Banks Drop Debit Fee because the Market Works, not due to Occupy.

When the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank bill passed limiting the amount of money banks collect from merchants each time a customer uses their debit card, it was inevitable that banks would try to figure out a way to make up the lost revenue. The result was the $5 a month debit card fee. Although as a result of Dodd-Frank, I was expecting higher bank fees, like everyone else I was unhappy when I received notice from my bank that they would be charging a monthly debit card fee.

I am so entangled with Union Planters and value the personal relationship with my banker that I was not going to switch banks. However, I did express my displeasure to my banker and I was going to maneuver around the fee. On one of my accounts I almost never use the card anyway. I use a credit card that gives me points toward cash-back, and then monthly I automatically pay the card in full. There is an annual fee for having this card, but I still come out ahead. To avoid the fee on my and Louella’s joint account I was planning to get a second card and do the same thing on that account. In the meantime, on this second account, we were using checks and cash.

A dear friend of ours who we know very well was very upset about this new fee and she closed her Union Planters account and opened an account with the Old Hickory Credit Union. Many people I encountered were upset about this new fee. Despite it being the result of government action that caused banks to impose this fee, the banks would have been wiser to just eat part of the loss and make up part of the lost revenue in a less transparent manner such as reducing the interest rate on cash balances in checking accounts, raising fees for overdrafts and increasing interest rates.


The Occupy movement and their friends in the mainstream media have been spinning this story of consumer discontent with this new bank fees and the banks dropping the fees as if it is the result of political pressure and a victory for Occupy. It is not. My friend who switched banks did not do so out of any left-wing affiliation or political motivation. I was not going to take actions to avoid this fee because I was motivated by Occupy or any other political movement. The result would have been the same without the Occupy movement. Consumers have power. The banks dropping this new bank fee is much like Coke backing off of New Coke and Ford dropping the Edsel. The market works.

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“Big Brother is Watching You”

Americans for Limited Government has undertaken an analysis of the Dodd financial sector takeover bill, S. 3217, know as the "Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010." This bill would establish an Office of Financial Research and give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau the authority to “collect, validate, and maintain all data necessary” to maintain the financial stability of the United States.

In essence, the government would have the right to routinely look at your bank account without a search warrant. It is undeniable that this bill gives the government that authority. This is a major departure from the constitutional right to be secure in our " persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."

This is truly alarming. Daily we see our liberties slip away. Unfortunately, while liberals are willing to give up the right to have a private bank account in the name of financial security and willing to give the government the power to force you to buy health insurance against your will in the name of health care; conservatives are willing to give up the right to be free from the police demanding that you "show us your papers" in the name of catching illegal immigrants and willing to surrender other liberties in the name of national security. Few are consistent advocates for limited government and too few seem concerned.

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TO: Rod Williams
FROM: Fred Thompson

I know it seems a long way away. And I know that most of us are only now getting over the hyper-intense election of 2008. But there are election campaigns working now that will have a dramatic impact on your life, the lives of your family, and the future of nation. I am writing to you about one of the most important contests in the country, the battle for the U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut. Chris Dodd, the ultra-liberal Senator, has been exposed. The voters are turning against his brand of “do as I say, not as I do” of politics.

And we are in luck. We have a solid candidate, former Congressman Rob Simmons. Rob is currently running ahead in the polls. But an ocean of money is flowing against him, Every radical, left wing group in America is coming in to defend Chris Dodd. The unions are all in. And, we have to expect that the Obama machine will be put into full force. All of that – as intimidating as it may appear – is not enough to overcome the clear disdain of the people for Dodd’s actions.

Rob Simmons is the exactly the man to win this seat and remove Chris Dodd from the Senate. But he can’t do it alone. He needs the active help and financial support of every single American who values freedom and wants to see a return to fundamental First Principles. That is why I am asking you to make a donation to Rob Simmons for Senate today. You can make a donation by going to https://www.icontribute.us/robsimmons/initiative/thompson.

I know times are tough and that money doesn’t grow on trees. But this is one of the most important investments you can make for the future of our nation.

The stakes are so very high, please click here https://www.icontribute.us/robsimmons/initiative/thompson and make the most generous contribution you can.

Comment

There may be a real chance to defeat Chis Dodd. I would love to see it. His roll in the housing crisis is reason enough for him to be defeated. He is not only extremely liberal but ethically challenged. I sent a modest contribution. This looks like a campaign worth supporting. Please contribute. If all you can send is $5 or $10 or $20, do it. A lot of times I think people don't contribute to campaigns because they cannot make a large contribution. A lot of little contributions add up. If you contribute and Dodd is defeated, you will feel great and know you played a part in it.

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Jay Leno's Chris Dodd joke

"Hey, you hear about this? Very strange incident at JFK Airport in New York City today. An AIG executive going through security had to empty out all his pockets. You know what fell out? Senator Chris Dodd." --Jay Leno,

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Petition for a full ethics investigation of Chis Dodd

Dear Rod,
Last week we told you about the big-spending liberals' latest mishap with their so-called stimulus, bailout, and pork-filled spending bills agenda. As we have learned more one liberal Senator's name keeps rising to the top: Senator Chris Dodd.

Senator Chris Dodd - the liberal former Chairman of the Democrat National Committee and Senate Banking Committee Chairman - has been in our headlines month after month supporting ACORN, protecting subprime mortgage policies that led to our financial crisis, taking sweetheart mortgage deals for his own home and now shielding those who bankrupted companies in their efforts to receive federal taxpayer funds.

Chris Dodd is in the headlines again, not for working to fix the problems he helped create, but for making them worse. With new revelations coming into the news, we are calling for a full investigation of all of his activities.

ACU is launching a new, expanded effort today to call for a full ethics investigation of Chris Dodd. We need your help today. Please sign the petition and support ACU's efforts here, now.

As we noted, at the heart of the AIG bonus controversy, taking money after accepting billions in taxpayer bailouts is not the bonuses themselves, but the liberal policy of bailing out private companies in the first place. We can see what happens when the government gets their hands into private industry. It is not pretty. It is not enough that the liberals and their bureaucratic policies cause mismanagement in our government, now they want to take over and mismanage our economy as well.

As many have pointed out, it is just one more step toward socialism. And when it came to solving their latest media problem they helped create, liberals tried to pass a new massive tax to fix. Going to that tax code was their idea of fixing the problem. One more big brother solution for the problems created by the liberals' big brother government actions. It is vicious cycle.

But again, we really need to get to the root of the problem. One cheerleader for the liberal policies that got us here is Senator Chris Dodd.

He is at the heart of this issue and others from the funding of ACORN, to the support of subprime mortgage buying at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to other recent scandals regarding sweetheart personal mortgage deals.

ACU is launching a new, expanded effort today to call for a full ethics investigation of Chris Dodd. We need your help today. Please sign the petition and support ACU's efforts here, now.

New information has been uncovered on Dodd's amendment that created the AIG bonus ruckus and its connection to the big government spending stimulus bill.On Saturday the Attorney General of Connecticut reported that $218 million was paid by AIG in bonuses, not $165 million as we had been told - a difference of more than 50 million dollars.Then we learned that some of our previous ACU efforts are taking effect.

On Sunday, after running stories under headlines screaming "Dodd Draws Voters' Ire Over Wall Street Pay," the NEW YORK TIMES wrote, "On a 48-hour swing through Connecticut last weekend, Senator Christopher J. Dodd began acting like a candidate for re-election, staging press events and commandeering a Sunday news show. A newly aggressive Mr. Dodd was reacting to a spate of bad press and poor polling..."

Reuters news service wrote under the headline, "Veteran senator Dodd in the eye of AIG bonus storm," that, "In a capital always looking for someone to blame, a powerful U.S. Democratic senator has a big bull's-eye on him in the firefight over taxpayer-funded bonuses for executives at insurance giant AIG. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and one of the more prominent faces of the Democratic Party, is scrambling to explain how a loophole ended up in legislation that allowed the roundly condemned bonuses to go forward."

Why is Chris Dodd ducking for cover? We are beginning to peel back the onion of the Chris Dodd story and it is enough to make you cry with anger.

In fact the latest revelation may explain why Dodd was involved in the AIG bonus story in the first place.

The American people deserve the truth. That is why ACU is launching a new, expanded petition effort today, to call for a full ethics investigation of Chris Dodd. We need your help today to make this happen. Please sign the petition and support ACU's efforts here, now.

CNN reported that, "Dodd initially denied he had anything to do with adding the provision." Later... "Dodd, Connecticut's Democratic senior senator, said Treasury Department officials misled him on the issue of bonuses for AIG executives." Dodd (then) "told CNN ... he was responsible for language added to the stimulus bill."

Why would Chris Dodd dodge the issue, tap dance and try to mislead the American people? Maybe it is because of a personal family connection.

REAL CLEAR POLITICS, the respected online news media source, reported just yesterday that Dodd's wife was a former Director of an AIG controlled company.

Their story states, "Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) went wobbly last week when asked about his February amendment ratifying hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at insurance giant AIG. Dodd has been one of the company's favorite recipients of campaign contributions. But it turns out that Senator Dodd's wife has also benefited from past connections to AIG as well."

Real Clear Politics noted, "From 2001-2004, Jackie Clegg Dodd served as an "outside" director of IPC Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda-based company controlled by AIG. Clegg was compensated for her duties to the company, which was managed by a subsidiary of AIG."

Mr. Dodd has found himself sleeping with the AIG controversy.

The American people deserve the truth. That is why ACU is launching a new, expanded petition effort today, to call for a full ethics investigation of Chris Dodd. We need your help today to make this happen. Please sign the petition and support ACU's efforts here, now.

Even if this work Mrs. Dodd did for a previous AIG connected company had nothing to do with Senator Dodd's secretive bonus amendment it is important the American people get the truth. It is important for us to know if Obama and the Treasury Secretary were covering for Mr. Dodd.

If Dodd did not place the amendment for that reason, the potential other reasons are even worse.

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reported, Dodd "is the top all-time beneficiary of AIG contributions, with a total of $280,000 in donations from the company's employees."

His actions with the bonus amendment remind us of other actions he has taken.

Senator Chris Dodd aggressively and publicly attacked those who claimed the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's subprime mortgages policies could endanger the economy. Many questioned his actions. Then we learned from OpenSecrets.org that Dodd received more big money PAC campaign contributions than any other politician on Capitol Hill from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for over 10 years.

Chris Dodd supported the efforts that led to our financial crisis and now he is using our own taxpayer funds to bail the companies involved.

The American people deserve the truth. That is why ACU is launching a new, expanded petition effort today, to call for a full ethics investigation of Chris Dodd. We need your help today to make this happen. Please sign the petition and support ACU's efforts here, now.

For these reasons, when you sign the petition and support ACU's efforts, we encourage you to access our ACU Chris Dodd Media Page. This is a special page we have created so that you can contact members of the Connecticut news media and ask them - and the voters of Connecticut - why they have Chris Dodd representing them in U.S. Senate. We encourage you and others to use this resource which you will see after you sign the new petition and support ACU.

Multiple news reports have surfaced nothing that Chris Dodd's early Senate challenger in the race next year has already tied him in the polls.

Now it is time to keep the pressure on and for the American people to get to the truth.

Please support this effort here and now.

Sincerely,

Dennis Whitfield
Executive Vice President

P.S. Many times I add a PS to make sure I summarize the issues ACU is working on. Unfortunately you know all too well about Chris Dodd, his support of ACORN and subprime mortgage policies, his personal sweetheart mortgage deal and now his support for taxpayer funded bonuses in the big government spending "stimulus bill." Help us start to bring the

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Congressional Report: Countrywide Bent Loan Rules For Dodd

By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN The Hartford Courant, March 20, 2009

An executive at mortgage giant Countrywide Financial overrode the company's loan-writing policies to give a discount to Sen. Christopher Dodd,the powerful chairman of the Senate banking committee, according to an internal Countrywide document turned over to congressional investigators and obtained by The Courant. [full article]

Commment
The article does not reveal any quid pro quo. The evidence proves Dodd received preferential treatment but does not prove that Dodd was aware of it. Dodd as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is one of the nations most powerful banking overseers. Countrywide is one of the nations largest subprime lenders.

What is revealed by this investigation is that Countrywide routinely gave preferential treatment to important people whom they called "Friends of Angelo." They frankly discussed in documents and emails who was worthy of getting special deals and who was not. Some staffers and lesser influential politicians such as mayors were classified as "moderate VIP".

After months of Dodd's and Countrywide's stonewalling, the issue can now be put to rest. Probably all that can be proven is proven. Weather Dodd knew about it or not, Dodd should return the ill gotten gains from his Countrywide refinance deals. Dodd's roll in the AIG bonuses scandal, his sweetheart loans from Countrywide, and the large campaign contributions he has received from AIG should make him unworthy of chairing the senate banking committee. He should step down.

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Dodd, Obama and Geithner need to come clean. Sign this Petition.

Dear Rod,

Our nation has been in turmoil this week over the bonuses paid at AIG. After taxpayers infused nearly $200 Billion into the private firm, AIG paid out nearly $165 million of that in bonuses to their executives. The New York Times reported that these bonuses included $33.6 million for 52 people who have already left the failed insurance company and more than $1 million each to 73 people.

If it was not bad enough, we are beginning to hear that many of our nation's elected officials might have known about these bonuses. Worse, it appears that Democrat Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd actually sponsored an amendment in the so-called stimulus bill to protect these bonuses. The question is, why did he do that? Did Obama and his Treasury Secretary not only know about these bonuses in advance, but actually work to support them?

Senator Chris Dodd slipped into the Obama stimulus bill a secretive provision to protect these specific AIG bonuses. That much we do know.

It is shocking. We need to find out why he did it and hold him accountable. He and others are trying to run and hide from the criticism. We cannot let them.

THAT IS WHY ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG.

We are going to press them in the news media and on Capitol Hill to tell the American people the truth. And, we are launching a special effort right in U.S. Senator Chris Dodd's home state of Connecticut to hold him accountable for his actions.

As the days of the week have passed, we waited to see if they would truly admit to their involvement in the AIG bonus scandal and come clean. However, for days all they have done is point fingers at each other, at previous administration officials, at current administration officials and then at anyone and everyone else to deflect attention from themselves.

As more information leaked out about their involvement they then changed their story and all at once tried to claim responsibility. It was a purposeful shift to try and throw us off the trail, to deflect media criticism, create confusion, and stop the search for answers. We cannot allow them to succeed. What has become clear is that we, the American people, must stand up and demand the truth.

THAT IS WHY ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, NOW.

At the center of this controversy are three people.

One is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who admitted to not paying his own personal taxes even prior to taking the job as Treasury Secretary, a job where he will oversee the IRS. Geithner said they were "careless mistakes" that he failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. (We have heard that from a number of Obama appointees.) Then in February testimony before Congress he used the word mistake again in reference to his banking plan saying, "we will make mistakes," and the market instantly fell 380+ points. He has been careless with his money and ours, now we cannot allow him to pass off the AIG bonuses as just another "careless mistake."

Geithner has been a central figure in the government's push for bailouts and the spending of our hard-earned taxpayer money on the so-called stimulus and on failed company bailouts. As President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, prior to becoming Treasury Secretary, he has been a principle architect of the bailout strategy. The Washington Post noted, "When the government rescued AIG in mid-September (2008), no one was more central to the decision than Geithner." Obama actually promoted his bailout experience in selecting him as Treasury Secretary.

Now, in just the last few hours we have learned that Geithner knew about the bonuses for days, but the truth may be that he knew about them for weeks as far back as the time when we first pushed their bailout. What is he hiding?

ACU IS LAUNCHING A PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, NOW.

Even worse than Geithner's involvement and that of the President, however, may be the involvement of Senator Chris Dodd, the former Chairman of the Democrat National Committee and Democrat candidate for President, who is now the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.

Over the last year the ACU has pointed out some of Chris Dodd's most troubling actions:
SPECIAL MORTGAGE PERKS FOR HIMSELF AND HIS DEMOCRAT BUDDIES - last July ACU disclosed media reports that Chris Dodd was part of the FoA, or Friends of Angelo program, named for Countrywide Mortgage Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo which provided special Countrywide loan rates for politically connected officials. The individuals who got special mortgages? Bill Clinton's former budget director, the man chosen by Obama to pick Joe Biden as his running mate, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Democrat Kent Conrad and, yes, Chris Dodd.

HELPING CREATE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS - our financial crisis was started by the subprime mortgage mess. Dodd helped support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's purchase of subprime loans. The WALL STREET JOURNAL wrote in their editorial last summer on Dodd, "You'll love this one. In the strange accountability of Washington, the same folks who put taxpayers on the hook for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now demanding ransom to let taxpayers bail them out." The Journal reported Dodd publicly attacked critics who were "repeatedly raising alarm bells about the risks Fannie and Freddie pose to the financial system." He promoted and protected them and in return he received more PAC money from them than any other politician. A Journal editorial said, "In any other business, Mr. Dodd would be begging forgiveness."

SUPPORTING ACORN - Not only has ACORN been raided by the FBI for falsifying voter registration records, ACORN directly promoted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's involvement in subprime loans. In return Chris Dodd attended meetings at ACORN offices and promoted their efforts "to stop foreclosures." More shocking, as we have repeatedly pointed out, the stimulus bill a contained a provision to provide taxpayer funding for ACORN. This is the same stimulus bill that apparently became the vehicle for Dodd's support of AIG.

With this track record the American people should not be surprised that it was Senator Chris Dodd who slipped in the secret provision to specifically protect the now infamous bonuses at AIG. The question is why and what is he hiding?

SIGN THE ACU PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG. SIGN IT HERE, AND SUPPORT ACU, NOW.

While conservative members of Congress were fighting against the pork-filled stimulus bill, Dodd was working for the AIG bonuses - meeting behind closed doors with Treasury officials and the Obama administration writing his amendment that specifically allowed for the multi-million dollar bonuses. As CNN pointed out, "final language in Dodd's amendment specifically excluded bonuses from contracts signed - before the stimulus bill's passage - a fact which allowed for the AIG bonus payout."

If you received a bonus at AIG you might say, "thank you,"... just as Fannie Mae did with their PAC donations to Dodd when he supported them ...just like ACORN who has showered him with praise. But the taxpayers of the United States are left thankless for the havoc he continues to wreak on our nation. So, the question is, how does Dodd remain in the Senate after all of this? The simple answer is that the people of Connecticut elected him.

So, not only are we going to hold him accountable in Washington - WE WANT YOUR DIRECT HELP TO HOLD CHRIS DODD ACCOUNTABLE, AT HOME, RIGHT WHERE IT MATTERS MOST, IN HIS HOME STATE.

We have created a special CHRIS DODD CONNECTICUT MEDIA PAGE. When you sign the petition, support ACU and hit "submit" you will be taken to a page where you can find this special, new ACU Chris Dodd media site. On our Dodd Media Site, you can find contact information for media all over Connecticut; both newspapers for letters to the editor and talk radio shows. You can contact them and express your outrage to the people of Connecticut who sent Dodd to the U.S. Senate. Why did they do it? Are they still proud to have him representing them in Washington? Will they try to send him back to Washington? Let them know what you think.

Please sign the petition below, support ACU's effort, and then click submit to be taken to this special Dodd Media page.

SIGN THE ACU PETITION EFFORT TO DEMAND THAT DODD, OBAMA AND GEITHNER ALL COME CLEAN AND TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT AIG HERE, NOW.

The third person at the center of this scandal is President Barack Obama. The ACU has repeatedly warned about government infusions of taxpayer money into private companies. We have opposed these bailouts and stimulus packages. Barack Obama's agenda to grow the size of government has enabled these activities.As our Chairman David Keene said this week, "the bonuses are a political issue because the money comes from you and me. We shouldn't have been asked to put it up in the first place and if we hadn't, it would simply be an issue between the management and stockholders. And, if I was a stockholder, I would have been outraged that a bunch of managers who managed to ruin my investment were getting a bonus. But the real mistake was putting the money into AIG in the first place."

The ACU opposed the stimulus package from the start. We delivered petitions from you and others against this bill. Every Republican in the House opposed it and almost every Republican in the Senate did too, and at least they cut hundreds of millions from it. But now in addition to the billions and billions of dollars in wasteful spending we now have the AIG crisis too.

ACU will continue to fight these efforts with your help. Please sign the petition here, now and we will do so.

Don't let Chris Dodd escape accountability. Sign the petition, support ACU and visit the Chris Dodd media page now to express your opinion.

Sincerely,

Dennis Whitfield
Executive Vice President

P.S. Don't let Chris Dodd hide from his actions. Help us get to the truth. Send the message to his own voters, right in Connecticut. Ask them why he is in the Senate. Do so after you sign the petition here, now, to make Obama, his Treasury Secretary and Chris Dodd come clean on their actions, now.

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Spare me the Phony Shock and Outrage

I share the outrage being expressed by members of the Congress, the press and the public over the $165 million AIG paid in retention bonuses to employees with our tax money. However, I am more outraged that Congress passed a stimulus bill that permitted these bonuses. This did not just happen by accident. Language in the stimulus bill originally prohibited paying of bonuses to recipients of bailout money. That language was changed in the Conference Committee to allow this to occur.

According to the Huffington Post, it was at the urging of the Treasury Department that Senator Chis Dodd changed the language of the stimulus bill to allow recipients of bailouts to receive bonuses. Then, the Democrats in Congress passed the 1100 page, trillion-dollar bill without ever reading it.

This really stinks! Chris Dodd, the number two recipient of AIG campaign contributions, should be indicted or resign. We should know what the President, who as Senator was the number one recipient of AIG campaign contributions, knew and when he knew it. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should resign in disgrace. Everyone who received campaign contributions from AIG should return them. Legislators should pledge to know what they are voting on before they vote in the future.

Please spare me the phony shock and outrage from Obama and the Democrats who engineered and allowed this to occur. Obama and Chris Dodd are deep in AIG's pocket. This is old-fashioned corruption on an unprecedented and grand scale. How the public can still believe Obama represents transparency and change is beyond me. If these first few weeks are any indication, this may be shaping up to be one of the most corrupt administrations in history. When will some of the dirt start sticking to Obama? The foxes really are guarding the chicken house, the lunatics are running the asylum, and most Americans still think Obama is the messiah.

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ALG Demands President Obama and Members of Congress Return AIG Campaign Kickbacks

March 19th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged President Barack Obama and members of Congress to “return the $4.37 million they received in campaign contributions from AIG since 1989, including the $644,218 they received in 2008.”

“If the American people are to believe all the angry words and threats coming from the White House, President Obama must return the $104,332 he received from AIG during the 2008 campaign cycle,” declared Wilson in a statement.

According to OpenSecrets.org, AIG gave some $644,218 to candidates for federal office in 2008. According to Wilson's letter, “[I]n return, it received from the Federal Reserve some $173 billion in taxpayer-guaranteed loans. That represents nearly a 27 million percent return on their 2008 'investment' into politicians' loyalty.”

“The 2008 money received by the President and members of Congress should clearly be returned, but more than that, the honorable thing would be for any politician who has ever received a penny from AIG to return it to the American taxpayers who are now paying to keep the company afloat,” Wilson said.

“These campaign kickbacks must be returned,” Wilson added.

President Obama received $104,332 from AIG in 2008 of the $110,332 in contributions he has ever received from the company. “President Obama received 94.56 percent of the money he has ever gotten from AIG, and yet he has not returned it since the bailouts began in September,” said Wilson.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) in 2008 received $103,900 of the $281,038 he has ever received from AIG. According to the letter, “in the 2009 'stimulus' legislation, [Dodd] inserted the amendment that guaranteed that bonuses would be paid by adding language to a spending cap that specifically excluded executive bonuses included in contracts.”

“Only 11 of the 314 members of the Democratic Congressional majority voted against the 'stimulus' and protecting the AIG bonuses, and now they act shocked as they pretend to have never read the 1100-page bill that they are responsible for that cost $787 billion,” Wilson said.

Wilson believes that campaign contributions from AIG and other bailout firms represent “a clear case of pay-to-play corruption.”

“The corrupt cesspool in Washington needs to be drained where 'too big to fail' firms get taxpayer-guaranteed bailouts from 'too compromised to resist' politicians,” Wilson concluded.

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Friends of Angelo

Countrywide's Many 'Friends'
by Daniel Golden, Conde Nast Portfolio .com Jun 12 2008

Two U.S. senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations received loans from Countrywide Financial through a little-known program that waived points, lender fees, and company borrowing rules for prominent people.

Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans.

Commentary

While thousands of Americans got predatory loans from Countrywide Mortgage and now face the loss of their home, VIP "Friends of Angelo" were getting preferential treatment including low interest rates and waived fees. One of the most powerful Friends of Angelo was Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Chris Dodd.

Candidate Obama promises us a more open, honest, and transparent government. How can we have any confidence in the new administration or Congress if the lead watchdog in the Senate is a Friend of Angelo who got a preferential loan from Countrywide while he was supposed to be protecting the public's interest?

President Obama,

Would you please ask Chris Dodd to release his mortgage papers as he promised to do. If he will not, please ask him to resign from the US Senate. If he does release them and he is guilty of accepting preferential treatment, please demand his resignation. Did you really mean that stuff about honest government or was that just empty campaign talk?

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Where are Chris Dodd's Mortgage Papers?

Waiting for Dodd
Where are those Countrywide papers?
JANUARY 7, 2009, The Wall Street Journal

With the opening of the 111th Congress yesterday, all of Washington is tingling with the allure of a fresh start. Not so fast. We've got some leftover business from the 110th Congress -- namely, Chris Dodd's July 2008 promise to release the details of his sweetheart loans from Countrywide Financial. (Link)

I know where my mortgage papers are. Where are Chis Dodd's mortgage papers?

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