This is a tough one. Sure wish I knew more….

Thanks heaps for this!… if anyone else has anything, it would be much appreciated. Great website HOT Articles Links http://www.Japan.M106.COM Enjoy!…

By Sam Vasciano
09/15/2008

PHIL GRAMM’S POLICIES ON JOHN MCCAIN’S PRESIDENTIAL 2008 CAMPAIGN!
Phil Gramm: vice-chairman of UBS Investment Bank, a financial services company based in Switzerland. As a lobbyist for this Swiss Bank UBS, Gramm pressured The US Congress to ease it’s restrictions on predatory lending tactics by mortgage brokers. For his efforts, Gramm received $750,000 from UBS in a one year period starting in 2007.

Phil Gramm was John McCain’s presidential campaign co-chair and his most senior economic adviser from summer 2007 to July 18, 2008 when Gramm stepped down from his position with the McCain campaign; however, he quite often still accompanies John McCain during the campaign, and continues to be an unofficial adviser on economic and financial matters. (A private, non-public, basement campaign advisor is still an advisor)!
Between 1995 and 2000 Phil Gramm, who was the chairman of the U .S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, received $1,000,914 in campaign contributions from the Securities & Investment Industry. Later in his Senate career, Gramm spearheaded efforts to pass banking laws, including the landmark Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which altered the depression-era Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: Laws which separated banking, insurance and brokerage activities. Some of these vital provisions which prohibited a bank holding company from owning other financial companies were repealed in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
So while advising the McCain campaign, Gramm was being paid by UBS to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis. During this time, “the mortgage industry pressed Congress to roll back strong state rules that sought to stem the rise of predatory tactics used by lenders and=2 0brokers to place homeowners in high-cost mortgages.” According to Politico.com, Gramm had input on McCain’s March 26, 2008 policy speech on the mortgage crisis.
In a July 9, 2008 interview explaining McCain’s plans in reforming the U.S. economy, Gramm downplayed the idea that the nation was in a recession, stating, “You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” and “We have sort of become a nation of whiners, you just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline.” Although McCain claims he doesn’t believe we are a nation of whiners, he continuously claims the economy is still sound. Gramm’s comments immediately became a campaign issue. McCain’s opponent, Senator Barack Obama, said, “America already has one Dr. Phil. We don’t need another one when it comes to the economy. … This economic downturn is not in your head.” McCain strongly denounced Gramm’s comments. Gramm later attempted to clarify his comment, explaining that he had used the word “whiners” to describe the nation’s politicians rather than the public, stating “the whiners are the leaders.” In the same interview, Gramm stated, “I’m not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true.” I understand since those are Mr. Gramm beliefs there is no need to retract. However in McCain’s campaign spe ech on 09/15/2008, even after numerous investment houses have just folded and many more on the brink, while the stock market fell today by more than 500 points, McCain still continues to echo his friend’s failed economy policy that, “NEVERTHLESS THE ECONOMY IS STILL FUNDAMENTALLY STRONG”. Does John McCain understand what this means? Whose economy is McCain referring to?

Banking Deregulation and the 2008 Mortgage Crisis
In his Senate career, Phil Gramm spearheaded efforts to change banking restriction laws, including the landmark Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which served to reduce government regulations in existence since the Great Depression separating banking, insurance and brokerage activities. Years later, critics of Gramm point out that this same legislation has been pivotal in encouraging the corporate practices that led to the 2008 mortgage crises. Provisions which prohibit a bank holding company from owning other financial companies were repealed in 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 106-102, 113 Stat. 1338 (November 12, 1999), is an Act of the United States Congress which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, opening up competition among banks, securities companies and insurance companies. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited a bank from offering investment , commercial banking, and insurance services. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States and included banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation. So me provisions such as Regulation Q that allowed the Federal Reserve to regulate interest rates in savings accounts were repealed by the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 which is a US Federal Statute Law which gave the Federal Reserve greater control over non-member banks. Its main purpose was to force all banks to abide by the Fed’s rules. It also allowed banks to merge. Its secondary purpose was to allow credit unions and savings and loans to offer checkable deposits. The law also removed the power of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors under the Glass-Steagall Act and Regulation Q to set the interest rates of savings accounts.

PHIL GRAMM, MCCAIN’S ECONOMIC “ADVISOR” IS THE AUTHOR OF THIS DEBACLE. ANOTHER OF HIS DEBACLE IS LISTED BELOW: NO WONDER HE THINKS AMERICANS ARE BEING WHINY! THIS IS THE PERSON MCCAIN STILL CONFERS WITH FOR ADVISE ON THE ECONOMY, ALBEIT UNOFFICIALLY. NO WONDER ON 09/15/2008, THE MORNING OF BAD FINANCIAL NEWS, HE STILL CONTINUES TO SAY THE ECONOMY NEVERTHLESS IS FUNDAMENTALLY STRONG! IT APPEARS THAT NEITHER MCCAIN NOR SARAH PALIN UNDERSTAND THE POLICIES OR THE WORDS OF THEIR ADVISORS /SPEECH WRITERS!!

Phil Gramm’s Involvement in “Enron Loophole” Legislation
Phil Gramm was one of five co-sponsors of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. One provision of the bill was referred to as the “Enron loophole” because the House Agriculture Committee drafted it and it was later applied to Enron. Some critics blame the provision for permitting the Enron scandal to occur. At the time, Gramm’s wife was on the Enron’s board of directors.
As a senator, Gramm often called for reductions in corporate taxes and less government spending on programs for the poor and middle-class. He employed his “Dicky Flatt Test” to determine if federal programs were worthwhile. (Richard “Dicky” Flatt owns a family run printing business started by his father and mother in Mexia, Texas, and is a longtime Gramm supporter). In Gramm’s eyes, Flatt embodied the travails that a typical Texas independent small businessman faced in the realm of taxation and government spending. Flatt agrees with many of the political opinions of Gramm on less corporate taxation.
This is the policy which John McCain subscribes to and Sarah Palin now espouses. Gramm still travels around with McCain and advises him. Why isn’t anyone talking about this. Perhaps the Democrats are speaking but they ne ed to speak louder and make it clearer to the people why McCain’s advisors and policies got us in this mess and tell them why Gramm is so dangerous to the American economy and why McCain doesn’t get it!!

Sam Vasciano

http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-9065:1
Compromise over Community Reinvestment Act crucial to repeal of Glass-Steagall
Kuttner, Robert (2007-09-24). “The Bubble Economy”. The American Prospect.
Ekelund, Robert; Thornton, Mark (2008-09-04). “More Awful Truths About Republicans “. Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved on 2008-09-07.
Senate.gov
Wikipedia.com
Community Reinvestment Act Amendments in the Gramm-Leach Act,

Linda Senior, Jacksonville, FL

Dear Rachel
I do not know how else to get this message to Senator Obama. And it my hope you will please air this so he hears it, or somehow get it to him. I know the Republicans are using every lie and scandal within their power to knock you out of this race, It could happen. But please Senator Obama their are people real people Americans that need you. I am one of those people, My husband lost his Job as well as I. We have been barley hanging on avoiding our lights being shut off, or kick out of apartment. We can’t find jobs and our future is hanging by threads.

We lost our health ins our pride and our American dream, we have no were to turn and feel hopeless, Your the only thing we have left to hang unto for our children sake. we have not been able to work as much as we did on your campaign and we can no longer give money. But we can still walk and talk and that we are doing. You see Senator Obama your all we have left Please don’t give up or give in. It really hit home even through the many nights of going bed hungry and given our kids what we had to eat, losing our car, going to have our lights turn off, and worst yet may end up homeless after working 20 years this was our return for all the hard work. But the real wake up call was. went my husband had a bad tooth ache and could not find one place or one dentist to help us without INS or money. which forced my husband to take pillars and extract his own tooth nearly passing out from the pain and blood. Your all people like us have left. Please don’t forget us. No matter what happens just remember ” Yes we can”
sincerely
Deborah Hobson

Thanks. Oh yes we can! We Democrats will win this election.The republicans are forgetting We Americans are not stupid like they would want us to believe – they say it, “tell them lies and when we get to the White House we’ll change our mind”. Not this time, not again).

I am so grateful for this article as it comes to reassure me that I am not crazy and the only one with those thoughts!
People, my mantra is “Yes, we CAN, Yes, we MUST!!!!!”
Let’s elect Barack Obama as our president!

Why is it everyone bashed Michele for saying for the first time she was really proud to be an American (some attempted even to delete the word “really”–and she had a right to believe that way considering the history of American slavery and inequality of blacks and whites) YET it was okay when McCain said he fell in love with America AFTER his capture????