SPECIAL ENTRY: Congress Betrays The American People, President Bush "Eager" To Do Likewise
History was made today, when the United States Congress approved federal legislation that was written by (international) financial corporations, rather than by the officials whom The People elected to represent them in our federal government. As the U.S. Senate did recently, the House of representatives today earned their pay from the credit card companies, banks, and automakers who wrote the bankruptcy "reform" bill by passing this devastating bill without even pretending to meaningfully debate it first. Not that a debate would have affected the outcome anyway, because the payments had already been made, and no one can accuse our Senators and Representatives of failing to repay their debts to the financial institutions who fund their campaigns and keep them in power.
It's a shame the members of the U.S. House and Senate, and President Bush himself, don't feel a similar responsibility to fulfill the American People's trust. Just imagine what a strong nation we would have if they did--because it is only in your imagination that you will ever enjoy life under a government "of the People, by the People, and for the People". Congress's actions today spoke much louder than even those famous words that a poor, impoverished, self-educated man named Abraham Lincoln once spoke to a gathering at Gettysburg. And future generations will certainly regard the passage of this bill with as much contempt, disdain and shame as our own generation regards the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case that transformed corporations into legal "citizens", or the shady circumstances surrounding the Federal Reserve's creation (also legislation written by corporate executives and passed by Congress).
Today the U.S. Congress essentially annihilated the personal bankruptcy system, which is one of the few institutions that our Founding Fathers felt was important enough to specifically mention by name in a brief, four-page document called the Constitution of the United States of America. Perhaps that is because so many people who helped to found the United States were themselves fleeing from tyrannical landlords and creditors in the nations of their birth. They understood better than anyone that without bankruptcy protection from creditor harassment, there can be no such thing as liberty in a society that is predominantly financed by "credit" (debt).
Our elected officials betrayed the American People today. It doesn't matter that language can be manipulated, and rhetoric employed, to make it seem like something else happened. It doesn't matter that loud individuals have access to the mass media, and can therefore praise this legislation and curse its opponents before millions of viewers. None of that changes the fact that this bankruptcy "reform" legislation sold Americans' most important financial safety net to corporate America. And without financial freedom in a capitalist society--where net worth defines each citizen's real power, influence and opportunity--there can be no meaningful liberty at all. The American Debtors Prison just got larger, is preparing to accommodate tens of thousands more inmates, and is surrounded by stronger walls than ever before.
Incomprehensible acts of human stupidity, lack of foresight, and downright betrayal of the public trust for a bag of gold coins is nothing new in the United States Congress. Having run for public office myself, I have seen the way American politics works off-camera. I am intimately aware of how corrupt to the core our political system truly is, how ignorant The People are of how bad the situation really is, how rare it is that a person of true integrity makes it into public office, and how quickly the wealthy and powerful interests that actually control our government can render these persons of integrity impotent in office, or have them removed from office altogether. Yes, I'm painfully aware of how incompetent and corrupt many of our politicians are.
Yet, what the U.S. Senate did recently, the U.S. House did today, and President Bush says he is "eager" to do, goes far beyond a simple act of ignorance, stupidity, or even everyday corruption. Treason is a fashionable word in both liberal and conservative circles. When Clinton was president, conservatives accused him of "treason". When Bush became president, liberals accused him of "treason". That is unfortunate, because it has diluted the true meaning of the word treason to the point where it is almost altogether meaningless, and it has lost its power as a verbal cue that instantly identifies an abominable act of gross betrayal.
Websters defines treason as "the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family." In the United States of America--a democratic society--The People are sovereign. No member of Congress is sovereign. The President is not sovereign. The People are sovereign. This bankruptcy "reform" bill personally injures The People by effectively annihilating bankruptcy protection for those who need it most, and by forcing undue hardship and injustice upon them. Just as surely as a law prohibiting or limiting medical care to the sick would injure The People.
Treason means to betray your nation in a manner that assists powers in conquering your own country, or undermining it's sovereignty. Treason is an abomination because it ultimately leads to death, terror, human suffering, and/or the destruction of everything a society holds sacred as a group of People. Benedict Arnold was a traitor because he revealed secrets of the American armed forces to a foreign enemy, and even led that foreign army's troops against his own countrymen, killing them, terrorizing them, and threatening their liberties. Consequently, he is regarded with deserved contempt by posterity.
The financial institutions who wrote the bankruptcy "reform" bill are "American" companies with global reach. They are in fact international companies that are merely based in the United States. As such, they possess no allegiance toward the United States whatsoever. Indeed, it is illegal for an American corporation to put the national interest of the United States, or the interests of U.S. citizens, before it's own self-interest, and doing so may result in revocation of its corporate charter and sale of its assets. Yet it is the will of these international corporations that by law are precluded from possessing any allegiance to the United States, that the U.S. Congress has obeyed, at the terrible expense of the American People.
That is the very definition of treason.
Those who disagree have only one recourse--to create diversions by offering a variety of weak rhetorical arguments that this law will not come at the terrible expense of the American People. For example, the weak rhetorical argument that "too many people 'abuse' the bankruptcy system"--even if it were true--is completely irrelevant to the efficacy of this particular bill toward eliminating abuse. Similarly, Congress itself used the rhetorical technique of euphemism to name this bill the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act", when it neither prevents abuse nor protects consumers. In fact, it does precisely the opposite on both counts.
Language is a beautiful thing; it is one of our species' very greatest inventions. But like every other human invention, it is often used as a weapon. Using rhetoric to deflect attention away from the truth with logically, experientially and historically unsound arguments in favor of the bankruptcy "reform" bill is an effective weapon, because it creates the illusion that a rational argument in favor of this legislation actually exists. Despite so much rhetorical smoke and mirrors, the reality remains that there is no rational argument in favor of this legislation. Visit www.talkingpointsmemo.com/bankruptcy to explore just one long list of problems with this bill that legal scholars and informed members of Congress have identified.
It is worthwhile to note here that members of a debate team are required to defend whatever position they are given, whether they actually agree with it or not. So are trial attorneys, who are required by law to defend even guilty parties to the best of their ability. This requires skillful applications of rhetoric and unsound reasoning, posing as rational arguments, with the intended purpose of persuading third parties to believe as true that which the speakers themselves believe or know is false. Using rhetoric to create the illusion that a rational argument exists is nothing new. It has been a well-established art form since the Greek Empire ruled the Mediterranean. And it is a fearsome weapon in the hands of a master--especially when the rhetorician is broadcasting to the masses in a media forum where he or she cannot be challenged directly by the people they are addressing.
Despite the awesome power of rhetoric to manipulate attitudes, beliefs, and behavior, not one word of pro-"reform" rhetoric changes the fact that Congress's passage of this bill constitutes treason against the United States of America, because it aids a foreign power (i.e., financial corporations that are legally prohibited from swearing allegience to the United States of America) in an attempt to subjugate and restrict the liberty of the sovereign American People. Indeed, their corporate charters mandate that these financial corporations exploit The People, because that is what serves their own interest (profit). If the bill were written by U.S. Senators or Representatives, this would merely be a case of gross negligence at best, or corruption at worst. However, if the bill were written by Chinese banks or Chinese politicians, intended to subjugate American citizens to Chinese interests, no one would even argue that this wasn't treason. Why then, do supporters of "reform" argue this point simply because it was written by international corporations that just happen to be chartered in the United States?
The Pharisees of Jerusalem certainly didn't regard Judas Iscariot as a traitor to Jesus, because they did not regard Jesus as a legitimate leader to whom anyone could swear their allegiance in the first place. Likewise, those who support the bankruptcy "reform" bill do not see any treason at all in Congress's actions, because they do not regard the People's liberty and right to bankruptcy protection from creditor harassment as legitimate ideals which must be held sacred and protected at all costs. As such, their contempt for The People indicts them, and reduces their rhetorical arguments to dust.
Unfortunately, none of this changes the fact that the U.S. Congress has now obliterated meaningful bankruptcy protection from creditor harassment, and has in fact empowered creditors with a greater ability to harass and terrorize debtors than they have ever before enjoyed in American history. Nor does it change President Bush's "eagerness" to sign this bill into law.
So what can we do now? There are three things that We The People can do to reverse this abomination before financial institution tyranny is also written into common law as the new "reform" provisions are applied throughout the country. When considering these actions, remember that this "reform" will not take effect for 180 days (six months) after President Bush signs it into law.
1. We must blitz all news media with individual and coordinated calls, letters, and emails, informing them of what has really happened, and encouraging them to use their resources to mount potentially Pulitzer Prize winning investigations of Congressional malfeasance in passing legislation that was written by financial corporations.
2. We must challenge this law in the Supreme Court, on the basis that the "means test" forcing debtors into a mandatory payment plan under Chapter 13 bankruptcy violates the 13th Amendment to the Constitution's prohibition against involuntary servitude as punishment for non-criminal offenses. Forcing any citizen to work against their will for six years, without the freedom to choose their work, while the fruits of that labor go to creditors, constitutes involuntary servitude. And failure to repay debts or filing for bankruptcy are not criminal offenses. They are civil matters.
3. We must make a solemn commitment to vote against every member of the U.S. House and Senate who voted in favor of bankruptcy reform, regardless of our feelings on any other issue, and to inform them in writing that we have made this inviolable commitment. There is absolutely no room left for Americans to vote for any candidate who has exhibited an unwillingness to protect their financial stability first and foremost. For in a capitalist society, financial stability is prerequisite to freedom, liberty, justice, and opportunity. Without financial stability, and the freedom to protect your financial stability no matter how bad your financial situation might be, all liberties are at risk. Therefore, any candidate who voted for this bill should be removed from office by popular vote at the earliest opportunity, and replaced by a candidate who exhibits a demonstrated commitment to protecting citizens' financial stability above all corporate interests.
The list of Senators and Representatives who voted in favor of a bankruptcy reform bill written by financial institutions follows. These are the individuals we literally cannot afford to ever entrust our financial futures to again, even if they only voted Yea out of sheer ignorance (I assume you are already aware that by their own admission, many legislators never actually read the bills they vote on):
U.S. SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR THE BANKRUPTCY "REFORM" BILL
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
U.S. SENATORS WHO DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO VOTE AT ALL, AND WHO THEREFORE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO EXERCISE THEIR DUTY TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE:
Hillary Clinton (D-NY) [Note: Senator Clinton could note vote for this bill and expect to ever win the presidency, nor could she vote against it and lose the multi-million dollar campaign contributions from financial corporations that are necessary to run for president. Therefore, hers was perhaps the most unconscionable "vote" of all]
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES WHO VOTED FOR THE BANKRUPTCY "REFORM" BILL
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Andrews
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bass
Bean
Beauprez
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonner
Bono
Boozman
Boren
Boswell
Boucher
Boustany
Boyd
Bradley (NH)
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Cardoza
Carter
Case
Castle
Chabot
Chandler
Chocola
Cleaver
Coble
Cole (OK)
Conaway
Cooper
Costa
Cox
Cramer
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Cuellar
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis (AL)
Davis (FL)
Davis (KY)
Davis (TN)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeLay
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Doolittle
Drake
Dreier
Duncan
Edwards
Ehlers
Emerson
English (PA)
Etheridge
Everett
Feeney
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick (PA)
Flake
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fortenberry
Fossella
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gingrey
Gohmert
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Granger
Graves
Green (WI)
Green, Al
Gutknecht
Hall
Harman
Harris
Hart
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling
Herger
Herseth
Higgins
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Hooley
Hostettler
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inglis (SC)
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jefferson
Jenkins
Jindal
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
KellerKelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
KirkKline
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kuhl (NY)
Larsen (WA)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
Marchant
Matheson
McCarthy
McCaul (TX)
McCotter
McCrery
McHenry
McHugh
McIntyre
McKeon
McMorris
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Melancon
Menendez
Mica
Michaud
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Mollohan
Moore (KS)
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Murphy
Murtha
Musgrave
Myrick
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nunes
Nussle
Ortiz
Osborne
Otter
Oxley
Pastor
Paul
Pearce
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Poe
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (GA)
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Reichert
Renzi
Reyes
Reynolds
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Royce
Ruppersberger
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Salazar
Saxton
Schwartz (PA)
Schwarz (MI)
Scott (GA)
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skelton
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Sodrel
Souder
Spratt
Stearns
Strickland
Sullivan
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES WHO DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO VOTE AT ALL, AND WHO THEREFORE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO EXERCISE THEIR DUTY TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE:
Berkley
Gillmor
Gutierrez
LaHood
Lantos
Solis
Weldon(FL)
All the best,
Paul
It's a shame the members of the U.S. House and Senate, and President Bush himself, don't feel a similar responsibility to fulfill the American People's trust. Just imagine what a strong nation we would have if they did--because it is only in your imagination that you will ever enjoy life under a government "of the People, by the People, and for the People". Congress's actions today spoke much louder than even those famous words that a poor, impoverished, self-educated man named Abraham Lincoln once spoke to a gathering at Gettysburg. And future generations will certainly regard the passage of this bill with as much contempt, disdain and shame as our own generation regards the Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case that transformed corporations into legal "citizens", or the shady circumstances surrounding the Federal Reserve's creation (also legislation written by corporate executives and passed by Congress).
Today the U.S. Congress essentially annihilated the personal bankruptcy system, which is one of the few institutions that our Founding Fathers felt was important enough to specifically mention by name in a brief, four-page document called the Constitution of the United States of America. Perhaps that is because so many people who helped to found the United States were themselves fleeing from tyrannical landlords and creditors in the nations of their birth. They understood better than anyone that without bankruptcy protection from creditor harassment, there can be no such thing as liberty in a society that is predominantly financed by "credit" (debt).
Our elected officials betrayed the American People today. It doesn't matter that language can be manipulated, and rhetoric employed, to make it seem like something else happened. It doesn't matter that loud individuals have access to the mass media, and can therefore praise this legislation and curse its opponents before millions of viewers. None of that changes the fact that this bankruptcy "reform" legislation sold Americans' most important financial safety net to corporate America. And without financial freedom in a capitalist society--where net worth defines each citizen's real power, influence and opportunity--there can be no meaningful liberty at all. The American Debtors Prison just got larger, is preparing to accommodate tens of thousands more inmates, and is surrounded by stronger walls than ever before.
Incomprehensible acts of human stupidity, lack of foresight, and downright betrayal of the public trust for a bag of gold coins is nothing new in the United States Congress. Having run for public office myself, I have seen the way American politics works off-camera. I am intimately aware of how corrupt to the core our political system truly is, how ignorant The People are of how bad the situation really is, how rare it is that a person of true integrity makes it into public office, and how quickly the wealthy and powerful interests that actually control our government can render these persons of integrity impotent in office, or have them removed from office altogether. Yes, I'm painfully aware of how incompetent and corrupt many of our politicians are.
Yet, what the U.S. Senate did recently, the U.S. House did today, and President Bush says he is "eager" to do, goes far beyond a simple act of ignorance, stupidity, or even everyday corruption. Treason is a fashionable word in both liberal and conservative circles. When Clinton was president, conservatives accused him of "treason". When Bush became president, liberals accused him of "treason". That is unfortunate, because it has diluted the true meaning of the word treason to the point where it is almost altogether meaningless, and it has lost its power as a verbal cue that instantly identifies an abominable act of gross betrayal.
Websters defines treason as "the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family." In the United States of America--a democratic society--The People are sovereign. No member of Congress is sovereign. The President is not sovereign. The People are sovereign. This bankruptcy "reform" bill personally injures The People by effectively annihilating bankruptcy protection for those who need it most, and by forcing undue hardship and injustice upon them. Just as surely as a law prohibiting or limiting medical care to the sick would injure The People.
Treason means to betray your nation in a manner that assists powers in conquering your own country, or undermining it's sovereignty. Treason is an abomination because it ultimately leads to death, terror, human suffering, and/or the destruction of everything a society holds sacred as a group of People. Benedict Arnold was a traitor because he revealed secrets of the American armed forces to a foreign enemy, and even led that foreign army's troops against his own countrymen, killing them, terrorizing them, and threatening their liberties. Consequently, he is regarded with deserved contempt by posterity.
The financial institutions who wrote the bankruptcy "reform" bill are "American" companies with global reach. They are in fact international companies that are merely based in the United States. As such, they possess no allegiance toward the United States whatsoever. Indeed, it is illegal for an American corporation to put the national interest of the United States, or the interests of U.S. citizens, before it's own self-interest, and doing so may result in revocation of its corporate charter and sale of its assets. Yet it is the will of these international corporations that by law are precluded from possessing any allegiance to the United States, that the U.S. Congress has obeyed, at the terrible expense of the American People.
That is the very definition of treason.
Those who disagree have only one recourse--to create diversions by offering a variety of weak rhetorical arguments that this law will not come at the terrible expense of the American People. For example, the weak rhetorical argument that "too many people 'abuse' the bankruptcy system"--even if it were true--is completely irrelevant to the efficacy of this particular bill toward eliminating abuse. Similarly, Congress itself used the rhetorical technique of euphemism to name this bill the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act", when it neither prevents abuse nor protects consumers. In fact, it does precisely the opposite on both counts.
Language is a beautiful thing; it is one of our species' very greatest inventions. But like every other human invention, it is often used as a weapon. Using rhetoric to deflect attention away from the truth with logically, experientially and historically unsound arguments in favor of the bankruptcy "reform" bill is an effective weapon, because it creates the illusion that a rational argument in favor of this legislation actually exists. Despite so much rhetorical smoke and mirrors, the reality remains that there is no rational argument in favor of this legislation. Visit www.talkingpointsmemo.com/bankruptcy to explore just one long list of problems with this bill that legal scholars and informed members of Congress have identified.
It is worthwhile to note here that members of a debate team are required to defend whatever position they are given, whether they actually agree with it or not. So are trial attorneys, who are required by law to defend even guilty parties to the best of their ability. This requires skillful applications of rhetoric and unsound reasoning, posing as rational arguments, with the intended purpose of persuading third parties to believe as true that which the speakers themselves believe or know is false. Using rhetoric to create the illusion that a rational argument exists is nothing new. It has been a well-established art form since the Greek Empire ruled the Mediterranean. And it is a fearsome weapon in the hands of a master--especially when the rhetorician is broadcasting to the masses in a media forum where he or she cannot be challenged directly by the people they are addressing.
Despite the awesome power of rhetoric to manipulate attitudes, beliefs, and behavior, not one word of pro-"reform" rhetoric changes the fact that Congress's passage of this bill constitutes treason against the United States of America, because it aids a foreign power (i.e., financial corporations that are legally prohibited from swearing allegience to the United States of America) in an attempt to subjugate and restrict the liberty of the sovereign American People. Indeed, their corporate charters mandate that these financial corporations exploit The People, because that is what serves their own interest (profit). If the bill were written by U.S. Senators or Representatives, this would merely be a case of gross negligence at best, or corruption at worst. However, if the bill were written by Chinese banks or Chinese politicians, intended to subjugate American citizens to Chinese interests, no one would even argue that this wasn't treason. Why then, do supporters of "reform" argue this point simply because it was written by international corporations that just happen to be chartered in the United States?
The Pharisees of Jerusalem certainly didn't regard Judas Iscariot as a traitor to Jesus, because they did not regard Jesus as a legitimate leader to whom anyone could swear their allegiance in the first place. Likewise, those who support the bankruptcy "reform" bill do not see any treason at all in Congress's actions, because they do not regard the People's liberty and right to bankruptcy protection from creditor harassment as legitimate ideals which must be held sacred and protected at all costs. As such, their contempt for The People indicts them, and reduces their rhetorical arguments to dust.
Unfortunately, none of this changes the fact that the U.S. Congress has now obliterated meaningful bankruptcy protection from creditor harassment, and has in fact empowered creditors with a greater ability to harass and terrorize debtors than they have ever before enjoyed in American history. Nor does it change President Bush's "eagerness" to sign this bill into law.
So what can we do now? There are three things that We The People can do to reverse this abomination before financial institution tyranny is also written into common law as the new "reform" provisions are applied throughout the country. When considering these actions, remember that this "reform" will not take effect for 180 days (six months) after President Bush signs it into law.
1. We must blitz all news media with individual and coordinated calls, letters, and emails, informing them of what has really happened, and encouraging them to use their resources to mount potentially Pulitzer Prize winning investigations of Congressional malfeasance in passing legislation that was written by financial corporations.
2. We must challenge this law in the Supreme Court, on the basis that the "means test" forcing debtors into a mandatory payment plan under Chapter 13 bankruptcy violates the 13th Amendment to the Constitution's prohibition against involuntary servitude as punishment for non-criminal offenses. Forcing any citizen to work against their will for six years, without the freedom to choose their work, while the fruits of that labor go to creditors, constitutes involuntary servitude. And failure to repay debts or filing for bankruptcy are not criminal offenses. They are civil matters.
3. We must make a solemn commitment to vote against every member of the U.S. House and Senate who voted in favor of bankruptcy reform, regardless of our feelings on any other issue, and to inform them in writing that we have made this inviolable commitment. There is absolutely no room left for Americans to vote for any candidate who has exhibited an unwillingness to protect their financial stability first and foremost. For in a capitalist society, financial stability is prerequisite to freedom, liberty, justice, and opportunity. Without financial stability, and the freedom to protect your financial stability no matter how bad your financial situation might be, all liberties are at risk. Therefore, any candidate who voted for this bill should be removed from office by popular vote at the earliest opportunity, and replaced by a candidate who exhibits a demonstrated commitment to protecting citizens' financial stability above all corporate interests.
The list of Senators and Representatives who voted in favor of a bankruptcy reform bill written by financial institutions follows. These are the individuals we literally cannot afford to ever entrust our financial futures to again, even if they only voted Yea out of sheer ignorance (I assume you are already aware that by their own admission, many legislators never actually read the bills they vote on):
U.S. SENATORS WHO VOTED FOR THE BANKRUPTCY "REFORM" BILL
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
U.S. SENATORS WHO DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO VOTE AT ALL, AND WHO THEREFORE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO EXERCISE THEIR DUTY TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE:
Hillary Clinton (D-NY) [Note: Senator Clinton could note vote for this bill and expect to ever win the presidency, nor could she vote against it and lose the multi-million dollar campaign contributions from financial corporations that are necessary to run for president. Therefore, hers was perhaps the most unconscionable "vote" of all]
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES WHO VOTED FOR THE BANKRUPTCY "REFORM" BILL
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Andrews
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bass
Bean
Beauprez
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
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Brown-Waite, Ginny
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Buyer
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Diaz-Balart, M.
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Gerlach
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Graves
Green (WI)
Green, Al
Gutknecht
Hall
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Hart
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KellerKelly
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LoBiondo
Lucas
Lungren, Daniel E.
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McCaul (TX)
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Meek (FL)
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Paul
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Weller
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Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES WHO DID NOT EVEN BOTHER TO VOTE AT ALL, AND WHO THEREFORE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO EXERCISE THEIR DUTY TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE:
Berkley
Gillmor
Gutierrez
LaHood
Lantos
Solis
Weldon(FL)
All the best,
Paul
posted by Paul at 10:01 PM
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