Apple Macbook & Macbook Pro video October 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
asking VAMPIRES to donate BLOOD
wakeupfromyourslumber
Does the proposition sound absurd to you? It does to me. But, it happens everyday, all over the world.
When governments ask central bankers to bail their nations out of debt by auctioning new bonds at interest, it's like asking vampires to donate blood to their victims. And this is no exaggeration.
fact, the American revolution came about precisely because the colonies
witnessed how the Bank of England's unwarranted demands on them
immediately destroyed their prosperity.
here we are, over 200 years later, ruled by a man who goes by the same
name and bankers that play the same game. How did this happen? Didn't
history teach us ANYTHING?
indeed, that's exactly what happened. Lend, inflate, deflate,
repossess. Lend, inflate, deflate, repossess. And so on, and so forth
until all our essential industries became theirs (steel, wheat, dairy,
energy, telecommunications, publishing, defense, healthcare,
insurance), along with most of our land.
They invaded and
corrupted our institutions, erasing any trace of our past that might
awaken us to the calamity of our condition and molded our minds to suit
the roles they set out for us.
So, what do we do?
many of you, like me, want to avoid armed struggle, if at all possible
(especially since we're the ones who are unarmed!).
But, you can start by telling moneylenders to take their blood money and shove it. Then raise your voice as loud and as often as you can against this unjust system of fraud and oppression.
Our monetary system is broken and it will not fix itself. If we don't act now, they will extinguish what's left of our freedom.
Does the proposition sound absurd to you? It does to me. But, it happens everyday, all over the world.
When governments ask central bankers to bail their nations out of debt by auctioning new bonds at interest, it's like asking vampires to donate blood to their victims. And this is no exaggeration.
"You are a den of vipers.In
I intend to rout you out and by the Eternal God I will rout you out. If
the people only understood the rank injustice of our money and banking
system, there would be a revolution before morning."
--Andrew Jackson, 1828 (to a group of investment bankers trying to persuade him to renew their charter)
fact, the American revolution came about precisely because the colonies
witnessed how the Bank of England's unwarranted demands on them
immediately destroyed their prosperity.
"[The Colonists] would have gladly borne the little tax on tea and other matters, if it had not been that they took from us our money —And
which created great unemployment and dissatisfaction. Within a year,
the poor houses were filled. The hungry and homeless walked the streets
everywhere."
"[T]he inability of the Colonists to get the power to issue their own money, permanently out of the hands of King George III and the international bankers, was the prime reason for the Revolutionary War.”
--Benjamin Franklin
here we are, over 200 years later, ruled by a man who goes by the same
name and bankers that play the same game. How did this happen? Didn't
history teach us ANYTHING?
If the American PeopleAnd
ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by
inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will
grow up around (the banks), will deprive the people of their property
until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their
fathers conquered . . .
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous
to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a
moneyed aristocracy that has set the government in defiance.
--Thomas Jefferson
indeed, that's exactly what happened. Lend, inflate, deflate,
repossess. Lend, inflate, deflate, repossess. And so on, and so forth
until all our essential industries became theirs (steel, wheat, dairy,
energy, telecommunications, publishing, defense, healthcare,
insurance), along with most of our land.
They invaded and
corrupted our institutions, erasing any trace of our past that might
awaken us to the calamity of our condition and molded our minds to suit
the roles they set out for us.
So, what do we do?
The issuing power should be taken from the banks, and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. --Thomas JeffersonBut, freedom has a price.
“Is life so dear,Are you willing to sacrifice to win back your freedom?
or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what course others may
take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
--Patrick Henry
“If ye love wealthI know
greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the
animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not
your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds
you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget
that ye were our countrymen.”
--Samuel Adams
many of you, like me, want to avoid armed struggle, if at all possible
(especially since we're the ones who are unarmed!).
But, you can start by telling moneylenders to take their blood money and shove it. Then raise your voice as loud and as often as you can against this unjust system of fraud and oppression.
Our monetary system is broken and it will not fix itself. If we don't act now, they will extinguish what's left of our freedom.
Black Friday?
There’s a way forward but it will take a lot of digging out
and a vision of the future that doesn’t center on Wall Street.
Mike Whitney
Infowars
October 10, 2008
Panic has spread to stock markets around the world. A massive sell-off, which began when Henry Paulson announced a $700 billion bailout for the banking system, has turned into a global stampede. Shares fell sharply across Europe and Asia for fifth straight day following a 679 drop on the Dow Jones. Nearly $900 billion was wiped off the value of U.S. equities in just one trading day. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the “fear index”, soared to a record 64. Credit markets remain frozen. Libor, London interbank offered rate, nudged up slightly on Thursday night, signaling even greater resistance to lending between the banks. Until there is relief in the credit markets, stocks will continue to slide. But trust has vanished. The 50 basis points rate cut that was coordinated with foreign central banks has had no effect. The market is being driven by fear and pessimism. Friday is shaping up to be a bloodbath on Wall Street.
White House press secretary, Dana Perino said yesterday that President Bush will address the country on Friday morning:
“He will assure the American people that they should be confident that economic officials are aggressively taking every action to stabilize our financial system. The Treasury Department is moving quickly to use new tools to improve liquidity, which is the root cause of this problem.”
Bush still believes that the problem is “liquidity” rather than “insolvency”. When liabilities vastly exceed assets, liquidity does not help. The bad banks need to be closed so the good ones can be strengthened with capital injections.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman said, “Last month, when the U.S. Treasury Department allowed Lehman Brothers to fail, I wrote that Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, was playing financial Russian roulette. Sure enough, there was a bullet in that chamber: Lehman’s failure caused the world financial crisis, already severe, to get much, much worse.”
Lehman’s credit default swaps, (the derivatives which Warren Buffett calls “financial weapons of mass destruction”) will be “unwound” on Friday. It could be a “non event” or it could trigger another sell off; it is impossible to know. If tens of billions of dollars are drained from already weakened balance sheets in counterparty deals that have turned sour, the market will react violently. Wall Street is on tenterhooks waiting for the news from Lehman.
There is general agreement among economists about what needs to be done to stabilize the financial system. The banks have to be recapitalized, deposits have to be guaranteed (beyond the $100,000 FDIC limit) and additional stimulus has to be provided to increase consumer demand. Otherwise the United States will face another Great Depression. Too much time has been wasted on Paulson’s failed bailout for G-Sax and his friends on Wall Street. Buying the bad assets of underwater banks does not fix the problem. The banks need capital so they can resume lending and transmit credit to consumers and businesses.
Former head of the FDIC, William Isaac summed it up like this:
“I was opposed to the bailout bill, mostly because I don’t think it will work. The banks — taking $700 billion of bad loans out of the banks doesn’t help get banks lending again. It just solves some problems in some banks. And it doesn’t have any leverage to it. If the Treasury were to put that same $700 billion and used that to invest in bank capital, the banks can loan $10 for every dollar of capital, roughly, which means that the Treasury would be creating $7 trillion of new lending capacity in the banks. And that is vastly superior to buying $700 billion of problem loans. It just — it will really give some punch to the economy. It will get banks back into the lending business….. And to do that we need to get some capital back in there.”
Isaac added: “The other major thing they really need to do… They really need to have the FDIC declare that there is a financial emergency. And when the FDIC does that, the FDIC should announce that during this period of crisis, all general creditors, all depositors, insured and uninsured, bondholders in our banking system, will be protected if a bank fails. And that, I think, will get the inter — the financial markets working again and get banks willing to loan to each other again.”
Nearly one third of all deposits ($2.5 trillion) are not insured under present FDIC guidelines. If these deposits are not insured, as Isaac says, there will continue to be a slow run on the banks which is why the credit markets are paralyzed.
Much of this week’s volatility in the market is the result of program trading (many sell orders were automatically executed when the Dow hit 9,000) and massive deleveraging in the hedge funds, the secretive $1.7 trillion industry. As credit gets tighter, the funds are unable to roll over their short term debt and have been forced to dump their assets in an illiquid market at firesale prices. This explains the recent see-saw motion in the stock market; the huge 2 to 3 percent intraday swings (positive/negative) This has added to the fear of smaller investors who have left the market in droves for the safety of US Treasuries or cash. That’s why the dollar has strengthened even though the Federal Reserve is printing money at a furious pace. The inflationary effects will not be apparent until the destruction of credit abates.
The biggest danger we face in the short term, is a run on the financial system. Calm must be restored if we want to avoid another depression. Investors have already pulled a record $72 billion from stock and mutual funds, and put the money in US Treasurys and government-insured bank deposits. If the trend continues, the financial system will collapse. This is where leadership and credibility really matter. The Bush administration’s record on these issues is dismal. If the government overreacts and limits bank withdrawals or closes the stock market; the sense of desperation and panic will only grow. That increases the likelihood of rioting and violence, which is what took place in China just this week.
The falling stock market reflects the mood of the country as a whole. Confidence in the system is at an all-time low. The government has lost the moral authority to rule. People have lost faith in everything. Bush has created a tinder box which could explode in flames at any time. It is a dangerous situation.
BLACK FRIDAY: False alarm or Armageddon?
The econo-blogs were abuzz all night Thursday. The prevailing feeling is that Wall Street will suffer historic losses on Friday and that this will mark the end of America’s dominance as the lone superpower. As always, economist Nouriel Roubini provided a chilling analysis of the present financial malaise:
Nouriel Roubini: “The US and advanced economies’ financial system is now headed towards a near-term systemic financial meltdown as day after day stock markets are in free fall, money markets have shut down while their spreads are skyrocketing, and credit spreads are surging through the roof. There is now the beginning of a generalized run on the banking system of these economies; a collapse of the shadow banking system… and now a roll-off of the short term liabilities of the corporate sectors that may lead to widespread bankruptcies of solvent but illiquid financial and non-financial firms.
At this point the risk of an imminent stock market crash – like the one-day collapse of 20% plus in US stock prices in 1987 – cannot be ruled out as the financial system is breaking down, panic and lack of confidence in any counterparty is sharply rising and the investors have totally lost faith in the ability of policy authorities to control this meltdown….
When… even the most radical policy actions don’t provide rallies or relief to market participants, you know that you are one step away from a market crack and a systemic financial sector and corporate sector collapse. A vicious circle of deleveraging, asset collapses, margin calls, cascading falls in asset prices well below falling fundamentals and panic is now underway.” (Nouriel Roubini’s Global EconoMonitor)
There’s a way forward but it will take a lot of digging out and a vision of the future that doesn’t center on Wall Street.
 |
“Drop Guns” Coming to America?
Infowars
October 10, 2008
In this video, former U.S. soldiers explain how they were told to carry “drop guns” to cover up the murder of Iraqi citizens. According to the soldiers, this is an informal military policy.
Is it possible this policy will be used in America now that martial law appears imminent? As Wayne Madsen writes, sources inside FEMA indicate “that the Bush administration is putting the final touches on a plan that would see martial law declared in the United States with various scenarios anticipated as triggers. The triggers include a continuing economic collapse with massive social unrest, bank closures resulting in violence against financial institutions, and another fraudulent presidential election that would result in rioting in major cities and campuses around the country.” (See FEMA sources confirm coming martial law in previous post.)
If we use history as an indicator, the imposition of martial law will result in not only the mass round-up of the opposition, but death squads against its leadership as well. “Drop guns” fit right into this scenario. "Drop Guns in Iraq"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLUCiKcLlMo
FEMA Sources Confirm Martial Law Coming!
Bladerunner - Film, Literature and the New World Order
Bladerunner is a dystopic vision of a nightmarish future where the masses live in squalid conditions and dream of getting off world. Little do they know their masters are engaged in a plan to engineer them into more perfect slaves. This is a plan which is often called the New World Order.
Bladerunner - Film, Literature and the New World Order
Bladerunner - Film, Literature and the New World Order
FEMA sources confirm coming martial law
Wayne Madsen
WMR
October 8, 2008
WMR has learned from knowledgeable Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) sources that the Bush administration is putting the final
touches on a plan that would see martial law declared in the United
States with various scenarios anticipated as triggers. The triggers
include a continuing economic collapse with massive social unrest, bank
closures resulting in violence against financial institutions, and
another fraudulent presidential election that would result in rioting
in major cities and campuses around the country.
In addition, Army Corps of Engineer sources report that the
assignment of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT)
to the Northern Command’s U.S. Army North is to augment FEMA and
federal law enforcement in the imposition of traffic controls, crowd
control, curfews, enhanced border and port security, and neighborhood
patrols in the event a national emergency being declared. The BCT was
assigned to duties in Iraq before being assigned to the Northern
Command.
On April 3, 2008, WMR reported on a highly-classified document regarding the martial law scenario: WMR
has learned from knowledgeable sources within the US financial
community that an alarming confidential and limited distribution
document is circulating among senior members of Congress and their
senior staff members that is warning of a bleak future for the United
States if it does not quickly get its financial house in order. House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among those who have reportedly read the
document. The document is being called the "C & R" document because
it reportedly states that if the United States defaults on loans and
debt underwriting from China, Japan, and Russia, all of which are
propping up the United States government financially, and the United
States unilaterally cancels the debts, America can expect a war that
will have disastrous results for the United States and the world.
"Conflict" is the "C word" in the document. The other scenario is that
the federal government will be forced to drastically raise taxes in
order to pay off debts to foreign countries to the point that the
American people will react with a popular revolution against the
government. "Revolution" is the document’s "R word.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
What a dolt! He's running for president?
McCain: Vladimir Putin is the President of Germany?
McCain: Vladimir Putin is the President of Germany?
Ron Paul: Bailout Unconstitutional, Special Interests Forced Bill Through Congres
Going Down fast!
Ron Paul - On Passage of the Bailout
Ron Paul - On Passage of the Bailout
Ron Paul: Bailout Unconstitutional, Special Interests Forced Bill Through Congres
Going Down fast!
Ron Paul - On Passage of the Bailout
Ron Paul - On Passage of the Bailout
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
9/11 1st Responder Anthony Cipriani on the emotional pain
9/11 1st Responder Anthony Cipriani on the emotional pain
9/11 1st Responder Anthony Cipriani on the emotional pain
PLEASE MAKE JOHN FEAL AND THE FEALGOOD FOUNDATION
PART OF YOUR CHRISTMAS LIST THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Anthony!
9/11 1st Responder Anthony Cipriani on the emotional pain
Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth Reaches 500
Congratulations to AE911Truth and the 9/11 Truth movement for gathering over 500 signatures from the AE community. Well done!
Onward to 1000! Please visit:
Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth!
Mission Statement:To research and to disseminate the truth of the 9/11 “collapses” of all 3 WTC high-rise buildings to every architect and engineer.
Naomi Wolf - "Americans are facing a coup as of this morning. It's happened."
Just remember, its always darkest before dawn.
October 5, 2008
Interview - Naomi Wolf - Give Me Liberty
October 5, 2008
Interview - Naomi Wolf - Give Me Liberty
There's No Difference Between Martial Law and the Threat of Martial Law:
georgewashington2.blogspot.com
If a bully threatens to beat up a skinny kid if he doesn't give him his lunch money, and the bully doesn't have to follow through because the kid does fork it over, does that mean that the aggressive kid isn't a bully?
Of course not. He's a bully because he threatened to beat up the skinny kid and used coercion to get his way.
Well, Congressman Sherman said that congress was threatened with martial law this week. Specifically, he says that Congress was told martial law would be imposed if they didn't pass the Paulson bailout proposal.
http://www.youtube.com/v/HaG9d_4zij8
Martial law means that the separation of powers which the Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution are destroyed, and an all-powerful executive branch calls the shots.Is the threat of imposing martial law any different than actually imposing it?No. Congress is just like the skinny kid.
Just because it forked over $700 billion or more in our lunch money based upon coercion by the thugs in the executive branch doesn't mean that the thugs are still following the separation of powers or anything else in the Constitution.
Remember that, for years, Congress has operated under "martial law" provisions which force Congress members to vote on legislation without having time to adequately read and review it
Remember also that the U.S. has been in a declared state of national emergency for 7 years, and normal constitutional provisions were probably long ago superseded.
As University of California Berkeley Professor Emeritus Peter Dale Scott has warned:
And remember that U.S. troops are being stationed inside the U.S. to suppress "civil unrest".
Whether or not there is martial law in name, there is martial law in fact.
If a bully threatens to beat up a skinny kid if he doesn't give him his lunch money, and the bully doesn't have to follow through because the kid does fork it over, does that mean that the aggressive kid isn't a bully?
Of course not. He's a bully because he threatened to beat up the skinny kid and used coercion to get his way.
Well, Congressman Sherman said that congress was threatened with martial law this week. Specifically, he says that Congress was told martial law would be imposed if they didn't pass the Paulson bailout proposal.
http://www.youtube.com/v/HaG9d_4zij8
Martial law means that the separation of powers which the Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution are destroyed, and an all-powerful executive branch calls the shots.Is the threat of imposing martial law any different than actually imposing it?No. Congress is just like the skinny kid.
Just because it forked over $700 billion or more in our lunch money based upon coercion by the thugs in the executive branch doesn't mean that the thugs are still following the separation of powers or anything else in the Constitution.
Remember that, for years, Congress has operated under "martial law" provisions which force Congress members to vote on legislation without having time to adequately read and review it
Remember also that the U.S. has been in a declared state of national emergency for 7 years, and normal constitutional provisions were probably long ago superseded.
As University of California Berkeley Professor Emeritus Peter Dale Scott has warned:
"The systems of checks and balances established by the U.S. Constitution would seem to be failing.
To put it another way, if the White House is successful in frustrating [Congress' requests], then [the declared state of emergency] has arguably already superseded the Constitution as a higher authority."
And remember that U.S. troops are being stationed inside the U.S. to suppress "civil unrest".
Whether or not there is martial law in name, there is martial law in fact.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
US loads $700bn bailout bill with 'pork barrel' tax breaks
Your CONgresscritters are whores.
From The Times
October 3, 2008
Tim Reid in Washington
The fate of America's $700 billion financial rescue package, and the health of the global economy, may hinge on a 39-cent tax break for an Oregon firm that makes children's wooden arrows — although, if today's vote is close, the Alaskan fishermen who were affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, and who stand to gain $223 million in tax breaks if the Bill passes, might also end up playing a pivotal role.
As the White House and leaders from both parties conducted a final push to convert enough rebels to salvage the rescue plan from its stunning defeat in the House on Monday, an array of "pork barrel" projects have been inserted to soften up waverers.
They are aimed at peeling away a handful of naysayers with the promise that if they vote yes this time their pet projects will see the light of day. More importantly, the sweeteners are intended to gain the support of ordinary Americans on Main Street who see the Bill as a bailout of Wall Street.
It is an extraordinary sub-plot in the scramble to save the US financial sector from collapse. Inserted into the modified Bill by two Oregon senators on Wednesday night was a provision repealing a 39-cent excise tax on children's wooden arrows, which would save Rose City Archery, a company in Myrtle Point, Oregon, that makes the toys. Three House members from the state voted against the Bill on Monday, but the new clause could change their minds.
Also in the revised Bill is $128 million of tax relief for the manufacturers of car racing tracks, aimed at congressmen in Nascar states, such as Virginia and North Carolina. A provision to give $10 million in tax breaks to small television and film producers could convert a congressman from Los Angeles. The help for Alaskan fishermen is aimed at swaying Don Young, a Republican from the state.
Republican and Democratic leaders were cautiously optimistic that the amended Bill would pass the House, as it is stuffed with more than $100 billion worth of tax cuts to attract Republicans. Perhaps more importantly, it heads for a re-vote amid a growing realisation among voters and congressmen that the plan is not simply a Wall Street bailout but is urgently needed to avoid a disintegration of the US economy.
Yet after Monday's calamitous defeat, and with still staunch opposition to the Bill by many conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, the leaders remained deeply wary of saying that they had enough votes. Last night there was even talk of delaying it before they could be sure they had the support to pass it.
The revised Bill, which started life nearly two weeks ago as a three-page proposal from Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, now stretches to more than 450 pages. It arrives in the House with renewed momentum after a huge bipartisan majority passed it in the Senate by 74 to 25 on Wednesday.
The modified plan not only contains big tax-cut provisions, but also an increase of insurance for deposit accounts from $100,000 to $250,000. It is aimed primarily at attracting enough of the 133 Republicans who rejected the Bill on Monday to change course. Another provision aimed at the Democratic African-American caucus — most of whom voted against the plan on Monday — was also inserted: a property tax deduction that they have been demanding.
Just 12 congressmen need to reverse their positions to overcome the plan's 228 to 205 defeat on Monday, which triggered the Dow's biggest one-day points drop in history, wiping out $1.2 trillion in the value of shares — a chastening plunge for some members who rejected the plan.
Yet the revised Bill also risks pushing away fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats who object to tax cuts that are not paid for elsewhere. Steny Hoyer, the centrist Democratic House Majority Leader, said he was angry about the tax provisions, but called on the Blue Dogs to see the bigger picture of the US economy and back the Bill.
Roy Blunt, the Republican whip, said that a fundamental change from Monday was the number of constituents now calling Congress demanding that the Bill be passed.
Yet nerves will be jangling when the vote begins today.
John Shadegg, an influential Arizona Republican who voted against the Bill on Monday, said that he found it materially better and was "inclined to hold my nose and vote 'yes' ".
But many conservatives remained opposed. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, said that she and her whips were still working to see if any of the Democrats who voted yes on Monday have defected. "We're not going to take a Bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes," she said.
From The Times
October 3, 2008
Tim Reid in Washington
The fate of America's $700 billion financial rescue package, and the health of the global economy, may hinge on a 39-cent tax break for an Oregon firm that makes children's wooden arrows — although, if today's vote is close, the Alaskan fishermen who were affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, and who stand to gain $223 million in tax breaks if the Bill passes, might also end up playing a pivotal role.
As the White House and leaders from both parties conducted a final push to convert enough rebels to salvage the rescue plan from its stunning defeat in the House on Monday, an array of "pork barrel" projects have been inserted to soften up waverers.
They are aimed at peeling away a handful of naysayers with the promise that if they vote yes this time their pet projects will see the light of day. More importantly, the sweeteners are intended to gain the support of ordinary Americans on Main Street who see the Bill as a bailout of Wall Street.
It is an extraordinary sub-plot in the scramble to save the US financial sector from collapse. Inserted into the modified Bill by two Oregon senators on Wednesday night was a provision repealing a 39-cent excise tax on children's wooden arrows, which would save Rose City Archery, a company in Myrtle Point, Oregon, that makes the toys. Three House members from the state voted against the Bill on Monday, but the new clause could change their minds.
Also in the revised Bill is $128 million of tax relief for the manufacturers of car racing tracks, aimed at congressmen in Nascar states, such as Virginia and North Carolina. A provision to give $10 million in tax breaks to small television and film producers could convert a congressman from Los Angeles. The help for Alaskan fishermen is aimed at swaying Don Young, a Republican from the state.
Republican and Democratic leaders were cautiously optimistic that the amended Bill would pass the House, as it is stuffed with more than $100 billion worth of tax cuts to attract Republicans. Perhaps more importantly, it heads for a re-vote amid a growing realisation among voters and congressmen that the plan is not simply a Wall Street bailout but is urgently needed to avoid a disintegration of the US economy.
Yet after Monday's calamitous defeat, and with still staunch opposition to the Bill by many conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, the leaders remained deeply wary of saying that they had enough votes. Last night there was even talk of delaying it before they could be sure they had the support to pass it.
The revised Bill, which started life nearly two weeks ago as a three-page proposal from Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, now stretches to more than 450 pages. It arrives in the House with renewed momentum after a huge bipartisan majority passed it in the Senate by 74 to 25 on Wednesday.
The modified plan not only contains big tax-cut provisions, but also an increase of insurance for deposit accounts from $100,000 to $250,000. It is aimed primarily at attracting enough of the 133 Republicans who rejected the Bill on Monday to change course. Another provision aimed at the Democratic African-American caucus — most of whom voted against the plan on Monday — was also inserted: a property tax deduction that they have been demanding.
Just 12 congressmen need to reverse their positions to overcome the plan's 228 to 205 defeat on Monday, which triggered the Dow's biggest one-day points drop in history, wiping out $1.2 trillion in the value of shares — a chastening plunge for some members who rejected the plan.
Yet the revised Bill also risks pushing away fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats who object to tax cuts that are not paid for elsewhere. Steny Hoyer, the centrist Democratic House Majority Leader, said he was angry about the tax provisions, but called on the Blue Dogs to see the bigger picture of the US economy and back the Bill.
Roy Blunt, the Republican whip, said that a fundamental change from Monday was the number of constituents now calling Congress demanding that the Bill be passed.
Yet nerves will be jangling when the vote begins today.
John Shadegg, an influential Arizona Republican who voted against the Bill on Monday, said that he found it materially better and was "inclined to hold my nose and vote 'yes' ".
But many conservatives remained opposed. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, said that she and her whips were still working to see if any of the Democrats who voted yes on Monday have defected. "We're not going to take a Bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes," she said.
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