent. I worked the kill chute at a beef packing plant when I was younger. Kill two hundred and fifty head in an eight hour shift. The sheeple remind me of those steers, hit one of them in the butt with a hotshot and they all run up the alley to the kill chute, I Haven't been able to stand in a line since.
How's that ol' swingin' arm holdin' up there Sage?
'Cause if you're up to it, I'll get us both to NYC to visit Goldman Sachs headquarters. I'll go in and scare 'em all out ..and you just pick 'em off as they come thru the door!
DB...Do you think that the American people will get to know or that Congress will get to know. Have they said when they will make the audit report public and has anyone suggested that the audit report or parts of it will be classified?
How long will the American people wait?
I only swung the hammer for a few of months when I first started. The boss went to the Kansas City Stock Show that year and came back with two browning .22 semiautomatic rifles and 25,000 rounds of fiberglass stun cartridges. Supposed to be a more humane way to kill steers.
As for the golden sucks crew, I really liked that picture with the fella holding the sign that said "JUMP YOU FUCKERS". I think it'd be more fun to hit em in the butt with a hotshot and watch em jump out a window. I'd like to see if those high flying titans of finance can really fly.
zara...i think some in congress will release the info as a means of putting more pressure on the fed for a more complete audit...anything juicy will be released...count on it...our side has an agenda and the easiest way to see it realized is to embarrass the hell out of our target...