Bang the Drum

Senator Dodd has done a pretty good job of fixing what was wrong with Paulson’s proposal. Here’s the PDF summary, and here’s the PDF text.
High points:
Transparency:

Establishment of an oversight board
Required transparency - specifically, that the program’s details be laid out with policies and procedures
Improved Reporting - Monthly reporting, and detailed financial statements describing specific transactions
GAO [...]

After reading Francine Hardaway, Dave Winer and Steve Gillmor today, it occurs to me that we are not under any obligation to accept the Bush Administration’s claim that their way is the only way out, or hand off incredible power to the Secretary of the Treasury with absolutely no understanding of how that power is [...]

When I wrote about the bailout bill this morning two things happened. First, I was focused on the staggering, mind-numbing numbers. And second, even though intuition told me there would be something about this plan as insidious as the Patriot Act, I didn’t imagine it to be quite as bold and brazen as it was. [...]

With the news of Lehman’s frenzied courting of Barclay’s for a shotgun marriage, and the elopement of Merrill and Bank of America, everyone is nervous. On the Twitter stream, the buzz is that the end of America is nigh, that maybe even the end of the world is upon us.
This was not entirely unexpected. [...]

Wow. On the day Palin attends a deployment ceremony for her son, she advocates for war with Russia. This is just so wrong on so many levels…
GIBSON: Let’s start, because we are near Russia, let’s start with Russia and Georgia.
The administration has said we’ve got to maintain the territorial integrity of Georgia. Do you [...]

Tonight, John McCain has picked Rudy Giuliani to give the
keynote speech for his convention on “Reform” night. Here’s
Rudy’s real record of reform:
CRONYISM AND CORRUPTION
Citing
“Corruption, Favoritism and Cronyism,” City Comptroller Referred
Giuliani Welfare Contract Award to DA and Federal Investigators.
City Comptroller Alan Hevesi rejected Giuliani’s welfare to work
contract awards to Maximus citing “corruption favoritism and
cronyism.” [...]