It is still entirely appropriate to link such talk to the Army’s rapid moves to redefine its role as one of controlling the American people, not just protecting them. It also seems clear that Congress was told of a threat of martial law, not itself threatened. So it is clear that threats of martial law were used to get this reprehensible bailout legislation passed. That’s what I call fear-mongering, unjustified, proven wrong.” A few of us were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no. Many of us were told that the sky would fall…. “The only way they can pass this bill is by creating a panic atmosphere…. Sherman later downplayed his remarks slightly on the Alex Jones show): Brad Sherman (D-CA 27th District) reported the same threat on the Congressional floor (Rep. This is the most serious thing that we faced.’” In this conference call – and I guess there’s no reason for me not to repeat what he said, but he said – he painted this picture you just described. So it would have been the middle … what was it – the 19th of September, we had a conference call. “That’s Henry Paulson,” responded Inhofe, “We had a conference call early on, it was on a Friday I think – a week and half before the vote on Oct. was feeding you guys quite a story prior to the bailout, a story that if we didn’t do this we were going to see something on the scale of the depression, there were people talking about martial law being instituted, civil unrest….who was feeding you guys this stuff?,” asked host Pat Campbell. Speaking on Tulsa Oklahoma’s 1170 KFAQ, when asked who was behind threats of martial law and civil unrest if the bailout bill failed, Senator James Inhofe named Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as the source. Here are the original remarks by Senator Inhofe: Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO, said that might even require a declaration of martial law, the two noted. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson brought up a worst-case scenario as he pushed for the Wall Street bailout in September. The financial bailout legislation of September 2008 was only passed after members of both Congressional houses were warned that failure to act would threaten civil unrest and the imposition of martial law. ![]() This lack of transparency has been challenged by Fox TV in a FOIA suit against the Treasury Department, and a suit by Bloomberg News against the Fed. `There are far better uses of taxpayer dollars than continuing dividend payments to shareholders,’ he said.” Įven more reprehensible is the fact that since the bailouts, Paulson and the Treasury Department have refused to provide details of the Troubled Assets Relief Program spending of hundreds of billions of dollars, while the New York Federal Reserve has refused to provide information about its own bail-out (using government-backed loans) that amounts to trillions. questioned allowing banks that accept bailout bucks to continue paying dividends on their common stock. Welch and other members of Congress were enraged by “news that banks getting taxpayer-funded bailouts are still paying exorbitant salaries, bonuses, and other benefits.” In addition, as AP reported in October, “Sen. But one of the most reprehensible features of the legislation, that it allowed Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to permit bailed-out institutions to use public money for exorbitant salaries and bonuses, was inserted by Paulson after the immediate crisis had passed.Īccording to Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont) the bailout bill originally called for a cap on executive salaries, but Paulson changed the requirement at the last minute. The excuse for bypassing normal legislative procedures was the existence of an emergency. Many members of Congress felt coerced into voting against their inclinations, and the normal procedures for orderly consideration of a bill were dispensed with. It is becoming clear that the bailout measures of late 2008 may have consequences at least as grave for an open society as the response to 9/11 in 2001. Martial Law, the Financial Bailout, and the Afghan and Iraq Wars
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |