WASHINGTON, YOU’RE FIRED!” was born out of sheer frustration with abuses in our current political system and it gives a voice to Americans across the country. Producers Lewis and Abel trailed their way across the United States on an expedition to pull together the thoughts and requirements that everyday Americans have for their political representatives in Washington, D.C. The results were staggering and their stories are moving.
The American people know in their hearts that a problem exists in our current political structure and their solutions are simple, direct, and honest. Washington, You’re Fired captures the spirit and zest of an old fashioned Boston tea party and captivatingly delivers the audience an education into legislation that will affect them and generations of Americans to come.
From the mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts and law enforcement abuses to the wrongful imprisonment and torturing of legal enemy combatants and misuse of the FBI and NSA -- nothing is taboo in this disturbing look at the dark side of government.

"You bet. This is an outrageous thing that has gone on down there. When he (Paulson) went down there with that page and a half or two pages and asked for this money, and the congress gave it to him. Secretary Paulson, what an idiot , and congress gives it to him without any accounting whatsoever. The public is paying for this. We should get that money back. By the way, I want everybody listening to this show to write your congressman, call him on the phone, march on Washington. If they can do it for civil rights, you can do it for your money because the government is stealing your money. That is what is going on. They should be giving it bask. Some of these banks when asked for this accounting said we are not going to disclose that. We refuse to disclose that. Outrageous."

Jonathan Hoenig, CapitalistPig Asset Management: I think it would create more havoc. A lot of the money has been spent, invested. It is gone. I don't think the answer is to ask for a bailout refund. The answer is no more bailouts. Not for banks, not for insurance companies, homeowners or anybody. But to try to get that $350 back now would create more havoc and distortion in the marketplace.

Tanya Acker. Democratic strategist: Both sides voted for a bailout in which there were absolutely no standards for how the money was going to be used, no standards for accountability, and no process for making sure the money is used for the goals for which it was intended. Good god, my parents put more standards for my childhood allowance than congress put on these guys. I don't know if it is feasible to get a bailout refund, but what is feasible, before we release the second half of the $700 billion we promised these guys, they have to be accountable to us, and there has to be a process in place that these funds are used in the manner if which they were intended.

Jonas Max Ferris, MaxFunds.com: The banks were failing. Banks like Citigroup wouldn't exist right in and be out of business without that money. This is a private investment in the banking industry which is failing and would have failed without this money. You can't tell them to make loans. That is more government Fannie Mae type stuff. I don't really care what they do with the money as long as we own a stake in the bank and will profit as taxpayers.

The commercial pillars holding up the Western world - banking prudence and sound credit - have been smashed to smithereens.

The "advanced" nations are now flirting with economic collapse. The emerging economies have also suffered "collateral damage" – the West's "sub-prime" debt bombs now threatening the stability of global commerce.

Many people are looking for an easy answer to the tyranny that is being imposed upon us by the oligopoly of government, corporations, and media. There is no easy answer. The original patriots struggled for 14 years to free themselves from British tyranny. Failure meant the hangman’s noose. Our politicians, corporate CEOs, and media pundits will provide comforting “solutions” that have been crafted by PR maggots. Their crafted talking points are lies. They have no idea what they are doing. The only question is whether rational change will come when the existing system collapses under the weight of its lies, or we take back the country through grassroots efforts and spreading the truth through the internet.

"We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it,'" said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. "We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to."

But no bank provided even the most basic accounting for the federal money.

"We're choosing not to disclose that," said Kevin Heine, spokesman for Bank of New York Mellon, which received about $3 billion.

Others said the money couldn't be tracked. Bob Denham, a spokesman for North Carolina-based BB&T Corp., said the bailout money "doesn't have its own bucket."

Others, such as Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Carissa Ramirez, offered to discuss the matter with reporters on condition of anonymity. When AP refused, Ramirez sent an e-mail saying: "We are going to decline to comment on your story."

Most banks wouldn't say why they were keeping the details secret.

"We're not sharing any other details. We're just not at this time," said Wendy Walker, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Comerica Inc., which received $2.25 billion from the government.

Heine, the New York Mellon Corp. spokesman who said he wouldn't share spending specifics, added: "I just would prefer if you wouldn't say that we're not going to discuss those details."

The government has been accused of trampling on individual liberties by proposing wide-ranging new powers for bailiffs to break into homes and to use “reasonable force” against householders who try to protect their valuables.

Paulson today urged Congress to release the second half of the rescue funds after the government exhausted $350 billion in less than three months.
“Congress will need to release the remainder of the TARP to support financial market stability,” Paulson said in a statement released in Washington. “I will discuss that process with the congressional leadership and the president-elect’s transition team in the near future.”

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's government collapsed on Friday after a top court found signs that it had sought to sway a legal ruling on the future of stricken bank Fortis.