The Nightmare Financial Regulatory Scheme

I thought I was having a nightmare, but unfortunately it was reality. Senator Dodd (D- CT) revealed his plan for financial reform. All quotes below are from "Summary: Restoring American Financial Stability".

Lucky us, we get some new bureaucracies to protect us! Starting with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Here are some of its powers:

 Independent Rule Writing: Able to autonomously write rules for consumer protections governing all entities – banks and non-banks – offering consumer financial services or products.

 Examination and Enforcement: Authority to examine and enforce regulations for banks and credit unions with assets of over $10 billion and all mortgage-related businesses (lenders, servicers, mortgage brokers, and foreclosure scam operators) and large non-bank financial companies, such as large payday lenders, debt collectors, and consumer reporting agencies. Banks with assets of $10 billion or less will be examined by the appropriate bank regulator.

 Consumer Protections: Consolidates and strengthens consumer protection responsibilities currently handled by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, National Credit Union Administration, and Federal Trade Commission.

 Able to Act Fast: With this bureau on the lookout for bad deals and schemes, consumers won’t have to wait for Congress to pass a law to be protected from bad business practices.

Not only that, it gets a propaganda arm, the new Office of Financial Literacy.

Hold on, because they're not done protecting us yet. To oversee the overall financial situation we get the Financial Stability Oversight Council. It will be comprised of regulators from various agencies. Its powers include:

 Tough to Get Too Big: Makes recommendations to the Federal Reserve for increasingly strict rules for capital, leverage, liquidity, risk management and other requirements as companies grow in size and complexity, with significant requirements on companies that pose risks to the financial system.

 Regulates Nonbank Financial Companies: Authorized to require, with a 2/3 vote, nonbank financial companies that would pose a risk to the financial stability of the US if they failed be regulated by the Federal Reserve. With this provision the next AIG would be regulated by the Federal Reserve.

 Break Up Large, Complex Companies: Able to approve, with a 2/3 vote, a Federal Reserve decision to require a large, complex company, to divest some of its holdings if it poses a grave threat to the financial stability of the United States – but only as a last resort.

 Orderly Shutdown: Creates an orderly liquidation mechanism for the FDIC to unwind failing systemically significant financial companies. Shareholders and unsecured creditors will bear losses and management will be removed.

 Liquidation Procedure: Requires Treasury, FDIC and the Federal Reserve all agree to put a company into the orderly liquidation process. A panel of 3 bankruptcy judges must convene and agree - within 24 hours - that a company is insolvent.

 Costs to Financial Firms, Not Taxpayers: Charges the largest financial firms $50 billion for an upfront fund, built up over time, that will be used if needed for any liquidation. Industry, not the taxpayers, will take a hit for liquidating large, interconnected financial companies. Allows FDIC to borrow from the Treasury only for working capital that it expects to be repaid from the assets of the company being liquidated. The government will be first in line for repayment.

That last one's a good one. $50 billion in new pork to pass around.

Part of this deal is that the Treasury Department gets a new Office of Financial Research which will:

 Make Risks Transparent: Through the Office of Financial Research and member agencies the council will collect and analyze data to identify and monitor emerging risks to the economy and make this information public in periodic reports and testimony to Congress every year.

Of course, we have to be protected from the insurance industry too:

Office of National Insurance: Creates a new office within the Treasury Department to monitor the insurance industry, coordinate international insurance issues, and requires a study on ways to modernize insurance regulation and provide Congress with recommendations.

Those evil credit rating agencies need watching. The Securities and Exchange Commission gets a new Office of Credit Rating Agencies "with its own compliance staff and the authority to fine agencies" and "the authority to deregister an agency for providing bad ratings over time".

Last, and perhaps most evil, is the granting of new powers to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. They will "have a formal responsibility to identify, measure, monitor, and mitigate risks to U.S. financial stability" this through a newly created office the Vice Chairman for Supervision.

This is a great time to look back at the warnings put forth by this author about financial reform. On April 16, 2009 in "How Dare You Want To Know What "Your" Government Is Doing!" I wrote about Sen. Schumer's (D-NY) plans for financial reform. At that time he advocated the kind of regulatory dictatorship that Sen. Dodd is now proposing.

The nightmare is now close to becoming reality.

George Donnelly’s Initial Appearance Hearing 6/22/2010

Those who aren’t familiar with the Donnelly case please click here and here to get the details.

The hearing started at 10:30am in Allentown, PA. Attending the hearing were George's wife, his son, and myself. He was represented by Paul Hetznecker, the attorney that won the acquittal of the protesters arrested at the Army Experience Center at the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia, PA. Things went well with the judge describing the charges that he is now facing as "petty offenses".

The good news is that George is no longer under house arrest. He is free to travel throughout the forty-eight contiguous states. The ankle bracelet is to be removed, something George said he would get done today, of course. His driver's license was also returned to him. Lastly, no more drug testing is required.

The ordeal isn’t over yet, George still has to stand trial. The judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney had difficulty coordinating their schedules so no date was set. They were looking at the end of July going into August.

Some restrictions are still in force. George may not move out of his present residence, have a passport, or publicly identify any US Marshals or court officers associated with the case.

To conclude, things are definitely looking up for George, but it’s not over yet. One big issue is that his attorney still needs to get paid. Please contribute whatever you can to his legal defense fund at the ChipIn button at the top right hand side of this page. Even if you can only give $5 or $10 every donation counts. Thank you.

Police State New York: Video of Heicklen’s Arrest 6/14/2010

The place just isn’t the same. Going near the courts in lower Manhattan, New York City seems under siege. Streets are blocked off with mechanized metal barriers. Police from all levels of government, local, state, and federal, abound. Some are busy inspecting under cars with mirrors. Some aren’t so busy standing in little guard houses keeping an eye on their surroundings. Others just milling about. This is the surreal world we walked into.

It was obvious they knew that Julian Heicklen was coming, then again we made enough noise on the Internet about it. As soon as they spotted him in the park near the federal courthouse they were watching. They watched and followed as we approached the court. Julian walked right into the middle of the bunch of them. He was arrested before he could even hand out one pamphlet.

See it for yourself:





During this sad event a female officer came by yelling at the others that people were filming and that that was not allowed. Always a day late and a dollar short, none of the federal thugs tried to stop my filming until after Julian was in the sinister black van.

After we regrouped in Foley Square across from the courts about 250
Fully Informed Jury Association pamphlets were passed out. Everything went smoothly, though the pamphleteers were questioned by two NYPD officers who soon moved along.

Reflecting on that day I’m surprised at Julian’s tenacity, though very glad to see it. At the same time I’m saddened to think of what the US government has become. How far they are from Jefferson’s immortal words in the Declaration of Independence telling us that government is "to secure these rights" not violate them.

***********************************************************
Below is the email Julian Heicklen sent out after his release:

Hi Tyranny Fighters:

1. FIJA demonstration of June 14, 2010
I arrived at Foley Square in Manhattan at about 11:20 am. It was a warm, but cloudy day. Soon thereafter I was met by four activists from the Philadelphia, PA, area; one activist from New Jersey; and one activist from Suffolk County at the end of Long Island.

At 11:55 am we proceeded to the U. S. District Courtyard. I was met by several Homeland Security police officers. Before, I even took a pamphlet or the JURY INFO sign from my tote bag, Deputy Federal Marshal Hernando (or something like that) placed me under arrest. I immediately fell to the ground.

I was cuffed very tightly behind my back and dragged into the courthouse. It was painful, and the capillaries in my wrists were broken. I was continually handcuffed, mostly in front. Sometimes when I was in a cell (always alone), the cuffs were removed.

My property in the tote bag and in my pockets , as well as my glasses, sweater, cap, belt, and shoelaces, were taken away.

During this time, I did not move a muscle or make a sound, except once when they really inflicted pain, I moaned. The guards asked a lot of questions, including if they could take my picture of get fingerprints. I never answered. The guards considered this a refusal.

I was moved from cell to cell, since the guards kept changing their minds as to wether I should see a judge or go to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation. My pants kept falling down, since I had no belt. Finally, I was put into a wheel chair and taken to a paddy wagon to be delivered to Bellevue Hospital. While there the nurse took my blood pressure, my temperature, and blood to test for sugar. She then discharged me, and I was returned to the federal court house and put into a small cell facing the wall. By then, I had to urinate badly, so I urinated on the floor. The guard came rushing in, said that if I did that again, he would beat me into shit and break my bones. He then wheeled me into the urine.

The federal guards were more articulate than those in the New York police and correctional system. They had a 3-word, rather than a 2-word vocabulary. They said, "fuck, shit, and faggot" in all sequences and meanings.

While I was in the urinated cell, Robert Baum, an Assistant Federal Defender, and Lindsey, his assistant, came to see me. He agreed to be my temporary stand-by counsel. After talking to me, he talked to the prosecuting attorney. She agreed to let me be released on my own recognizance without bail, if I would have my fingerprints and picture taken. I agreed. This was done, and I went to court handcuffed. The magistrate set a court date for July 20, 2010. Mr. Baum had all of my property. I was taken to the Judge Magistrate Clerk’s office to sign and receive some papers. I was released at 5:20 pm.

Not until I was about to enter the court room, was I given my Miranda warning that I could remain silent. Until that time, the guards tried to get all sorts of information from me, but I was mute.


The court date of July 20, 2010, is just to set the conditions for trial. I will plead not guilty and ask for a jury trial. It is not clear that I will be able to get a jury trial.

After I was released I went to the NY City police headquarters at 1 Plaza place to reclaim the property seized from me on May 25, 2010. The property office was closed, and I was told to come back tomorrow.

I left for home and arrived home at 7:45 pm.

Thanks for the support today of my associates in freedom. They inquired about me at the courthouse, and called my wife to tell her that I had been arrested.

2. Facebook

I can no longer access Facebook nor receive Emails from Facebook. I requested an explanation from Facebook and received the message that follows.

"The website you are visiting appears to contain Malware. Malware is malicious software that may harm your computer or otherwise operate without your consent. Your computer can be infected just by browsing to a site with Malware, without any further action on your part."

This is your federal government at work. I cannot be contacted through Facebook. Please notify all your contacts that they can only reach me through my email at jph13@psu.edu (until our government shuts that down).
3. Financial needs

Our FIJA outreach program has ballooned beyond my wildest expectations. One problem that this poses is financial. The costs are now exceeding our financial capabilities. You can help alleviate this problem by making donations to the following:

George Donnelly legal defense fund. George was arrested in Allentown and charged with misdemeanor assault, even though he was the victim of the assault. (Your federal government at work) He faces a possible extensive prison sentence. He is trying to raise $15,000 for anticipated legal fees to defend himself. Please send him a donation. Go to the following web page to make a donation through PayPal at http://donnelly.chipin.com/donnelly-legal-defense

Also the American Jury Institute (FIJA) expenses will be mounting. You can help by joining the American Jury Institute, or just making a donation. Its web page is at http://fija.org/support-fija/

The US District Court in San Diego (I presume) has issued an order to foreclose on Mike Benoit's home without his right to a jury trial preserved. He feels great sadness for all of us including his brothers and sisters in liberty who suffer at the hands of the IRS and who are in prision due to this tyranny. He needs your help. Please dont wait until it is too late. Email him for information on what you can do to help win the battle. His e-mail address is in the header of this E-mail.

4. Pending actions

Because of circumstances beyond my control, I had to cancel my Las Vegas trip. I also have canceled my visit to the Burlington, VT courthouse on Tuesday, June 22, 2010. However I will be distributing FIJA Literature at the following courthouses on the following dates. Please join me to observe, take pictures, or participate.

Monday, June 21 at 11:45 am: Albany, NY, James T. Foley United States Courthouse, 445 Broadway, Room 509
Tuesday, June 22 at 8:45 am: Hartford, CT, Abraham Ribicoff Federal Building and, United States Courthouse, 450 Main Street, Room A-12, Hartford , 06103-3022
Tuesday, June 22 at 11:45 am: Springfield, MA, 300 State Street, Room 1-120
Wednesday, June 23 at 11:45 am: Concord, NH, Warren B. Rudman US Courthouse, 55 Pleasant Street, Room 110
Thursday, June 24 at 11:45 am: Boston, MA, John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, One Courthouse Way, Suite 2300

Friday, June 25, I will be a participant in the FIJA forum at the PorcFest in Lancaster, NH

Monday, June 28: I report for jury selection in the Bergen County, NJ courthouse.

You are welcome (encouraged) to join me to observe, take pictures, or distribute literature. I will provide the literature.

My cell phone is still in the possession of the NY city police. I can neither make, receive, not respond to telephone calls. I still have 211 E-mails to read. If your E-mail requires a response, I will answer, but do not hold your breath.

From Wednesday, June 16–Sunday, June 20, I will be at a bridge tournament in Saratoga Springs, NY. So I will not receive or send e-mail from June 16–June 25.
Warning: You should know that The Federal Protective Service, and possibly the FBI, is intercepting my e-mails. Another violation of our civil liberties. Be prudent if you write to me.

Mike Benoit has written a book entitled "Sham and Shame of the Federal Income Tax." You can purchase it directly from him for five dollars. His E-mail address is in the header of this E-mail.

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE

THE PRICE OF JUSTICE IS ETERNAL PUBLICITY

Yours in freedom—Julian

http://fija.org/

Seattle’s Blue Gang Extortion Racket

The recent video of Seattle Police Patrol Officer Ian P. Walsh punching a 17-year-old woman in the face as she tries to help her friend evade him has caused much controversy. There is an understandable reaction among many decrying the young women’s lack of respect for authority. This is correct, they do lack respect for the police, but the question is why?

Let’s start with the jaywalking citation situation in Seattle. As the rest of us around the country are now learning, Seattle is quite tough on jaywalkers. Even doing stings to catch the evil doers. All this, of course, is claimed to be for public safety, but is it really?

Like so many cities in our recession ravaged land Seattle has a budget shortfall. It is cutting services, which makes politicians mad as they have less pork to pass around. Naturally, they look for additional sources of revenue. Many cities abuse traffic citations and parking tickets to this end, but Seattle seems to have decided to go back to issuing excessive numbers of jaywalking citations to raise more money. They resort to this kind of legal plunder to avoid raising taxes or increase the deficit, hiding behind the guise of protecting the public. People know what’s going on. It’s just a form of robbery. When the police become a blue gang enforcing an extortion racket they command no respect. All they have left is their ability to use violence to get people to submit, a situation guaranteed to foster police brutality.

Instead of criticizing the young women for disrespecting a police officer they should be commended for their courage in standing up to him. It is only by not tolerating government abuses that we can put an end to them.

Oh, Come, All Ye Hateful

There is an increasingly vocal and aggressive direction being taken by some Christians. That many American Christians supported the Bush administration and its wars is well known. At present the level of dehumanization of Muslims and outright advocacy of genocide is becoming much louder.

Consider the following exchange on Facebook (I'm going to keep these people anonymous). Someone posted, "If the Palestinians put down their weapons there would be peace, if the Israeli's put down their weapons there would be no more Jews". The supportive comments started coming in. I replied with,

I don't know. It would behoove the Palestinians to engage in civil disobedience. They'd get a lot more support that way (witness the Freedom Flotilla).

If Israel stopped oppressing, Israel as we know it would cease to exist, but no more Jews? The Afrikaners said the same kinds of things in South Africa to justify Apartheid. While it's very true that Mandela & his successors are making a mess of things, there's been no slaughter.

Consider this about the fighting:

The Israeli government, like the one ruling us, thrives on crises and seems to go to great lengths to cultivate them. As I've pointed out before, there is a sick symbiosis between the Israeli regime and Palestinian terrorist chieftains, a relationship documented by Richard Ben Cramer in his valuable and infuriating book How Israel Lost.

"Things are not as they seem," writes Cramer. "The [Palestinian Authority's] business intersects with Israeli business at the highest levels of Israeli political life." This explains the tacit "arrangement" in which Israeli and Palestinian rulers sustain each other through carefully timed incidents of lethal violence.

Before Yasir Arafat died, he would be regularly "rescued" by Israeli military strikes against Palestinian targets, Cramer observes. The same was true of Arafat's supposed arch-enemy, Ariel Sharon: "If his polls dropped, something terrible happened -- dead Jews all over the TV" -- and Sharon's political fortunes would dramatically improve.

From "We Bought The Bullets"

Every state needs its Emanuel Goldstein, don't be fooled!

The hate began. During the discussion one person replied with these two comments,

If the Israelis would just use all of theirs, we could stop talking about all the other cockroaches. They want to be martyrs, let's help the [sic] succeed... all at once, right now.

Followed later in the discussion with,

Israel is going to have to wipe them all out eventually, in order to survive. That being the case, and we all know it is the case, why not just get it over with? How many thousands of their cirizens [sic] can be saved by not waiting to be hit first (for the ten thousnadth [sic] time)? Just do what needs to be done, we did it to end WW2, and look how effective it was. No we've turned into a bunch of female genitals (poltically [sic] speaking) and look at the manure we routinely put up with, just like Israel. Just push a few buttons and send 'em to their blow-up doll virgins in hell. That's my vote.

Referring to people as cockroaches is using the language of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Another disgusting example of dehumanizing an enemy to justify killing them. One is reminded of the Nazis referring to the Jews as rats.

Another person decided to turn their hate on me,

Thanks XXXX! Sometimes you feel alone battling against the blockheads who think Peace Flotillas, are peaceful, and that hitting a terrorist BACK is bad. There are just so many stupid people in the world, and we don't have enough bullets!

The person who posted the above has since deleted it, which is quite understandable, I'd be embarrassed to have written that too.

Along the same lines there was an exchange at the Future of Freedom Foundation's event "Restoring Liberty and the Constitution" on Friday June 4, 2010. (Which I attended.) During the question and answer period a woman took exception to James Bovard calling for the rights of the prisoners at Guantanamo, Cuba being respected. The woman went on to say that "those bastards" have to be stopped so they won't kill our families. They don't need to be Mirandized, she said. They're guilty, the government wouldn't just arrest people "willey-nilly", she went on.

Now, I can't say with certainty that that woman is a Christian, I don't even know her name. Certainly the odds favor her being one. Perhaps she's Jewish. Surely she's not a Muslim.

The last example is a conversation I had years ago with a devout Christian who said of the War on Terror that it's better to be the hunter than the prey.

This is not to say that all Christians are so evil. There are no doubt many who are as repulsed by this kind of thinking as I am. However, it would seem that there are too many who subscribe to this hateful world view. During the discussion on Facebook mentioned above no one else took exception to the calls for killing. If anything the other commentors were supportive of the hate.

These hateful Christians may only be a minority of those who believe in that religion. It is important, though, that they be exposed and taught a better way. That being the way of peace, liberty, and tolerance. Then, and only then, can we end the hate and the killing.

FREE GEORGE DONNELLY RALLY (6/4/10)

FREE GEORGE DONNELLY Rally at the Edward N. Cahn US Court House and Federal Building in Allentown, PA on June 4 2010. While filming a FIJA.org outreach George was kidnapped and charged with simple assault. The Federal Marshall lied in an affidavit but confiscated the evidence that shows what really happened to George Donnelly. If George's video camera's footage is brought to discovery we shall know the truth! SHOW US THE VIDEO! Federal Marshal's are liars!

TV and Newspaper Coverage of Rally for George Donnelly

The rally on Friday June 4, 2010 in Allentown, PA demanding the end of George Donnelly's legal ordeal was a smashing success. About thirty people marched in support holding signs and chanting. All was peaceful, the US Marshals behaved themselves this time.

The local TV station WFMZ covered the march:



A local weekly Spanish language newspaper, El Torero (no website), also covered us. Their next issue coming out on Thursday should have pictures and an article.

George Donnelly, Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) activist, was wrongly charged with assaulting a US Marshal on May 11, 2010.

A big thank you to all who participated.

Outraged Citizens To Protest Unjust Arrest In Allentown, PA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2010

Contact: Darren Wolfe

email: friends_of_george@hotmail.com

Outraged Citizens To Protest Unjust Arrest In Allentown, PA

Reacting to the May 11, 2010 arrest of Fully Informed Jury
Association activist George Donnelly, the newly formed “Friends of George Donnelly” will rally at the federal courthouse in Allentown at 11:15 AM on June 4, 2010.

Allentown, PA – May 27, 2010 – “March, Rally and Demonstration:
Photography and Pamphleting Are NOT Crimes” will occur at the
Allentown Federal Courthouse, 5th and Hamilton Streets, on Friday,
June 4, 2010, at 11:15am. The purpose of the peaceful
demonstration is for the public to show their support for George
Donnelly, Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) activist, who has
been wrongly charged with assaulting a US Marshal on May 11, 2010.

The arrest came after Donnelly, Juilan Heicklen and James Babb were
distributing juror information as outreach for the Fully Informed
Jury Association (www.fija.org).

Donnelly was videotaping their pamphleting efforts, which, according
to US Law is permissible under Department of Homeland Security policy, which requires officers to approach, identify themselves, and
interview photographers on federal property to determine if there is criminal
behavior. Absent criminal behavior, “the photography should be
permitted to proceed unimpeded.” In assaulting Donnelly the agents
clearly violated their own guidelines.

Agents never asked Donnelly to stop taping, he was only
physically attacked by them. His property was
stolen, he was forced to the ground, then taken inside, where he was
later charged. He was transferred to the Philadelphia Detention Center
where he spent two nights in a solitary cell.

He was released and charged with assaulting a
US Marshal and remains under house arrest pending further action by
the judge.

Mr. Babb, who is organizing the event, issued the following statement, “The
US Marshals met three peaceful, law abiding activists with a
dozen steroid-pumped, heavily armed bullies. The only reasonable
response is to return with at least dozens of peace lovers. We want
to match their aggression with love, times 100!”

Schedule of events:

10:00 AM: Gather at plaza at 7th and Hamilton Streets ( http://tinyurl.com/397dcko ). Wave signs and pamphlet.

10:45 AM: March through Allentown with signs, banners and pamphlets.
We will head west on Hamilton to 10th Street, cross the street and
then head east to the Federal Courthouse at 5th and Hamilton.

11:15 AM we will arrive at the Federal Court House (504 W Hamilton St.) and engage in a peaceful demonstration, distribute pamphlets, and photograph and videotape the event.

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