Thanks, Congress. Well done.

After the turmoil over the past week, and looking towards the Senate’s likely vote on the Paulson plan on Wednesday, US Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich provides some excellent food for thought in his interview with Bill Moyers:

BILL MOYERS: It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book in which I highlighted practically every third sentence. So, it took me a while to read, what is in fact, a rather short book. You began with a quote from the Bible, the Book of Second Kings, chapter 20, verse one. “Set thine house in order.” How come that admonition?

ANDREW BACEVICH: Well, I’ve been troubled by the course of U.S. foreign policy for a long, long time. And I wrote the book in order to sort out my own thinking about where our basic problems lay. And I really reached the conclusion that our biggest problems are within.

I think there’s a tendency on the part of policy makers and probably a tendency on the part of many Americans to think that the problems we face are problems that are out there somewhere, beyond our borders. And that if we can fix those problems, then we’ll be able to continue the American way of life as it has long existed. I think it’s fundamentally wrong. Our major problems are at home.

BILL MOYERS: So, this is a version of “Physician, heal thyself?”

ANDREW BACEVICH: Well, yes, “Physician, heal thyself,” and you begin healing yourself by looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing yourself as you really are.

BILL MOYERS: Here is one of those neon sentences. Quote, “The pursuit of freedom, as defined in an age of consumerism, has induced a condition of dependence on imported goods, on imported oil, and on credit. The chief desire of the American people,” you write, “is that nothing should disrupt their access to these goods, that oil, and that credit. The chief aim of the U.S. government is to satisfy that desire, which it does in part of through the distribution of largesse here at home, and in part through the pursuit of imperial ambitions abroad.” In other words, you’re saying that our foreign policy is the result of a dependence on consumer goods and credit.

ANDREW BACEVICH: Our foreign policy is not something simply concocted by people in Washington D.C. and imposed on us. Our foreign policy is something that is concocted in Washington D.C., but it reflects the perceptions of our political elite about what we want, we the people want. And what we want, by and large - I mean, one could point to many individual exceptions - but, what we want, by and large is, we want this continuing flow of very cheap consumer goods.

We want to be able to pump gas into our cars regardless of how big they may happen to be, in order to be able to drive wherever we want to be able to drive. And we want to be able to do these things without having to think about whether or not the book’s balanced at the end of the month, or the end of the fiscal year. And therefore, we want this unending line of credit.

The video and transcript of the entire interview are available here. Are we ready to be the change we wish to see in the world?

First, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Democrat from Ohio:

Next, Rep. Michael Burgess, Republican from Texas:

The rule of law and process of good government are taking a beating this weekend.

I’ve reviewed the “Discussion Draft” of bailout legislation, available here.

Any Representatives or Senators feeling pressured to accept this power grab by our Treasury and Federal Reserve need to understand that they are negotiating with terrorists. It was my recollection that we do not negotiate with terrorists.

Again, what should we do?

First, we should embrace every effort to restore transparency, trust, and the rule of law to our capital markets.

But we must also remember that we are at a critical inflection point, and the banking institutions hold all the cards. Bernanke and Paulson are predicting terrible things if we do not bail out the banks at our expense. Their predictions are well on their way to becoming self-fulfilling prophecy, since the banks ultimately control access to credit.

Many have documented why the bailout plan is unlikely to work as proposed. It is time for principled leaders in Congress to go on offense. So Paulson wants $700 billion to buy toxic assets, “restore confidence”, and get banks lending again?

Why not just round up to $1 trillion, but issue it in United States Notes directly from the Treasury, instead of Federal Reserve Notes?

What’s a United States Note? That’s debt-free currency printed by our Treasury that carries the same legal tender status as the private debt money issued by the Federal Reserve. Except our government doesn’t need to borrow from foreign lenders or the Federal Reserve to put it into circulation. We’d just create it, and exchange this debt-free paper money for the banks’ toxic assets.

Sound odd? It’s not unprecedented — check out how Lincoln funded the Civil War when foreign lenders were only offering financing at usurious interest rates. That’s how U.S. Notes were born, at which time they were given the popular name “greenbacks”. They circulated alongside Federal Reserve Notes from 1913 until 1971.

It’s basically a way to be “helpful” and go along with what the Fed and Treasury are suggesting, but make them play by our rules. In other words, “Sure, we’ll give you the money you’re asking for, but we’re absolutely not going to pay you interest for the privilege of bailing you out.”

Put it this way — having Congress empower the Treasury to issue our nation’s own fiat currency is more Constitutional than delegating the issuance of our currency to a private central bank where all money is created through the people and our government(s) taking on debt.

We’ve used public money to preserve the union before, maybe it’s time to try again.

I think Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) would agree:

Key quote:

“Why aren’t we helping homeowners directly with their debt burden? Why aren’t we helping American families faced with bankruptcy. Why aren’t we reducing debt for Main Street instead of Wall Street? Isn’t it time for fundamental change in our debt-based monetary system, so we can free ourselves from the manipulation of the Federal Reserve and the banks?“

This is a rather long post. Here’s the executive summary:

Practically speaking, what should we do? As unpleasant as deflation sounds, collapsing our currency is worse. We must not collapse our currency to bail out corrupt institutions who benefited from unsound practices. A bailout attempt must not tip us over into a run on the currency. With an existing $9.7 trillion debt and $53 trillion in long-term entitlement liabilities, we are not the world’s best credit risk to abruptly increase our borrowing.

If pain is inevitable, how can we temper the economic turbulence to come?

Here is a plan that I would support:

1. Eliminate capital gains taxes on real estate transactions to encourage existing private capital to buy underlying real assets.
2. Affirm that all voluntary barter transactions between two individuals (human individuals, not “corporate persons” or legal entities) are tax-free, regardless of the medium of exchange.

The first step will help stem the fall in real estate prices without increasing debt or bailing out irresponsible borrowers or lenders.

The second step will restore a more reasonable balance of power between individual Americans who have been pistol-whipped in this economic mess, and the corporations who benefit from an unsustainable system.

Together, they will reduce near-term economic dislocations, while providing a platform for sustainable community-based growth over the long term.

This moment in American history calls for principled leadership by an irate minority in Congress who is willing to stand up for the American people. The human people, the individuals — not corporations who already run Washington through their lobbying machines.

Now for the rest of the story:

Nouriel Roubini has an excellent summary of reasons that the Paulson/Bernanke bailout plan is a bad idea. Key quote:

Thus, the Treasury plan is a disgrace: a bailout of reckless bankers, lenders and investors that provides little direct debt relief to borrowers and financially stressed households and that will come at a very high cost to the US taxpayer. And the plan does nothing to resolve the severe stress in money markets and interbank markets that are now close to a systemic meltdown.

It’s also important to note how bailing out poorly-run banks and financial institutions negatively impacts well-run banks, such as BB&T. I’ve banked at BB&T ever since CEO John Allison took a principled stand against financing development projects resulting from land seizures like Kelo v. New London. Based upon the values demonstrated at BB&T, I was not surprised when I read the thoughtful letter (available here as a .pdf) that Mr. Allison sent to Congress. While everyone in this debate has their own perspective and interests to protect, the letter makes some excellent points:

We think it is important that Congress hear from the well-run financial institutions as most of the concerns have been focused on the problem companies. It is inappropriate that the debate is largely being shaped by the financial institutions who made very poor decisions.

There is no panic on Main Street and in sound financial institutions. The problems are in high risk institutions and on Wall Street.

While all financial intermediaries are being impacted by liquidity issues, this is primarily a bailout of poorly-run financial institutions. It is extremely important that the bailout not damage well run companies.

Corrections are not all bad. The market correction process eliminates irrational competitors. There were a number of poorly managed institutions and poorly made financial decisions during the real estate boom. It is important that any rules post “rescue” punish the poorly run institutions and not punish the well-run companies.

This is a housing value crisis. It does not make economic sense to purchase credit card loans, automobile loans, etc. The government should directly purchase housing assets, not real estate bonds. This would include lots and houses under construction.

The primary beneficiaries of the proposed rescue are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The Treasury has a number of smart individuals, including Hank Paulson. However, Treasury is totally dominated by Wall Street investment bankers. They do not have knowledge of the commercial banking industry. Therefore, they can not be relied on to objectively assess all the implications of government policy on all financial intermediaries. The decision to protect the money funds is a clear example of a material lack of insight into the risk of the total financial system.

Mr. Allison presents a balanced perspective, although his statement “The government should directly purchase housing assets, not real estate bonds. This would include lots and houses under construction” can be read as his asking for government support for BB&T’s residential and construction loans.

The bottom line is that Paulson’s proposed plan, and the bailouts done to date, have been for the benefit of well-connected corporations and the individuals who profit from them. That’s corporate socialism. But as BB&T illustrates, there are well-run institutions whose values and business practices are built to last. We must not rescue institutions whose irresponsible behavior has left then vulnerable to this correction. Any  attempts to “save the system” should eliminate the institutions that failed in the process, and allow good institutions to prosper.

Given the strength of the interests involved, I believe we will see a bailout plan out of Congress. Time will tell if any “bailout” allows owners and managers of failed institutions to suffer the consequences of their actions. Regardless of the final plan, however, no bailout will be able to prevent further economic suffering.

Why? We are truly between a rock and a hard place. This crisis resulted from way too much lending, which created way too much money out of nothing, and resulted in irresponsible people, governments, and businesses accumulating way too much debt.

How can we cure too much borrowing with yet more government borrowing, the proceeds of which are given to banks to allow them to lend more, when we’ve already borrowed TOO MUCH and can’t service the debt we have?

For a graphical illustration, check out this blog post:
http://ukhousebubble.blogspot.com/2008/09/crushing-truth-about-us-household-debt.html

For another graphical illustration, consider this image:

Debt on this chart is defined as all U.S. debt (sum debt of federal and state & local governments, international, and private debt, including households, business and financial sector debts, and federal debt to trust funds).

We cannot borrow our way out of debt.

We cannot borrow our way to prosperity.

Collectively, we have borrowed so much that by 2016, the interest on our debts at 6% interest will be greater than the total consumer income. Those who think we can bail out the lenders without considering the collective balance sheet of our nation are ignoring reality.

Where are we going to get the money for a trillion dollar bailout? Will foreign investors recycle another trillion dollars into new bonds issued by our Treasury to pay for it?

As evidenced by the chatter from abroad, Europeans and Asians are not willing to fund our continued largess. Attempting to “monetize debt” by having the Federal Reserve print the money required for a bailout would lead to loss of confidence in the dollar, and potentially catastrophic collapse of our currency.

So we have two choices — collapse of corrupt financial institutions with deflation, or preserving the dominance of corrupt institutions while collapsing our currency  with inflation or hyperinflation.

Practically speaking, what should we do? As unpleasant as deflation sounds, collapsing our currency is worse. We must not collapse our currency to bail out corrupt institutions who benefited from unsound practices. A bailout attempt must not tip us over into a run on the currency. With an existing $9.7 trillion debt and $53 trillion in long-term entitlement liabilities, we are not the world’s best credit risk to abruptly increase our borrowing.

So if pain is inevitable, how can we temper the economic turbulence to come?

Here is a plan that I would support:

1. Eliminate capital gains taxes on real estate transactions to encourage existing private capital to buy underlying real assets.
2. Affirm that all voluntary barter transactions between two individuals (human individuals, not “corporate persons” or legal entities) are tax-free, regardless of the medium of exchange.

The first step will help stem the fall in real estate prices without increasing debt or bailing out irresponsible borrowers or lenders.

The second step will restore a more reasonable balance of power between individual Americans who have been pistol-whipped in this economic mess, and the corporations who benefit from an unsustainable system.

Together, they will reduce near-term economic dislocations, while providing a platform for sustainable community-based growth over the long term.

This moment in American history calls for principled leadership by an irate minority in Congress who is willing to stand up for the American people. The human people, the individuals — not corporations who already run Washington through their lobbying machines.

Our country’s ultimate source of strength and resilience is a self-sufficient community that can feed itself, clothe itself, house itself, educate itself, and trade its surplus production with its neighbors. Today, our communities and individuals have never been more dependent — as evidenced by consumer sentiment, unemployment, foreclosures, and even tent cities in hard-hit areas.

In this moment of crisis, individuals need to be free to help each other, and themselves. We need to level the playing field between corporations (who enjoy “legal personhood” and limited liability) and individual Americans.

People must again have the ability to serve each other as individuals to recreate the wealth that is being destroyed all around us.

Many folks I encounter on the campaign trail share my concerns about the economy and our financial system. In light of our challenges, I’m often asked why I’m so cheerful and optimistic about the future.

The reason I’m excited about the future is that I’ve come to appreciate that we actually do live in a world of abundance. The economic trials we’re experiencing, if handled properly, will ultimately reveal our potential to again prosper as a free society, a strengthened constitutional republic, with strong communities knitted together by the contributions of many.

Why do I believe in such an optimistic outcome?

Because more and more people are questioning the status quo. For us and our family, the questioning started as soon as we started having children — and when we started buying toys. The average lifespan of our imported plastic toys was 6 months from Wal-Mart to landfill. It took us a while, but we now understand that the toy industry is a farce and that we don’t need to worry about lead paint from China — since we don’t buy toys that might as well go straight into the recycle bin anyway. Finely crafted hardwood marble racers? Now those are a blast — and they’ll likely be around for our grandchildren, as well.

How about food? In an age of rising fuel prices, even folks who shop at the supermarket understand the difference between fragrant, fresh South Carolina peaches at $0.99 per pound versus unripe peach-colored baseballs from California for $2.99 per pound. For those who venture outside the supermarket, the variety of local produce and meats available in our local farmers’ markets is truly stunning.

As we shift our attention from the made-for-TV luxuries of a mass-produced consumer culture to the truly visceral pleasures of fantastic local food, high-quality artisanal craftsmanship, and personal attention from committed entrepreneurs to who own their own businesses and truly care about their clients, the world looks much different, and much brighter.

In today’s uncertain times, is it possible to reinvigorate a free market of free people, and stimulate local economic growth at the grassroots?

If Lyle Estill’s Abundance Foundation is any indication, the answer is yes. As part of Taking the Pulse, I had the opportunity to interview Lyle and discuss his new book, Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy:

It’s a great book, a great discussion, and a great message: we need to encourage hometown security, instead of mindlessly funding homeland security.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m a firm believer in free trade and free markets. But the benefits of free market capitalism require a foundation of Constitutional money and honest banking. Right now, we have neither — and since our government ignores the Constitution and answers to corporate lobbyists instead of the people, we live in a world of unrestrained corporatism that turns a world of natural abundance into a world of artificial scarcity.

It’s time to reinvigorate our local communities, and local economies, in the face of our looming economic crisis and likely banking system “bailout” at our collective expense. How? As I mentioned in my prior post:

Here’s the bottom line: we may or may not be able to prevent a misguided bailout. Ultimately, however, self-sufficient communities are the only lasting antidote to the current crisis. There is one thing that Congress could do to provide a safety net that would empower individuals to build self-sufficient communities:

Congress must unambiguously affirm that all voluntary barter transactions between individuals are tax-free.

What do I mean by “barter transactions”? They may be transactions exchanging time for time, time for goods, goods for goods, time for dollars or private barter currencies (paper or specie), or goods for dollars or private barter currencies. The key point is that human individuals (not corporations or other creatures of the legal system) need to be free to create wealth in their communities.

If the banks get bailed out, the people need to be bailed out. People must again have the ability to serve each other as individuals to recreate the wealth that is being destroyed all around us.

It’s time to restore the unalienable individual rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Nothing like a midnight press release from the SEC to let us know that all is well:

SEC Halts Short Selling of Financial Stocks to Protect Investors and Markets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-211

Commission Also Takes Steps to Increase Market Transparency and Liquidity

Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission, acting in concert with the U.K. Financial Services Authority, today took temporary emergency action to prohibit short selling in financial companies to protect the integrity and quality of the securities market and strengthen investor confidence. The U.K. FSA took similar action yesterday.

---

Additional Materials

• Emergency Order, Release No. 34-58592.pdf
• Emergency Order, Release No. 34-58591.pdf
• Emergency Order, Release No. 34-58588.pdf
• Form SH
• Form SH Instructions

---

The Commission’s action will apply to the securities of 799 financial companies. The action is immediately effective.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said, “The Commission is committed to using every weapon in its arsenal to combat market manipulation that threatens investors and capital markets. The emergency order temporarily banning short selling of financial stocks will restore equilibrium to markets. This action, which would not be necessary in a well-functioning market, is temporary in nature and part of the comprehensive set of steps being taken by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and the Congress.”

I visited China in the summer of 2007 while everything was bubbly and beautiful in their equities markets. Our group met with a representative of the Shenzhen stock exchange, who told us how the Chinese government had taken steps to ensure that China’s markets would always be stable and prosperous. The government knows who is buying and selling every position, so they can identify “market manipulators.” Most importantly, the government has outlawed short selling.

How has this transparency and forbidding short selling helped the Chinese market over the past year?

It’s lost over 60% from its peak. Without any short sellers.

Short sellers simply borrow existing shares, paying for the privilege, and sell them in the open market. They have carrying costs, and must eventually buy the shares back. The fact that they must buy to complete the transaction means that they provide support for stocks during declines — when stocks are going down, short sellers are often the ones buying back to close their positions.

Without short sellers looking to close their positions, declines can be precipitous. In moments of panic, short sellers are the only buyers — so without them, markets can simply crash with no bids offered.

There is a form of short selling, termed “naked” short selling, that is and should be illegal. Naked short sellers don’t actually borrow shares to sell — they literally sell something that they don’t own, without actually borrowing “real” shares. In that case, they are simply counterfeiting stock and dumping it on the market. That’s fraudulent, and must be prosecuted.

The SEC should be prosecuting naked short selling, not eliminating short selling.

This step by the SEC may cause a pop as short sellers rush to close their positions, but it will not prevent insolvent financial firms from facing their ultimate judgment as stockholders eager to exit sell into any strength.

When judgment comes, it will be precipitous.

As you know, I’m a big believer in transparency in government. That translates into transparency in campaigns, as well — especially since our campaign is supported by so many people. Many have asked for insight into how we’re doing, and tonight we received results from our first poll.

We called a sample of 1,105 households across the district, stratified by precinct. Before we hit the results, let’s review our district’s demographics:

Democrats: 46%
Republicans: 28%
Unaffiliated: 26%

As you can see, while Democrats far outnumber Republicans, Unaffiliated voters and any swing Democrats can provide a margin of victory.

Here is the sample that we polled:

Democrats: 57%
Republicans: 26%
Unaffiliated: 17%

So our sample had significantly more Democrats than the overall district, with slightly fewer Republicans, and significantly fewer Unaffiliateds.

Here are our results:

Price: 56%
Lawson: 31%
Undecided: 13%

Considering that our ten-term incumbent typically wins this district with 65% of the vote, he’s off from his typical pace. Furthermore, the presence of 13% undecided is not exactly bullish for a ten-term incumbent who advertises liberally with taxpayer-financed mailings.

At this point, it appears we have reason to redouble our efforts towards this election. Not only are we maintaining our base, but we picked up five percent from Unaffiliated and Democratic voters — only 26% of our sample was Republican, and we’re polling at 31%. While our incumbent is polling at 56%, the sample was 57% Democratic — and the overall district is only 46% Democratic.

We know it’s time for change. I wouldn’t want to run against change this year. Nor would I want to run against a federal government that follows the Constitution.

Today is Constitution Day — please donate to fund our mail and media campaign, and help us win this election.

There’s no telling how to solve the above equation. Too many unknowns, plus the potential of dividing by zero. The one thing we can be sure of, however, is that U are going to get hurt. In fact, we all are.

At this point, watching things get interesting is anticlimactic. We’re playing out a hand that was dealt a long time ago. Here are some insightful commentaries from the events of the past 48 hours:

We’re well beyond being a nation of laws, and are now in the Twilight Zone where the Federal Reserve cares little for its (albeit unconstitutional) authority and is making things up as it goes along. Specifically, it’s now turned itself into a margin lender for equities.

Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain plays a mean hand of poker, while Bank of America’s CEO Ken Lewis has yet to earn his stripes as a value investor:

The Market Cap of Merrill Lynch was $26 Billion last Friday. Today the Market Cap of Merrill Lynch is $26 Billion. The all stock offer for Merrill Lynch was for $50 billion. The Market Cap of Bank of America was $153 Billion last Friday. Today the Market Cap of Bank of America is $121 Billion.

Interesting how the weak get bought, and the strong get weaker.

Yves from Naked Capitalism comments on John Dizard’s Financial Times article detailing the unintended consequences of Paulson’s decision to eviscerate holders of Freddie and Fannie preferred stock:

Fannie and Freddie preferred were held by banks, so any losses on the preferred would reduce already stressed bank capital. But far worse, preferred stock was the best hope for financial firms to raise new equity. Trashing the Fannie/Freddie preferreds meant that any sane investor would worry that future bank rescues could similarly damage preferred shareholders, and they’d avoid financial firm preferred stocks, including new issues. And indeed, financial preferreds got whacked in the wake of the GSE bailout.

Financial companies are having trouble raising money. That’s a problem when you’re our largest insurance company, AIG, and you need a quick fix:

AIG, the troubled insurer that sits at the heart of the financial system, on Monday had its key credit ratings cut, potentially triggering billions of dollars of collateral payments on its many derivatives trades.

The ratings cuts come after US authorities moved to fight this latest fire in the crisis on Wall Street, throwing a $20bn lifeline to AIG while convening a fresh set of emergency talks at the Federal Reserve in New York to find potential sources of funds for the insurer.

The ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded AIG’s long-term credit rating to A minus from AA minus late in New York on Monday, reflects the large losses AIG is expected to make on mortgage-related investments and credit derivatives.

S&P warned the insurer could face further ratings cuts - perhaps even into the lower BBB category - unless it is able to ”implement further liquidity options” and ”the successful sale of at least a portion of its business assets”.

That’s a story to watch tomorrow, because it’s not clear where AIG will get the money. It’s clear that banks and financial companies are not in a hurry to lend to one another. In fact, the interbank money market was so illiquid that the Federal Reserve added $70 billion today — the largest reserve injection since following the attacks of 9/11.

The attacks of 9/11 were followed by a capitulative selloff, and then a strong bounce when it became clear they were an isolated, if tragic, event. Today’s events are best characterized as further maturation of our systemic financial crisis.

After gorging for two decades on cheap credit which grew into massive debt, it’s time to ask some basic questions about money as debt, versus money as wealth.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working with a friend and colleague Alex Scholz to create a public access television show: Taking the Pulse. Our show isn’t political, and it’s not associated with my congressional campaign. It’s simply a vehicle to highlight great people in our community who are working to make our community a better place. Hence the name, Taking the Pulse — it’s my chance to “take the pulse” of various challenges we face, and celebrate people who are making a difference.

In these times of economic uncertainty and rising crime, our first topic is critically important: substance abuse and addiction recovery.

As a physician, I’ve seen people at their best as well as people at their worst. We should never minimize the scourge of addiction, but we should also recognize that there are many kinds of addictive behavior.

Why is the nonviolent cocaine or heroin addict subject to incarceration and a criminal record, while the nonviolent nicotine or alcohol abuser is simply encouraged to quit? Perhaps there are more politicians smoking cigarettes and drinking martinis with lobbyists?

Seriously, though, we tried alcohol prohibition. Alcohol abuse remained, and violent crime skyrocketed as a result. Now we’ve criminalized certain drugs, and all we’ve done is encourage a violence-ridden global black market for illegal substances, while turning addicts into incarcerated wards of the state with greatly reduced chances of leading a normal life or finding legitimate employment.

Is there a better way? How can we constructively deal with the medical problem of addiction?

As it turns out, one of the best comprehensive addiction recovery programs in the country, if not the world, is right here in Durham, North Carolina: Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, or TROSA.

TROSA has a fourteen year history of treating folks with addictions from across the state. They have a comprehensive two-year residential program that is completely free to its residents, and funds itself through its own local businesses as well as donations from the community. Just this past year they’ve begun to receive a bit of state funding, but the power of their model has been the way they’ve leveraged social entrepreneurship and private funding to maintain high levels of accountability.

I spent several hours visiting TROSA with its founder, President, and CEO Kevin McDonald. Kevin knows the problems of addiction and recovery intimately, and has assembled an amazing team of professionals along with a staff of recovering substance abusers to create an environment where people can literally change their lives.

TROSA exists to support and empower its residents as they remakes their lives, restore accountability and self-respect, and learn job skills that help every graduate transition to a life of productive employment in the community. This episode features extensive interviews with CEO Kevin McDonald, Organizational Development Manager and former resident Ty Dexter, current resident Trish Goodwin, and other residents in various stages of recovery:

The next topic is stopping problems before they start, and helping children reach their full potential inside and outside our education system: that’s where Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate comes in.

I’ve previously featured Graig Meyer and Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate in the campaign blog — it is a locally funded and locally driven mentorship and advocacy program for children geared towards maximizing their educational achievement.

As detailed here, the local control and accountability has made the program a stunning success. This episode highlights the program, as well as two participants — Jamison Richardson (mentee) and Richard Kwok (mentor):

We have more great episodes coming up, and I encourage you to join us as we explore current challenges, and our ability to change our world through local, community-based solutions.

Taking the Pulse airs on The People’s Channel 8 in Orange and Chatham counties, Tuesday at 8pm and Wednesday at 8am and 2pm. Episodes will be available online at takingthepulse.blip.tv after airing.

You can also stay tuned for updates via iTunes podcasting, or RSS.

Our twenty-year incumbent Rep. David Price is Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. In this role, he has overseen an unprecedented transfer of power and wealth to the military-industrial complex through Homeland Security’s massive bureaucracy.

Evidence of Homeland Security’s reach is evidenced by today’s FEMA press release outlining our federal government’s activities in preparation for hurricane Gustav:

Snapshot of Federal Activities:

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

* FEMA’s pre-positioned supplies available for distribution in Gulf Coast states include:
o More than 2.4 million liters of water (137 truckloads).
o More than 4 million meals (203 truckloads).
o 478 emergency generators.
o 141 truckloads of tarps.
o 267 truckloads of blankets and cots.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

* TSA has deployed 45 Transit Teams and 150 Transit Security Officers to facilitate the evacuation of critical transit need individuals.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - continued
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

* CBP is providing 20 Law Enforcement Officers to help protect Search & Rescue efforts.
* CBP has deployed 100 law enforcement personnel to help with evacuation and contra-flow traffic issues.
* CBP will provide reconnaissance and imagery to improve situational awareness.

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

* DOT, through the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is working with states, airports, airlines and bus companies to facilitate evacuations.
* DOT is managing planned contra-flow traffic on major highways to allow for expanded evacuation efforts and is tracking fuel availability along evacuation routes.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

* HHS has deployed nine Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, 11 Health Strike Teams, two Incident Command Teams and nine Federal Medical Stations, each with a 250-bed capacity, to the region.
* HHS has more than 1,000 public health support staff in the region assigned to support medical evacuations and to address health care needs.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

* VA has evacuated at-risk patients from VA hospitals in the most exposed facilities.
* VA is providing emergency managers to federal and state operations centers and has 190 medical staff on-hand to staff additional Federal Medical Stations as needed.

U.S. Department of Defense, Northern Command (NORTHCOM)

* Activated four Defense Coordinating Officers to provide assessment and coordination.
* Designated three military installations as FEMA National Logistics Staging Areas to support forward distribution of supplies and equipment to affected areas (Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi; and Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi).

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

* USCG Cutter DECISIVE will be underway from Pascagoula, MS on Saturday, 30 August, to provide a Command and Control platform in the Gulf of Mexico if needed.
* Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River placed one Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) on standby and Sector Ohio Valley placed 3 additional DARTs on standby. DARTS have boats and personnel capable of conducting rescue in shallow water and urban environments.
* The Coast Guard currently has 19 Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopters and 10 SAR fixed wing aircraft available at Mobile, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, and Houston.
* The Coast Guard will begin conducting pre-storm over flights of estimated land fall locations based on NOAA weather models to identify potential issues/threats this weekend.

National Guard Bureau (NGB)

* National Guard members in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are standing by with people and equipment. Personnel in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi have been activated to assist with evacuation and shelter operations.
* More than 65,000 National Guard personnel are currently available in the Gulf Coast region.
* Arkansas has entered into an Memorandum of Understanding with Louisiana to house up to 4,000 evacuees at Fort Chaffee, Ark., if Hurricane Gustav forces a mass evacuation

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

* USACE is managing levee protection and flood fighting activities and has deployed equipment and personnel to support these efforts.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

* USDA provided information about how to keep food safe during power outages to the media in the Gulf Coast region.
* Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-674-6854 is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

* SBA has staff in Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi to coordinate activities with federal and state partners.
* Reservists have been activated to staff SBA’s Disaster Customer Service Center (25 customer service reps), the Field Inspection Team (111 on stand-by), and the Processing and Disbursement center (59 loan offices; 10 attorneys).
* SBA’s field offices are using marketing materials to get the word out about preparedness to residents and business owners in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The American Red Cross (ARC)

* ARC has headquarters operational in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
* Pre-positioned 19 emergency response vehicles and has 196 additional vehicles on standby nationwide.
* Placed Disaster Field Supply Centers on standby and deployed shelter and kitchen trailers to Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
* Working to identify additional shelter locations in adjacent states to support evacuation efforts.

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)

* EMAC is coordinating requests from other, non-impacted states for support from Louisiana and Texas. Pennsylvania, Delaware and Ohio are among the states providing support for medical evacuations.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror. For more information on FEMA activities visit www.fema.gov and for more information on personal preparedness see www.Ready.gov.

While this coordination among agencies is admirable, the press release raises a number of questions. Have our states and local communities become entirely dependent on this federal apparatus for emergency response? Considering this year’s repeal of 2006’s Insurrection Act modifications, why does the Department of Defense’s Northern Command (NORTHCOM) play a coordinating role in natural disasters?

Natural disasters have become reliable excuses for consolidating of federal power, instead of encouraging greater local control and self-sufficiency. Why has this occurred? Follow the money — in 1961, departing President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about the rise of the military-industrial complex. Forty years later, this same military-industrial complex was unable to account for $2.3 trillion in expenditures:

Who is responsible for spending all this money? Congress — and our own Rep. David Price.

Rep. Price funds the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Homeland Security funds Rep. Price. According to OpenSecrets.org, Rep. Price’s third largest PAC donor is the defense industry, including:

Boeing Co $3,000
EADS North America $2,000
Honeywell International $5,000
Lockheed Martin $6,000
United Technologies $1,000
DRS Technologies $5,000
General Dynamics $6,000
Harris Corp $5,000
L-3 Communications $5,000
Raytheon Co $7,000
SAIC Inc $1,000
Alion Science & Technology $1,000
Northrop Grumman $3,000
SRA International $1,000

On an individual basis, defense industry donors are the largest group, with $30,000 from Defense Electronics and $17,000 from Defense Aerospace.

As your Congressman, I will provide principled representation that answers to you, not corporate interests. I will advance a Constitutional federal government that encourages “hometown security,” instead of enriching government contractors through Homeland Security.