Well…Bush does! Just saw President Bush on TV talking about why he decided to act to help solve the financial crisis. I may be getting this somewhat incorrect and I can’t find the speech online yet, leave a link if you find one, but it was pretty close.

“My first instinct was to let the market work itself out. But after I was briefed by the experts, I realized how much serious the situation already was. It turns out our financial systems are all interconnected. If one piece fails, the impact won’t be felt just within that one piece. It will affect other pieces.”

Does this scare anyone else? Nice to be reminded I try to turn the TV off whenever he comes on to talk…

Listening to bush caution Congress on not over-reacting to the news on the economy just made me shake my head. Bush said that if Congress were to “over-react, it would throw us into the ditch.” I gotta tell you, if we are already *in the ditch* wouldn’t that just right things then? Just my opinion you see. But listening to the *decider* tell us he knows what is best for us, for Congress, just makes me want to puke!

Go watch Zeitgeist the movie folks. Pay particular attention to the part about the Federal Reserve Bank. Understand what exactly is happening here so you can fight it effectively. We all need to be really focused right now, not go off. From CBS5.com, KPIX TV we have this:

Bush: Economy Is Going Through A ‘Rough Period’

The president spoke as evidence of an ailing economy piled up. The dollar fell, oil and gold hit record highs, the economy is shedding jobs, retail sales saw a big drop and the effects of a severe credit squeeze linger. Economic worries have replaced the Iraq war as the No. 1 concern of voters in this presidential election year.

Bush acknowledged that prices are up at the gas pump and grocery stores and housing values are down – leading to worries among everyday “hardworking Americans.” But he said low unemployment and strong productivity are proof of the economy’s fundamental strength and resilience.

Wow, it took a bank to belly up for him to notice things are a bit depressed huh? Damn, that is some Ivory Tower he’s in. Why, just imagine how thin the air must be? No wonder, no wonder………

The president also praised the work of the Federal Reserve. After cutting interest rates several times, the Fed said Friday it has voted to endorse an arrangement to bolster troubled Bear Stearns Cos. and stands ready to provide add liquidity to a combat a serious credit crisis

Based on respect, integrity, meritocracy, innovation and a commitment to philanthropy, these guiding principles serve as blueprint for the way that we do business.

From their Home Page, Bear Stearns Companies Inc.

The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE: BSC) is the parent company of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading global investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm. Since 1923, we have helped corporations, institutions, governments and individuals reach their financial objectives. Clients have come to rely on the breadth of our expertise, our commitment to client service and our innovative approach to problem-solving. Talented professionals join Bear Stearns because of our unique corporate culture. Based on respect, integrity, meritocracy, innovation and a commitment to philanthropy, these guiding principles serve as blueprint for the way that we do business.

Ya, not so hard to bail someone out when you arrange their downfall huh? Watch Zeitgeistthemovie.com See if Bear Stearns and Companies Inc are a Federal Reserve Bank or banking partner, or whether they are an independent that the Federal Reserve WANTS to take over.

“Today’s events are fast moving, but the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the secretary of the treasury are on top of them and will take the appropriate steps to promote stability in our markets,” Bush assured his audience.

That would be:

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke

Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn

Governor Frederic S. Mishkin

Scott G. Alvarez, General Counsel

Sovereign wealth funds

In Mr. Alvarez’ speech to the General Council said:

The recent wave of sovereign wealth fund investments in U.S. financial institutions consists of noncontrolling investments below 10 percent (and often below 5 percent) of voting equity. For example, Citigroup recently received a capital infusion from the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), one of Singapore’s two sovereign investment funds. None of these funds acquired more than 10 percent of Citigroup’s total equity. Three sovereign wealth funds, the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), Temasek, and KIA, each made similar noncontrolling investments in convertible preferred stock in Merrill Lynch and Co. These are all passive investments that have not triggered formal review under U.S. banking law, as I will explain in a moment. The press releases from the financial institutions announcing each of these recent investments have generally emphasized that these sovereign investors will not seek to exercise control over the target company and will not have representation on the target company’s board of directors or take part in its management.

But they might, oh yes they might……….. Back to the original article now where Bush is speaking to his fellow altar boys…

For instance, while insisting his administration has an “active plan” to deal with the problems, Bush said he opposed several measures pending on Capitol Hill. They included proposals to allocate $400 billion to purchase abandoned and foreclosed homes, to change the bankruptcy code to allow judges to adjust mortgage rates, and to artificially prop up home prices.

Now why would our *head in the clouds* president worry about the Middle Class? Why wouldn’t he want bankruptcy Judges to be able to adjust mortgage rates? Wouldn’t that allow people to STAY in their homes while paying off their debts? Na, that doesn’t make sense! Make everyone homeless and hungry!

“It’s important not to over-correct, because when you over-correct, you end up in a ditch,” Bush said. “It’s important to be steady.”

I’ll say it again, if the economy is already IN THE DITCH, this can only be a good thing, to over-correct! Don’t listen to the man whatever you do!!!!!

He said his administration would address the crisis “in a way that respects the ingenuity of the American people, that bolsters the entrepreneurial spirit and ensures that when we make it through this rough patch, that the driving will be smooth.”

Translation– He is going to fu** you royally! Just you wait! It will sound good on the outside, but it is bad, very bad on the reality side!

“I agree that the Fed needs to be independent and make considered judgments and balance growth versus inflation,” Bush said without answering the question directly.

“We believe in a strong dollar and I recognize that economies go up and down, but it’s important for us to put policy in place that sends the signal that our economy is going to be strong and open for business.”

He said the United States should not do “something foolish” during this economic period that will make it harder to grow, such as blocking capital from coming into the nation or failing to extend the tax cuts.

Ya, right, we’d do that? What is he smoking? Who said anything about stopping trade? We don’t want to stop trade, we want to quit hemorrhaging financially ourselves! Somebody change his diapers and put him to bed! He is definitely off his rocker!

Going back to a statement read by the Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn of the General Council, we hear him talk about the state of our economy.

Chairman Dodd, Ranking Member Shelby and members of the Committee, it is my pleasure to appear today to discuss the condition of the U.S. banking system. In my remarks, I will summarize briefly the role of the Federal Reserve in banking supervision, provide an overall view of the health of the U.S. banking system, and then discuss some key areas of supervisory focus.

The U.S. banking system is facing some challenges, but remains in sound overall condition, having entered the period of recent financial turmoil with solid capital and strong earnings. The problems in the mortgage and housing markets have been highly unusual and clearly some banking organizations have failed to manage their exposures well and have suffered losses as a result. But in general these losses should not threaten their viability. We, along with the other banking agencies, have been working with banking organizations to identify and rectify those shortcomings in risk management and to ensure that the banking system continues to be safe and sound.

To my mind they aren’t doing such a good job. What do you think? Seems to me that they have managed this so far right into the ground. But I’m nothing and no one so what do my opinions matter?

Consumer protection within the financial services industry is another important responsibility of the Federal Reserve. Among the Federal Reserves responsibilities in this area are: writing and interpreting regulations to carry out many of the major consumer protection laws; reviewing bank compliance with regulations; investigating complaints from the public about compliance with consumer protection laws; and conducting community development activities.

Let’s just hope they really DO protect the consumer. I don’t believe it for a moment, but it is a nice fuzzy blanket to wrap around you while it is cold outside………..

Bank holding companies
Over the second half of 2007, bank holding companies (BHCs) experienced a substantial deterioration in asset quality and earnings, largely attributable to the effects of the slowing residential housing market on the quality of mortgage and construction loans. The sharp rise in subprime delinquencies, moreover, adversely affected the securitization market and placed strains on the liquidity and capital of some of the largest BHCs as these institutions brought off-balance sheet exposures onto their books. Many of these institutions also recognized significant valuation write-downs on assets affected by this market volatility.

Now, if you watched Zeitgeist you know this was engineered to weaken the economy. Between this and the outsourcing of American jobs overseas, we can see where and what is going on here. The take over of America by foreign investors, (that’s who is shoring up the economy and the banks under the guise of the Federal Reserve), has been working towards this for a while now. You almost have to be a snake to follow this loops and hoops and jargon!

Looking ahead, bank holding companies will continue to face challenging market conditions and persistent pressure on earnings. More asset write-downs are likely as the market continues to adjust risk premiums and valuations change. Adverse trends in loan quality will almost certainly continue and will require close monitoring by banking institutions and supervisory agencies alike. Liquidity positions will need to continue to be actively managed and banking organizations will need to implement risk management improvements to remedy the deficiencies that have been noted by companies and supervisors over the past year.

Translation- They get rich, you get screwed. They will close down banking institutions before they lose a penny and the consumer will be shafted. It also means that funds and funding will dry up as they cover their asses and leave ours bare. Like Jack Cafferty said, “It’s Getting Ugly Out There!”