Here’s a question: Does Nebraska’s “special arrangement” violate the equal protection clause? Maybe these sorts of cases have already gone to the Supremes — cases wherein for no justifiable reason more dollars or tax exemptions go to one state than another for the same purpose — but I don’t recall having heard of any.

Even if I’m right, that would be a slim reed (har!) to hold on to in hopes of subduing this monstrosity.

Stuff like this always reminds me of Churchill who reminded us that in a democracy, the people get the government they DESERVE.

The sheer magnitude of this nightmare, and the fact that many of its central tenets (as well as the bribes it took to get the cloture votes) can even be considered as unconstitutional are alarming in and of themselves.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution has been abrogated by this president and many of our elected representatives. That said, who will come to the defense of the Constitution?

Thats where things can get a bit ugly.

I would hope that governors, senators, and representatives of all the other states (the ones that dont get exemption from this bills mandates) will raise holy heck. I dont appreciate having to pay for Nebraskas medicare/medicaid patients!

Lee (and Mr. Churchill) are on the money. As long as the voters chooses to pay closer attention to the little girl who was tragically murdered in Florida, the escapades of Tiger Woods and on-air talent shows, instead of the destruction of our country We will continue to get what we deserve. A republic cannot survive a lazy and uneducated electorate. When we lose focus (and we have) Obama happens!

Barry now not only owns the war, he owns the economy, and all outcomes thereof. There will be no more whining that its Bushs fault.

There are no more excuses.

There is no more suspension of disbelief.

I cant wait for November!

As Lenin said, The worse the better. The behaviour of the leftists in America will make them unelectable for the next few decades. Their arrogance will be the end of them…

On my blog, I wrote a few article on this very topic…

About Obama jumping from the precipice…

http://hyphenatedamericans.blogspot.com/2009/12/he-jumped-he-jumped.html

And what republicans should do…

http://hyphenatedamericans.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-should-conservative-do-now.html

http://hyphenatedamericans.blogspot.com/2009/12/never-let-good-crisis-go-to-waste.html

Well one thing positive about Harry Reid…he looks the part.

A mix of gray humorless Soviet bureaucrat, Calvinist deacon, and

small town undertaker.

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. . . .” One argument (of many) would be that this healthcare abomination does not treat all the states the same (i.e. all the other states get to pay for Nebraska’s Medicaid). Thus, it is not “uniform throughout the United States”.

Direct Constitutional Challenge

Most members of Congress are Attorneys, they are also political hacks, who merely flap their lips. As of this writing Obama HealthCare has not been enacted, nor are all of its provisions known as it has not been even published to read. There are portions that are known.

Obama HealthCare has many issues repugnant to the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution is a “collective” document, meaning it was a grant of limited authority to create a central government for the States and the Citizens therein. There is no authority whatsoever for the Congress to legislate or tax non-uniformly. I realize they do this it all the time. Doing a thing without authority will not stop until someone raises the issue.

There are others far more knowledgeable on the matter than I. The real issue is who will challenge. There are probably far more issues than listed here.

The Congress is very limited as to its authority to even create HealthCare.

Under what Constitutional authority is the HealthCare Bill created?

I can only find 3.

ARTICLE I, Sect. 8. Clause 1: Congress often claims it can tax for the “general welfare of the United States” but doing so under this mandate it goes on to clearly state, “but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”

1. The Congress is going to mandate the States to pay for part of this Obama HealthCare. It makes no difference what they call this funding – it is still a TAX, and a TAX imposed on the States. Not discounting the alleged “welfare” issues, how can this matter (as a TAX) be uniform if the Congress pays for life the tax of one State (Nebraska) and not others.

If all the other States and the Citizens therein must pick up the TAX on Nebraska, how can it be said to be uniform.

ARTICLE I, Sect. 8, Clause 3 [the Commerce Clause]

2. It is said the Congress is mandating all citizens to buy Health Insurance or face fine and or imprisonment. Congress has the authority to “regulate” commerce, it does not have the authority to mandate commerce, the type of commerce much less the authority to compel the buying of anything. Buying mandatory auto insurance to use the roads is a far cry from what they are doing here, and generally done by the States. What we are discussing is Federal Constitutional authority. No Court has ever upheld Congress’s authority in this respect or context.

ARTICLE I, Sect. 8., Clause 18 [necessary and proper]

3. If they lack authority above then there can be nothing [necessary and proper], then again what are the limits to anything [necessary and proper].

Authority:

To the United States Supreme Court;

Article III. Judiciary

Sect. 2. *Jurisdiction*

[Cl. 1.]; The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different States, between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.

[Cl. 2.]; In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

ARTICLE I, Sect. 8. -The Congress shall have power:

[CL. 1. - TAXATION ]; To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.

[CL. 3. - COMMERCE ]; To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

[CL. 18. - MAKE ALL LAWS ]; To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by the Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

ARTICLE I, Sect. 9. – LIMITATION OF POWER

[CL. 4. - DIRECT TAXES ]; No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

Bill of Rights

9th Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

10th Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States receptively, or to the People.

Right now would be a good time to start making copies of any and all reports, statistics, and any other US public health data. There’s going to be a concerted effort in the next few years to convince people that this disaster is an “improvement” when health care in this country deteriorates to the level of the UK and the rest of Europe, or worse. As Orwell said, he who controls the past controls the future.

Of course this bill is unconstitutional, in fact and in spirit. It will be a matter that will have to go to the courts, however, as a Senate vote does not make something constitutional or not. Given the average intellect and moral framework of senators, I wouldn’t expect them to make an informed, objective decision anyway. Everything is just a race to photo ops or sell/solicit favors, P. J. O’Rourke’s Parliament of Whores at work, with the cleverest and most venal being the “winners”. At the time, I found that appellation amusing. No more.

Each new day brings a new source of disgust to me.

With all due respect to many of you, crosses my mind that a lot of this discussion seems to be taking place in the context that the ‘rules’ remain the same and this is just another conservative low like the 70’s (which I remember well). In my considerably long life, I have never seen anything in the U.S. like what is going on with the Marxists now in power. And, make no mistake, they ARE Marxists, and they will do anything to further their fanatical (religious) vision of a temporal utopia.

So, given that, I think that too many people are still talking about this situation without grasping its gravity. And too many conservatives are so comfortable they would not know how to take action that may be required to preserve their liberty, especially if the action threatened their comfort zone. If the situation were reversed, the left would be in the streets… not just a Tea Party here and there, but filling the streets until ’something happened’. I fear we on the right, despite our words, don’t have that committment. These people don’t care what you think.

Until you are willing to stand up, prepared to physically stop them, they will proceed with their agenda without a care for what you think. And at some point you will be unable to break out of the controls that they put on every aspect of your life. We in a death spiral, and most of us don’t even understand what’s happening.

Sorry but the bill is constitutional under the commerce clause and the ability to tax and regulate for the general welfare.

[...] – who wish to give us Death Panels in this mess of a health care “reform” bill that’s unconstitutional. Rationing for all, and end-of-life “consultations” for the elderly. Read [...]

“I think that too many people are still talking about this situation without grasping its gravity.”

Absolutely. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HEALTH CARE. Get that through your skulls. THIS BILL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HEALTH CARE.

Discussing the fine points of the issue such as its “unconstitutionality”, costs, and features is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: THE SHIP IS GOING DOWN.

This is a takeover of the government. Repeat: THE MARXISTS ARE TAKING OVER THE GOVERNMENT. WE WILL NEVER BE FREE AGAIN.

The issue is not health care, the issue is preserving the republic and our freedoms. It is the most important issue America has ever faced.

This bill MUST be stopped. Failure is not an option.

Just tell me the location of the prison which I am to report as my motto is: if they pass it I will not obey and if they tax it I will not pay. And then there’s that whole “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor” thing.

+1000 Old Conservative; well said. Interestingly, even those on the left don’t seem to understand the strategy of one of their own.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-westen/leadership-obama-style-an_b_398813.html

But it all makes sense if one understands Alinsky, who, unlike many on the left, was a realist as opposed to an idealist. 2010 is going to be interesting.

From Jack Whyte’s novel, The Eagle.

“A man who cannot laugh at himself can never see the humor in anyone or anything else, and that is a tragic flaw, no matter who it may involve. For in the lack of humor lie all the seeds of evil and destruction. People who see themselves as being worthy of admiration, and who cannot conceive of themselves as ever being a cause for laughter, are far too serious for their own good, and even worse, they generally believe they have a calling to impress the importance of their beliefs on others. God save us all from humorless men, for they are also merciless and implacable.”

#17, A tax on doing nothing, i.e., a breathing tax, appears to be a direct tax (a capitation), which must be apportioned. The 16th Amendment exempted the income tax from apportionment (some forms of income tax were consider to be direct), but a tax on doing nothing is hardly an income tax, even if the Internal Revenue Service is drafted to enforce the “mandate.” Other than direct taxes, all other taxes have to be uniform throughout the US.

Mandatory auto insurance is an inapposite example, because states have always had a general police power, whereas the Federal Government does not and never has. Also, notice that even in the case of auto insurance, you have to insure against injury to others, not to yourself, and you don’t have to obtain insurance to do nothing, i.e, to not drive. An analogy to the mandate would be a requirement to have auto insurance to just stay in your home.

Andrew
C. Wallace is a former Kentucky State Trooper, Kentucky Native, Korean
War Veteran, Commercial Pilot in Alaska, University of Kentucky Undergraduate
in Business, Four years of Graduate School in Economics and Marketing
at University of Kentucky and University of Iowa., Assistant Professor,
Thirty years as Director of Marketing Firm developing and implementing
national Marketing programs for manufacturers and now retired doing research
and writing.

E-Mail: natlmktg@gte.net

And then we have the audacity - the unadulterated
stupidity - to ask a holy and righteous God to bless this nation.

Come
Soon Lord Jesus

Jim
Schwiesow is a retired sheriff with 46 years of law enforcement service.
He served with the Unites States Army with the occupation forces in post
war Berlin, Germany, and has a total of nine years of military service,
which includes six years in the U.S. Army Reserve.

His
law enforcement service includes: three years in the military police,
fifteen years as an Iowa municipal police officer, and twenty-eight years
as the duly elected sheriff of Sioux County, Iowa.

Jim
has written a number of articles, which have been published in various
professional law enforcement journals.

E-Mail: jimr@orangecitycomm.net
 

Web-Site: www.sheriffjimonline.com

As a Brit, I am unbelievably jealous of the American Constitution. It is a work of art, giving true democracy and power to the people. Those who drafted it knew all too well how governments sour, and how totalitarianism devours. I just hope the American people will stand firm to defend it, while there is time left.

In the meantime, here is a petition for those Brits who are fighting back:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/climate-fraud/index.html

am soo going to steal your bon mot, Mr Warner:

“The Protocols of the Elders of Norwich”

Yep, its true – water vapour is bad for our health, so is CO2. Sad, isn’t it, that we’re breathing it out before we can breathe in again.

Makes you wonder how oxygen-breathing life on earth actually evolved and kept going, us included.

Meanwhile, see this:

“Climate change advisers have decided that an extensive building programme at Heathrow — including the construction of a third runway — can proceed without jeopardising the Government’s carbon emissions targets.

The Committee on Climate Change will report today that 138 million extra passenger could use British airports in 2050, an increase of 60 per cent, without breaching government targets to reduce aviation emissions to below 2005 levels.”

So are we now going to be told to stop breathing, so that the ecowarriors can use that runway to jaunt off across the globe to their meetings?

I’m running out of cynical here …

One more step down the plughole of socialism.

Hello, USSA

Goodbye, America

“The common enemy of humanity is man.

In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up

with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming,

water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these

dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through

changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome.

The real enemy then, is humanity itself.”

- Club of Rome,

premier environmental think-tank,

consultants to the United Nations

http://green-agenda.com/

Fear not despite the MSM America has millions of people who know how to protect their freedom.. I fear we head towards civil war with two sides that have a very different take on reality.. The split or acts of violence could come at any time..

Even today the MSM is still pushing the line that we should ignore the last decade of cooling and the climategate scandal and simply believe..

AS I PREVIOUSLY WARNED YOU LOT…… BREATHING IS NOW DANGEROUS TO PUBLIC HEALTH!

Well, I’m Mad as Hell and I’m NOT going to take it ANYMORE…..’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTN3s2iVKKI&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08

And Jesus Wept!……

The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6HAA_tVdwM

Dreadful, CO2 is now officially outlawed…

What’s next?….OXYGEN?

It is a smart strategy on the part of the left, but it is a hell of a way to do it. If you want to do it, at least you do it by the consensus of Congress. If you do it by regulation, there will be a revolution on the administration’s hands.”

Charles Krauthammer

Gerald Warner is right on target.

The evidence suggests that Obama has narcissistic personality disorder developed during his formative years in the Jeremiah Wright School of Victimhood.

Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

When push comes to show it turns out that Stane (Bridges) actually is a double-agent and also works for the enemy, and of course, just like in real life, Stark Industries is selling missiles to both camps in the conflict.

Downey Jr. (Stark) with his chest implant

Baldwin is
also a member of freedom organizations, such as The Oath-Keepers, and
believes that the times require all freedom-loving Americans to educate,
invigorate and activate the principles of freedom within the States of
America for ourselves and our posterity.

Web site: LibertyDefenseLeague

E-Mail:
tim@libertydefenseleague.com

The homeland security report added that "disgruntled military veterans" might be vulnerable to recruitment by right-wing extremist groups.

That warning was enough to make Rhodes feel paranoid.

"They're accusing anybody who opposes Obama of being a racist or a potential terrorist," he said. "What they're saying is, 'We're coming after you.'"

The motto of Oath Keepers: "Not on our watch!"

The message Rhodes hears from the government: We're watching you.

An incident earlier this year in rural Iowa, not inside the Washington Beltway, motivated Rhodes to start Oath Keepers.

He questioned why the Iowa National Guard planned to use residents of a small town to participate in training on door-to-door searches for weapons.

"Let them say what they want to say, but April 19 has very much become a day for the extreme radical right," Potok said.

Rhodes couldn't disagree more.

Some of his responses to questions have turned would-be allies against him.

"I've been accused of being a traitor or a CIA operative because I'm not coming out and declaring that the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine is a biological weapon," he said.

A Three Percent Oath Keeper in Iraq

The above photo was submitted by an active duty Oath Keeper in Mosul Iraq, sporting an Oath Keepers tab.   As his other tab and patch make clear, he is also a “Three Percenter.”  (see below)

The photo was also posted over at the Sipsey Street Irregulars blog with this message:

Just thought the WRSA [Western Rifle Shooters Association] and the Sipsey Street boys might like to see what we are wearing while over here in Iraq.  We . . . know what the deal is, and when the time comes (which it will), we know where we stand and continue to make preparations for it.

Keep up the good work!

Regards from Mosul,

K7C

Oath Keepers, expect to see more of these tabs popping up soon, even before we begin our care package initiative.  You are making a real difference.   Keep up the good work!

For the Republic,

Stewart Rhodes

By Bob Unruh

<!--- copywrite only show on NON commentary pages as per joseph meeting 8/23/06 ------>


<!-- copyright -->
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Among his mandates:



• The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
  
  
  
• The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
  
  
  
• The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
  
  
  
• The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
  
  
  
• The right of every family to a decent home;
  
  
  
• The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
  
  
  
• The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
  
  
  
• The right to a good education.

"There is no such thing as a 'Catholic judge,' " Scalia said in a 2007 speech. "The bottom line is that the Catholic faith seems to me to have little effect on my work as a judge. . . . Just as there is no 'Catholic' way to cook a hamburger, I am hard-pressed to tell you of a single opinion of mine that would have come out differently if I were not Catholic."

We have to rise up in self-defense and legitimate rebellion. We need more drastic action than e-mails to Congress.

We need the next revolution.

Tags:
• DICTATORSHIP








Former Air Force fighter pilot and balls to the wall patriot Guy Razer tells Liebermans office what he thinks of Traitor Joe's preemptive strike against freedom of speech.

In scathing criticism of Moscow, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Russia Thursday that its policies have put it on a path to isolation and irrelevance.

Lesson #1. Each successive round of the credit crisis is far deeper and broader than the previous.



• In 2007, the big news was big losses; in 2008, it's big bankruptcies.
• In March, the failure of Bear Stearns shattered $395 billion in assets. Now, just six months later, the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is impacting $1.7 trillion in combined assets, or over four times more. And considering the $5.3 trillion in mortgages that Fannie-Freddie own or guarantee, the impact is actually thirteen times greater than the Bear Stearns failure.

Yes, the Fed can inject hundreds of billions into the banking system. But if banks don't lend, the money goes nowhere.

Sure, the Treasury can inject up to $200 billion of capital into Fannie and Freddie. But if their mortgage portfolio is full of holes, all that new capital goes down the drain.

And of course, the U.S. government has vast resources. But if the $49 trillion mountain of U.S. debts and the $180 trillion pile-up of U.S. derivatives are beginning to crumble, all those resources don't amount to more than a band-aid and a prayer.

Lesson #3. Shareholders are the first victims.

Bear Stearns shareholders got wiped out. Fannie and Freddie Mac shareholders are getting wiped out. Ditto for shareholders in any of Detroit's Big Three that go belly-up, any bank taken over by the FDIC or any insurer taken over by state insurance commissioners.

Most people assume that when the government steps in, that's it. The story dies and investors shift their attention to other concerns. In smaller bailouts, perhaps. But not in this Mother of All Bailouts.

The taxpayer cost for just these two companies — up to $200 billion — is more than the total cost of bailing out thousands of S&Ls in the 1970s. But it's still just a fraction of the liability the government is now assuming.

Why?

According to Gretchen Morgenson and Charles Duhigg's column in yesterday's New York Times , " Mortgage Giant Overstated the Size of Its Capital Base " ...



• Freddie Mac's portfolio contains many securities backed by subprime and Alt-A loans. But the company has not written down the value of many of those loans to reflect current market prices.
  
• For years, both Freddie and Fannie have effectively recognized losses whenever payments on a loan are 90 days past due. But in recent months, the companies saidthey would wait until payments were TWO YEARS late. As a result, tens of thousands of other loans have also not been marked down in value.
• Both companies have grossly inflated their capital by relying on accumulated tax credits that can supposedly be used to offset future profits. Fannie says it gets a $36 billion capital boost from tax credits, while Freddie claims a $28 billion benefit. But unless these companies can generate profits, which now seems highly unlikely, all of the tax credits are useless. Not one penny of these so-called "assets" could ever be sold. And every single penny will now vanish as the company goes into receivership.

My forecast:

Just to keep Fannie and Freddie solvent will take so much capital, there will be no funds available to pursue the primary mission of this bailout — to pump money into the mortgage market and save it from collapse. That mission will ultimately end in failure.

They hope investors will flock back to Fannie and Freddie bonds.

They hope investors will resume lending them money at a rate that's much closer to the Treasury rates.

And they hope Fannie and Freddie will again be able to feed that low-cost money into the mortgage market just like they used to.

In other words, they hope the U.S. Treasury will lift up the credit of Fannie and Freddie.

To understand the magnitude of this dilemma, just look at the numbers ...



• Mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie: $5.3 trillion.
• Treasury securities outstanding as of March 31, according to the Fed's Flow of Funds (report page 87, pdf page 95): Also $5.3 trillion.

And it's actually worse than that:



• Foreign investors, the most likely to dump their holdings if they lose confidence in the United States, hold an estimated 20% of the Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages outstanding. But ...
  
  
• Foreign investors own 52.7% of the Treasury securities outstanding (excluding those held by the Fed).

"It's no good. The benefit of our plan to the stock market is a spit in the ocean. On the other hand, to the government bond market, it's a potential hydrogen bomb. The quality spreads are narrowing — and in the wrong direction."

The president didn't know much about quality spreads. "What are the causes and what are the consequences of changes in quality spreads?" he asked.

"I am referring to the difference in yield between a Treasury bond and a corporate bond. A big corporation [like Fannie or Freddie] always has to pay more than the U.S. Treasury to borrow money. Typically, the difference has been about one full percentage point.

"Then, several months ago, when the full threat of corporate bankruptcies was first apparent, the yield on medium-grade corporate bonds went up by 2 1/4 percent, but the yield on the governments went up only 1/4 percent. In other words, the spread increased by two full percentage points. It was a red-hot flashing signal of trouble. It revealed that confidence in all corporations — no matter how creditworthy — had collapsed. But that was before our rescue package was announced."

"And now?"

"Now the opposite is happening. Corporate bond yields [like Fannie's and Freddie's] are back down sharply, but government bond yields are actually up sharply. The spread between them has narrowed to practically nothing — a very bad sign." The Treasury secretary felt satisfied that he had put forth a very clear and straightforward explanation.

The secretary certainly didn't know how. He spent the next half hour going over the events in the marketplace until finally, after considerable effort, the president developed an image of bond markets that looked similar to the chart below.

"Now I see," the president said finally. "We wanted to bring the corporate bonds up to the level of the government bonds. What's happening is precisely the opposite. The 'governments,' as you call them, are falling down to the level of the 'corporates.' In short, we are not lifting them up; they are dragging us down."

The president thought for a moment before he spoke. "The question is, Why? Don't they believe we're serious? Why haven't we restored confidence? At the meeting, it was said that we can create cash, that the law gives us the authority to funnel this cash wherever we please."

"The answer is that we can create cash. But we cannot create credit."

"What's the difference?" the president queried.

The president was getting impatient. "So what's the point?"

"The point is that you can create cash; you can't create confidence."

"It would seem to me that the more money we give 'em, the more confidence they'd have."

"No, no! It's exactly the opposite. The more we spend the government's money recklessly, the less confidence they have and the more they fear our government bonds will go down in value."

"Oh? But why can't we just buy more corporate bonds? That should convince them we mean business!"

"No, it just convinces them we're throwing more good money after bad — their good money after bad."

"But what about the new law?"

"The law gives us the on-paper authority to buy private securities. It does not give us the actual power to create real economic wealth."

"Why didn't we recognize this when we discussed the rescue plan?"

"We did. But you overrode us, and we consented. We hoped that the marketplace might swallow it. We seriously underestimated the sophistication of U.S. and foreign investors — very seriously underestimated."

The president hesitated for a few seconds before responding, but it seemed like hours as the tension built.

"Then what?"