"Virtually everything President Bush is doing to America is, at some level, related to privatization of our commons. Today we are witnessing the middle game portion of the Corporate Takeover of Everything Agenda. It scares me to imagine what the end-game will look like."
-Scott Silver, 2003

In 2006 the Democrats narrowly defeated Bush's attempts at selling 300,000 acres of public forest land to private interests. The reason given was to simply raise money to fill a budget gap.

"It kind of reminds me of selling off the 'back 40' to pay the rent. It's short-term thinking."

This certainly isn't the first time that Republicans have gone after the Commons, and it won't be the last.

The Great Recession has a face - the U.S. worker. The coming Depression has a name - Outsourcing. Just look at the trend of employment at IBM over the last 4 years. Employment has increased internationally and decreased in the U.S. GM is the largest private employer in Mexico. China? Let's not even go there but the outsource list gets much longer.

The Kansas Federal Reserve President, Thomas Hoenig, representing himself, just gave one hell of a speech, Too Big Has Failed. Calculated Risk, (who found this gem), said this is a call for nationalization. Is it?

In the speech, Hoenig states:

we have not defined a consistent plan and not addressed basic shortcomings and, in some cases, the insolvent position of these institutions.

Hoenig then acknowledges while the United States is trying to avoid nationalization, it's happening anyway, slow, painful and piecemeal. He also suggests the current series of actions are adding to market uncertainty.

Hoenig describes current actions on the financial crisis, the results and offers a road map of policy suggestions.

Memorial Day in Chicago in 1937 was hot and sunny. On the prairie outside the Republic Steel's Chicago plant the strikers and their families began to gather for picnics. Women were dressed in their holiday best. Children could be seen riding on their father's shoulders.
Sam's Place was nearby. Once a dance-hall, Sam's was now the strike headquarters. Gradually the families drifted over to where a soup kitchen had been set up and where strike leaders gave speeches from a platform. A group of girls began singing IWW union songs, and the men joined in. Plans were being made for a mass demonstration, despite the rumors that the police had something big planned themselves.
The day seemed just too nice for anything bad to happen.

Senator Bernie Sanders to Fed. Reserve Chair Bernanke - Show Me the Money!. This is a must watch clip and note the condescending attitude, the expression of disdain, from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Sanders basic question of who is getting $2.2 trillion dollars in short terms loans from the Fed.