Goodbye Charleston, WV

Please pray for travel mercies, as we will have driven around 2300 miles by the time we get to Spokane.

Wall Street Bailout

I'm sure most of us have been reading and talking about what's going on in the Economy right now. I thought I'd post the draft of the bailout plan if you haven't seen or read it. Please pay close attention to Section 8.

Here's another article I found very interesting:
Sackcloth and Ashes on Wall Street


Text of Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan:

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as ____________________.

Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Authority to Purchase.--The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

(b) Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:

(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;

(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;

(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;

(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and

(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

Sec. 3. Considerations.

In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for--

(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and

(2) protecting the taxpayer.

Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.

Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.

Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Exercise of Rights.--The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.

(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.

(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.

(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.--The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.

Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.

The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time

Sec. 7. Funding.

For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.

The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

Sec. 11. Credit Reform.

The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.

Sec. 12. Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.--The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.

(2) Secretary.--The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(3) United States.--The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.

Manic Monday #1

I decided to join Manic Monday meme (pronounced /miːm/) since I'm always racking my brain about what to post. So here goes:

Pick out the most important item you have in your purse/wallet and tell me why it's important to you.
~ My Driver's Licence... it would be such a pain in the neck to replace it.

What would you take from your house if you knew it would be flooded tomorrow?
~ Photos, our portable safe with all of our important documents in it and our computers.

If you were stuck in a room for an hour with a chalk board, what would you draw on it?
~ Faces of people... I like drawing faces and probably writing my signature in different ways. Since I do this on paper when I am bored, I assume this is what I'd do if I'm stuck in a room for an hour with nothing to do.

Highligths of the day:

* Got my haircut, (a little shorter more this time) my manicure and pedicure.

* DH wasn't feeling so good today, he thinks he might have "Dumping Syndrome", you have to ask him what that is. ;)

* Went to U-Haul for more boxes.

Seven Days!

Today is my self-imposed deadline to have every thing packed. Well, let's just say it's not. Although, I am not panicking yet! I have gotten a lot accomplished and actually pretty proud of myself.

We have been working with our mortgage officer and Realtor from across the country and someone in Spokane are previewing houses I emailed to them, so when we get into town we can do a "marathon" house hunting. I have been looking online and making a list of the homes I'd like to see when we get there.

I was on the phone today and reserved our temporary housing while we wait to close on our house. So for the next month we will be living in a "corporate housing". I re-confirmed our movers, and asked them to store our household goods when our "stuff" gets there. Merry Maid and Stanley Carpet Cleaner has been scheduled. Now I need to "kill" all my vegetable and herb plants, so I can pack my Earth Boxes.

My Dear Husband got the Expedition ready for the long road trip, has our route mapped & printed and hotels picked out for when we stopped for the night.

There's still a lot to do for the next 7 days, so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers, that I will manage the remaining time I have here in Charleston well and get my tasks done.

PostOp: Day 2

It's day 2 after DH's surgery and he is doing very well. I'm so happy that everything went well and he came out of the surgery with flying colors. We're hoping he can go home this afternoon. We're waiting for his doctor right now.

I've been here since Monday, so I'm getting a little tired of hospital cafeteria food. Also, DH is getting a little stir crazy in this room. ;)

Prayer Request

My DH (dear husband) is having his surgery today. Please pray that everything will go as plan and there will be no complication.

Packing our household is coming along nicely. I hope to get all my packing done by September 20th. I'm really getting excited about our move to Spokane and I'm looking forward to this new chapter of our lives.