While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are stationed at 737 bases, in 130 nations around the world, defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” Democratic (socialist/fascist) de facto President Obama (either a natural born subject of the United Kingdom enclave of Kenya, or a natural born resident of the republic of Hawaii) signs the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, authorizing 410,000,000 “dollars” in new Federal spending.  Simultaneously Obama issues a signing statement declaring how he is going to disregard five provisions of the act.

       NOTES:

• One of the provisions Obama said he will ignore limits his ability to place the U.s. Armed Forces under the command of the United Nations.
• As a candidate for president Obama criticized the practice of issuing signing statements by his predecessor, Republican (fascist/socialist) President George W. Bush.

       [added 10/11/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix and G. Edward Griffin for this entry.

       De facto President Obama, speaking to this entire administrative staff, at the Executive Office Building, communicates his desire to get the Federal budget under control:

       The future demands that we operate in a different way than we have in the past.  So let there be no doubt: This … must mark an end to the old way of doing business and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability that the American people have every right to expect and demand.

       Postscript: Over the remaining course of the year, spending on “discretionary” (under the control of CONgress and the president) items had increased 4%, and “entitlements” (payments fixed by statute agreed to by the CONgress and the president, but what they insist they cannot change) had increased 3%.

       [added 10/11/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.

       Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (a Federal agency) that oversees the privately owned Federal Reserve System of (central) Banks states, “The Fed[eral Reserve System of (central) Banks] didn’t cause the housing bubble.”

       NOTE: The target for the Federal Funds Rate (the interest rates commercial banks charge each other to maintain their required “fractional reserve” balances) was at 6.5% in January 2001.  Over the next two and a half years, as Chairman of the FRS, Greenspan oversaw a radical lowering of that interest rate to 1%, thus encouraging aggressive lending in the mortgage market.  After keeping the Fed Funds rate at 1% for a year, Greenspan raised the rate back up to 5.5% over the next six months, causing a restriction on the commercial banks ability to lend.

       [added 10/11/2021] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.