re: Gerbino, "There will be no great depression."
First, I hope and pray he's right, and I'm wrong. But,
I don't think I will be.
My opinion on the odds of another "Great Depression" occurring?
Based on the economy and the markets, my brain says 40:60 and
my gut says 30:70 (towards a depression). And fwiw, my gut has
a better track record than does my brain.
But the key is, this isn't about the economy, or the markets. And I'll
get to that a little later.
And as far as trusting your gut, and your survival instinct...
In times like these, trust your gut. There's a reason God
gave you a survival instinct. Use it, don't ignore it.
I promise you it will serve you well over the coming months.
Any academic discussion on a "depression" will always open
with a discussion of:
"That depends on what your definition of 'a depression' is."
So what is a depression?
Is it the old joke of a recession being when your neighbor
loses his job, but a depression being when you lose your job?
The depression vs. recession debate doesn’t matter, and neither does the
inflation vs. deflation debate.
Until they create an "INF" and a "DEF" ETF for inflation and deflation;
or an "REC" and a "DEP" ETF for recession and depression, and find
out a way to measure it... it's all academic debate.
Leave the arcane academic debates of inflation or, deflation,
or recession vs. depression to the academics on the sidelines.
Markets are either going up, or going down. Things are either good, or
they’re bad. It really isn’t that hard to figure out. No one makes a dime
on the nuance of debate.
Let economists theorize, and let traders trade.
You get paid by being right on the timing of the direction of an index,
an individual stock, commodity, currency, or ETF. Not on academic
debates.
Do you know what an academic is?
An academic is someone who is not satisfied by something that is working
well in practice, until he’s tried it in theory. And a theorist is someone who
is willing to assume everything, except responsibility.
Most academics, and theorists haven't put a single dime of their own money
where their mouth is anyway.
Don't believe me?
How about Dr. Doom - Nouriel Roubini?
Now I'm a fan of Roubini, and I'm not doing a hatchet job
on Roubini. I read and listen to him, and you should to. In
fact, I thought he should have won the Nobel Prize for
economics last year, not Krugman.
And you're probably thinking that “Dr. Doom” must have made a killing
in the markets last year, in the biggest bear market of our lifetime. Especially
with the financials collapsing, with the homebuilders bursting, with the DOW
down -40%, and a world of leveraged reverse ETF’s at hand.
...and you'd be dead wrong.
Here's what Dr. Roubini is invested in. Listen to his own words...
his 401K was 100% invested in equities.
finance.yahoo.com
Getting the "story", or the "big picture" right, doesn't necessarily mean you'll
make a damn dime.
In fact, I think there's a little buzz in the blogosphere right now about that,
and I don't particularly want to go there, but I will say this...
People who throw stones, had better have a 95 mph fastball, and they shouldn't
live iin glass houses.
One of the lessons that I’ve learned over the years is this…
"Making money in commodities has never been the problem.
Keeping the money you made, is the problem."
And here’s an article that drives that point home…
=====================================================
marketwatch.com{D1D98B9B-F8A6-4174-9563-38B2439A6090}
"Getting it right and still losing
Commentary: You can get a lot of things right and
still lose big.
By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch
Last update: 11:00 p.m. EST Nov. 11, 2008
ANNANDALE, Va. (MarketWatch) -- Sometimes you can't win for losing.
Just ask Harry Schultz. Or Howard Ruff. Or Jim Dines.
All three advisers, each of whom has been editing an investment
newsletter at least since the 1970s, have built their investment careers
by questioning conventional wisdom's trust in the soundness of the
financial system. Not surprisingly, all three have been vociferous champions
of gold and other precious metals.
You'd think that they would have cleaned up over the last
year, since the disintegration of the financial system in recent months
is almost exactly what they have been warning us about for decades.
But you'd be wrong.
Of the 181 newsletters on the Hulbert Financial Digest's monitored list,
these three advisers' newsletters are in 173rd, 175th, and 176th places for
year-to-date performances through October 31, with losses ranging from
minus 64.9% to minus 70.0%.
continued...
===============================================================
I have no ax to grind with Dines, or Harry Schultz. They are legends
in the newsletter business and have had huge up years as well. I’m
not knocking them.
My point is simply that there is a huge difference between people who
write newsletters for a living, and those who trade for a living.
I think the market of 2008 taught many people, many lessons.
I learned mine in 1998. The OSX collapsed from 125 in the spring,
all the way down to OSX 35 by August. And I fought it all the
way down, the entire way.
Yes, there were some counter-trend rallies, but I took the brunt of the
correction head on. I was arrogant, I was brash, and I was stubborn.
(imagine that?).
The market had to beat me, because I was right, and I wasn’t giving in.
And beat me it did… right upside the head. Over and over and over again.
But, I learned. And that’s the key.
I learned all the basics that no book, or course can teach you, because even if
you know what you should do, you won’t do it.
You’ll think you’re smarter than the market, and you’ll break all the rules,
and you’ll fight the market until you beat it, or it beats you.
And finally, you’ll learn that when you’re wrong – you’re wrong. And when
you break the rules, in addition to being wrong, you’re real wrong.
It’s something that you can only learn by doing, and by experiencing.
Emotion is a huge component. There’s a helluva lot of difference between
writing about the market, and having your money on the line every day,
and trading it.
I was lucky, in that in my first year of trading I hit a huge down market
head on at 70 mph. I learned by making every mistake known to man,
and creating a few that weren’t.
Hopefully, those lessons once learned, will serve a trader for a lifetime.
Anyway… back to the deflation discussion.
We are a nation of regional economies, but national policies.
Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes that's a bad thing.
If the policies are working -- it's a good thing, and when they not
-- it's a bad thing.
So I'll start by asking you this question:
Do you think the present policies are working?
Hopefully, that's a rhetorical question.
They've now thrown $3 trillion dollars down a black hole.
We've had Congress called behind closed doors to "secret
meetings." We've been threatened with "Martial Law." We've
been told the worst was behind us, and everything is fine.
We've been bait & switched, we've been TARP'd, and we've
been alphabet souped.
...and now the answer is a "Bad Bank."
Things are not getting better people - they're getting worse.
Job losses & unemployment are exploding.
...not just rising - exploding.
Foreclosures are still rising & will accelerate as unemployment rises.
Home values are still sinking.
Real wages are still falling.
Banks are NOT lending.
Credit is STILL contracting.
Banks still need MORE capital.
Any potential improvement in the economy from Obama's
proposed stimulus package is an illusion.
Only 12% of the money goes to real stimulus, and that's
over a couple of years.
Any potential jobs from Obama's stimulus package are
two years+ away. And 1 million $9 an hour 2010 Census Jobs
won't rebuild America.
And none of that is going to help States like California.
California is bankrupt. They can't make their payroll,
can't make public assistance payments, and can't pay
their vendors.
New York, Michigan, Illinois, and many other states, and
hundreds of local city and county governments are close
behind.
Michigan's official unemployment rate is already well over
10%. And many industrial Midwest states are about to cross
the rubicon to double digit+ rates.
And these are their "official" unemployment numbers.
Using the pre-Clinton era numbers, or Shadow Stat's numbers,
we're already at double digits+ nationwide.
There are cities and counties in the Midwest where unemployment
is already at 15%+.
A 15% "official" reported rate, is 20-25%+ in reality.
Those cities and counties are in already a depression.
The banking industry is in a depression.
The real estate industry is in a depression.
The construction industry is in a depression.
The automobile industry is in a depression.
And now multi-nationals like Caterpillar, which were not so
long ago, deemed recession proof because of a strong farm
market, and global demand - are slashing jobs.
Microsoft which didn't lay anyone off during the tech &
internet crash, is laying off. As is Google.
Boeing is doing massive layoffs... and the list grows daily.
And let's not forget that consumer spending is 70% of
US GDP. Retailers are going bankrupt left and right, and they’re
potentially the next sector to go into a depression.
It's going to be all about, jobs, jobs, jobs. And jobs aren’t
looking too good right now.
And remember, everything was fine up until last September.
Unfortunately, the job cuts have only just begun.
And where's the money to create jobs going to come from?
We're getting close to a potential $2 Trillion Dollar budget
deficit by 2010.
Has it occurred to anyone else, that the Banks are getting
all the bailout money, and Obama's stimulus plan is mainly
going to grow big government - bigger?
And what if this "Bad Bank" plan doesn't work? What's next?
Do you know what Congress has been told in answer to that
question?
"There is no "next."
And that's the key... this is it.
It won't work. It can't work, and they have no intention
of it working. It's to buy time - period.
When, not if, the States of California, New York, Michigan,
Illinois, and the hundreds of cities and county governments
lining up behind them, go into default and need a bailout,
there won't be one.
Because all the money will be gone, and the credit rating
and the currency of the USA will be under massive pressure,
which will eliminate the ability of the Government to shoulder
further Federal bailouts.
The banksters have conveniently sucked the system dry, just as
the rest of the economy, and the rest of America falls into
the abyss, and will need the money.
...how convenient?!?
So how did this all happen?
Robert Rubin got key components of Glass-Steagall repealed.
Then Hank Paulson got the SEC to lift limits on the leverage
of capital. And finally, Paulson got the SEC to let the
investment banks self-regulate.
Not only did they hand the keys to the prison over to the
inmates, they disbanded the guard staff, and left the front
gate open!
Paulson & Rubin created the architecture, and then Greenspan
supplied the fuel.
They blew the system up on steroids, sucked the money out,
then popped it.
And now you are giving them your money to recapitalize their
balance sheets, so they will be able to walk in when the dust
settles, and snap up assets on the cheap with your money
all over again.
Money upon which you'll pay the not-so-federal, Federal Reserve,
billions, if not trillions in perpetual interest upon.
America has now become their perpetual debt slaves.
The debt is now so large, that it can never be fully repaid.
And they're laughing at us.
And concerning subprime mortgage paper?
They knew EXACTLY what they were doing with subprime.
We had a subprime collapse back in 1998.
I've been talking about Fannie & Freddie, subprime, and
the credit bubble for over 11 years.
I got my start online back in 1997-98 on the Yahoo boards
battling SargeK over Cityscape.
Remember Cityscape? It was the darling stock of Fidelity
Magellan's Michael Price.
...and poof~ bankrupt.
Remember the Money Store?
Baseball star Jim Palmer used to pitch them every morning
on "The Today Show, and "Good Morning America."
First Union bought them, and that acquisition almost took
them under.
And how about Green Tree Financial?
Remember them?
They had the highest paid CEO in America. He made the cover
of Barrons, or Fortune.
And Green Tree eventually bankrupted Conseco.
I remember talking to the CEO of one of the top five Sub-Prime
lenders back in 1995, or 96. And he told me he was resigning
because the investment banking sharks of Wall Street we're
going to crash the industry.
You see, the subprime industry was decades old. For years,
you either borrowed money at 7-8% from the local bank, or if
you had some credit issues, you borrowed at 18-20% at the
local finance company.
For decades this system worked. With risk came rate. Risk was
properly priced, and fairly rewarded. The finance company
business thrived and prospered for decades at 18% rates, and
without a single predatory lender lawsuit.
Why?
Because there had to be a benefit to the borrower, and the
lender only made loans he expected to be re-paid. He was
making loans with his money. To stay in business, he not
only had to be re-paid, but the risk had to be properly priced,
and the customer had to benefit..
And then came the sharks.
CEO's were sold a bill of goods. Risk became mis-priced. The
only thing that mattered was growth (at any cost). CEO's
were managing their company by the stock price, and no longer
by prudent lending standards.
The industry exploded and the money was so big, that everyone
became focused on the “now” and not the longterm.
It was all about the stock price, and not about the business.
There were tooth & nail fights over these new loan programs,
the relaxation of prudent underwriting standards, and the
mis-pricing of risk.
I was there right in the middle of them during the 1990's.
EVERYONE saw it coming. And EVERYONE knew what the ultimate
outcome was going to be.
If the government really wanted to send any of these bankster-
gangster CEO's to jail, all they need to do is start issuing
subpoenas to the V.P's, and staffs in underwriting departments
who all had intense battles with production departments over
the continual deterioration of lending standards.
Every one of these CEO's was not just told by his own people
what was going to happen, they were fought tooth & nail.
And the subprime crash of the late 1990's wasn't even the
beginning of it.
Go read "Liars Poker" by Michael Lewis.
Buy it today, and read it this weekend. It's a quick read,
and a "must own/must read" book for any trader.
You'll learn about the boys from Salomon Brothers. How they
crammed toxic paper down clients throats, and high-five'd
each other, and laughed about it.
You'll discover how Lewie Ranieri became the Godfather
of mortgage bonds, and how Salomon's slicksters bent over
the S&L industry and reamed them over and over again.
It's a great expose` on how Wall Street works and how they
view you, and your "OPM."
And that's the root of the entire problem -- "OPM"
Other People's Money... your money, and taxpayers money.
That's what changed in the 1980's & 1990's.
Banks & S&L's were no longer risking "their" money. They
were playing with your money, or taxpayer's money.
Why not make LIAR Loans? Why not pump up appraisals? Why
not make loans you know will never be re-paid? Because
you weren't risking the banks money... you just bundled
the crap up, and offloaded it to either Fannie Mae, or
the slicksters on Wall Street, who sliced and diced it
up, took a big cut, and then offloaded it to someone else.
The taxpayer via Fannie & Freddie, or some stiff (like your
pension fund, or insurance company) who ended up holding the
mortgage bonds, was taking the risk. Not the originating
lender.
The inmates were now running not just the jail, but also
the bank... and the doors to the vault were left wide open.
Anyone in the banking business who tells you that they were
surprised by the subprime blow up - is completely and totally
full of shit.
Everyone knew. And a lot of good honest people fought tooth
and nail to stop it. But, they lost. Many of them quit, and
left the industry. Like the CEO I talked to in the mid-90's.
Those that stayed, knew exactly what they were doing, and
exactly what was going to happen. It was when, not if.
It waa all about the money.
And any means, justified their desired end.
You're meat and they're hungry. You're the sheep & they're
the wolves. You're a fool and you got their money. Yes, your
money should be theirs. Because they're superior. They've got
MBA's & PhD's, they work in high rise buildings on Wall Street,
and in London, and you're some schmuck school teacher, or
plumber on Main Street. And they're going lie, cheat, and
steal if necessary to take your money. All of it.
...and they did. Over, and over, and over again.
And why wouldn't they keep taking your money?
You didn't do anything to the bankers who brought you the S&L crisis.
You didn't do anything to the bankers at LTCM.
You didn't do anything about the Tech & Internet bubble,
when Mary Meeker & Henry Blodgett wrote bullshit research
reports on stocks the Investment Banker's IPO'd up your ass.
The bankers for Enron & World Comm never went to jail.
The bond rating banksters who laughed about "rating" a cow
pile didn't go to jail.
Stan O'Neal, Franklin Raines, Angelo Mozilo, Jimmy Cayne,
Dick Fuld... they got to keep hundreds of millions of dollars
they sheared from the sheep, and none of them are going to jail.
Why in the hell would they not continue to boom & bust you
until you don't have anything left?
Those are the bankster-gangsters.
But guess what?
They're the least of your worries.
It's the intellectual elitist's of government that you really
need to worry about.
These are sociopathic, elitists who resent your very existence.
And they're driven by two things, greed and power.
Any means justifies their desired end.
In their mind, most of you shouldn't exist. You're eaters.
The world is over-populated and over-polluted, and YOU
are the problem.
You suck precious resources dry. Sure, they need some of
you to do menial jobs, and to operate the necessary underlying
infrastructure... but they, the intellectual, and economic
elite -- they are here to govern you, and to acquire all
the underlying economic wealth.
Remember what Henry Kissinger said?
"Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns."
-- Henry Kissinger
There is to be no middle class in their "New World Order."
There will only be pawns, and elite's.
If at this point in time you still think the NWO, or the march
toward the North American Union, World Government, a World
Bank, and regional currencies are a myth and conspiracy,
please stop reading - now.
Either get on the net, and open some books, and start reading
and researching PNAC, the CFR, the Bilderberger meetings,
and reading all the position papers of the Think Tanks that
form all the policies of government. And read what the Patriot
Act and Bush's Executive Orders are really about... or, simply
go back to the herd and the rest of the sheep, take the chip,
and go to the camps.
If you've been following this thread for a while, you will
have noticed that my posting took a turn here a few weeks ago.
And there's a good reason for it. Why that is, isn't really
that important to you. These are things you need to discover,
and verify on your own.
Just as in investing, keep an open mind to both sides of any
debate, or thesis; but trust no one, verify everything, and
do your own due diligence.
Don't be a sheep. Make your own decisions, and accept personal
responsibility for your own actions.
The diligence you do, the decisions you make, and the
actions you take over the coming months, we be the most
important ones you will ever make. And I sincerely believe
that.
There is no downside to preparing too much, too early. But,
there's a lot of downside, to doing too little, too late.
...keep an open mind, and think about that.
Now to a very big heads up...
The bill shown below was just presented to Congress last
Thursday, January 22nd.
I posted earlier this week about the origination of the
FEMA camp contracts with Halliburton's KBR, and the warnings
from Ron Paul, and the NY Time's William Safire.
No one listened then, and they refurbished and built
hundreds of domestic detainment camps.
And now this?
This bill is for new, additional, regional command & control
centers.
Unless they expect a tsunami to hit, and cover the lower 48
simultaneously, or a nationwide small pox outbreak...
what the hell are all these new camps for?
Why more?
And WHY NOW - in the middle of a huge fiscal crisis?
WHAT could be so pressing, that given the financial crisis
that America is in, that we need to build more camps, right now?
Remember Colin Powell & Joe Biden's warnings?
Remember Obama's own words about "unpopular" actions that
would be for the good of the country?
The Pound Sterling and the Bank of England are very possibly
near collapse.
I posted this article Monday about the Bank of England
admitting that their financial system was within 3 hours of
collapse last October... and things are even worse now.
"Britain was just three hours away from going bust last year
after a secret run on the banks, one of Gordon Brown's
Ministers has revealed."
dailymail.co.uk
There are riots in the streets of Iceland and Greece.
The Israeli's attacked Gaza during the final days of the Bush
presidency and nuclear powers India & Pakistan are at each
others throats, over what looked very much like a "false
flag" event.
Global economies and markets continue to crater.
Citigroup and Bank of America were on the precipice of collapse,
the market just tanked and re-tested it lows, layoffs
& job losses are exploding, and gold just popped a
hundred bucks in a week.
The State of California can not meet it's payroll or make
public payments, and the states of Illinois, New York, and
Michigan are not far behind.
The Big Three will require significantly more money than
was previously committed to, and many economists think that
the US may need an additional $2 Trillion+ to save the
banking system... while others think the system is broken
beyond repair.
Unemployment & public welfare systems are already being
stretched to the point of collapse, and if the US sees
something catastrophic, like a doubling in the unemployment
rate from present levels... where will the money come from,
when the banks already got it all?
That's when America will have millions rioting in the streets.
When Main Street really needs the money, but can't get it,
because Wall Street already sucked the US Treasury dry.
Economic Collapse? Riots in the Streets? FEMA Camps?
Can't happen here?
Like I said, "they" are obviously getting prepared -- are you?
And consider this...
The Fed will not answer Congress, or Bloomberg's Freedom of
Information Act lawsuit on where all the bailout money went.
That's after a closed door, secret meeting with Congress,
where they extorted a blank check bailout under the threat
of imposing Martial Law.
And we've just had Watergate-esque revelations that the NSA,
CIA and US Intelligence operations are literally accumulating
complete and total digital files of all American communications
and financial transactions, and then compiling those with
personal medical records, credit reports, legal filings, and
school transcripts. They're compiling a virtual birth to
death digital file on every American.
And they've admitted to doing focused spying on select members
of the press, all US politicians, as well as the open data mining of the entire American populace.
Bush has already suspended the Constitution via the Patriot Act
and with his Executive Orders. Congress was extorted with
Martial Law and forced to hand a blank check to the banks.
And then there’s that IMF audit of the US Financial System.
I posted about that earlier this year. Bush fought it, and finally
allowed it, with one condition…
That the results of the audit could not be released until he left office.
And that time is now…
Here’s the link to the information on the IMF audit:
spiegel.de
Does the IMF, and the G-20 already know that the US financial
system is broken beyond repair. Is the solution the North American
Union and the Amero?
It’s not as if Kissinger, Brezezinski, the CFR, and the Puppeteers
have been hiding their intentions.
Are the IMF Audit results, the “event” that Joe Biden, and Colin Powell
have warned America that Obama will face?
And now another bill was introduced last Thursday to build
more FEMA domestic prison camps?
If people are not connecting the dots to an enveloping Police
State, they never will.
Half of America is in denial, and the other half is preparing.
Half of America will roll over with nary a whimper, and half
are taking a stand right here, right now. They're spreading
the word, they're getting involved, and they're fighting back.
Which half do you want to be part of?
I'll leave you with this very prescient quote from Henry Kissinger:
"Today, America would be outraged if U.N. troops entered
Los Angeles to restore order. Tomorrow they will be grateful!
This is especially true if they were told that there were an
outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that
threatened our very existence.
It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver
them from this evil.
The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented
with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly
relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to
them by the World Government."
Dr. Henry Kissinger, Bilderberger Conference,
Evians, France, 1991
There it is…
It’s not like they’re hiding their ultimate intentions. Bush already
signed the preliminary documents for the SPP (Security and Prosperity
Partnership with Canada & Mexico.
Then there’s the NAFTA Super Highway.
If that’s not for the North American Union, then what’s it for?
And did you see the Mexican Ambassador to Mexico on the news
last night?
Mexico is on the verge of collapse. It’s become an open Narco-State.
And the Ambassador from Mexico said that the root of Mexico’s
drug problem and violence is – “the flood of guns from America.”
It used to be – “the insatiable demand of Americans for drugs.”
But, now it’s not about demand, suddenly, it’s about American “guns.”
Hello people…
Time to wake up and time to Man Up.
Again, given the financial crisis that we’re in – why more FEMA camps,
and WHY NOW?!?!?
WHAT are they preparing for?
Here’s the bill that was introduced to Congress last Thursday.
**********************************************************
thomas.loc.gov
National Emergency Centers Establishment Act
(Introduced in House)
HR 645 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 645
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 22, 2009
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
——————————————————————————–
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `National Emergency Centers Establishment Act’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.
(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.
(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure–
(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;
(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;
(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and
(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.
(a) In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate not fewer than 6 military installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency centers.
(b) Minimum Requirements- A site designated as a national emergency center shall be–
(1) capable of meeting for an extended period of time the housing, health, transportation, education, public works, humanitarian and other transition needs of a large number of individuals affected by an emergency or major disaster;
(2) environmentally safe and shall not pose a health risk to individuals who may use the center;
(3) capable of being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures;
(4) capable of housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet training and first responders coordination requirements during nondisaster periods;
(5) capable of hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs;
(6) required to consist of a complete operations command center, including 2 state-of-the art command and control centers that will comprise a 24/7 operations watch center as follows:
(A) one of the command and control centers shall be in full ready mode; and
(B) the other shall be used daily for training; and
(7) easily accessible at all times and be able to facilitate handicapped and medical facilities, including during an emergency or major disaster.
(c) Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:
(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.
(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.
(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.
(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.
(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.
(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.
(d) Preference for Designation of Closed Military Installations- Wherever possible, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate a closed military installation as a site for a national emergency center. If the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense jointly determine that there is not a sufficient number of closed military installations that meet the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), the Secretaries shall jointly designate portions of existing military installations other than closed military installations as national emergency centers.
(e) Transfer of Control of Closed Military Installations- If a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Defense shall transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security administrative jurisdiction over such closed military installation.
(f) Cooperative Agreement for Joint Use of Existing Military Installations- If an existing military installation other than a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a cooperative agreement to provide for the establishment of the national emergency center.
(g) Reports-
(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site–
(A) an outline of the reasons why the site was selected;
(B) an outline of the need to construct, repair, or update any existing infrastructure at the site;
(C) an outline of the need to conduct any necessary environmental clean-up at the site;
(D) an outline of preliminary plans for the transfer of control of the site from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Homeland Security, if necessary under subsection (e); and
(E) an outline of preliminary plans for entering into a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f).
(2) UPDATE REPORT- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site–
(A) an update on the information contained in the report as required by paragraph (1);
(B) an outline of the progress made toward the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);
(C) an outline of the progress made toward entering a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and
(D) recommendations regarding any authorizations and appropriations that may be necessary to provide for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.
(3) FINAL REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site–
(A) finalized information detailing the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);
(B) the finalized cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and
(C) any additional information pertinent to the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.
(4) ADDITIONAL REPORTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, may submit to Congress additional reports as necessary to provide updates on steps being taken to meet the requirements of this Act.
SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
This Act does not affect–
(1) the authority of the Federal Government to provide emergency or major disaster assistance or to implement any disaster mitigation and response program, including any program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); or
(2) the authority of a State or local government to respond to an emergency.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) CLOSED MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term `closed military installation’ means a military installation, or portion thereof, approved for closure or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) that meet all, or 2 out of the 3 following requirements:
(A) Is located in close proximity to a transportation corridor.
(B) Is located in a State with a high level or threat of disaster related activities.
(C) Is located near a major metropolitan center.
(2) EMERGENCY- The term `emergency’ has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
(3) MAJOR DISASTER- The term `major disaster’ has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
(4) MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term `military installation’ has the meaning given such term in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).
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S.O.T.B.
PS: This is perhaps my favorite quote about what
is now facing America:
"If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency... the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
- Thomas Jefferson |
