Tomaselli's writings are irresponsible

A great advantage to living in this era is the availability of information. When I was a student, I had to go to the library and pore through the Federal Register or the green bound hearing transcripts if I wanted to know what government was doing. Now, all this info is at my fingertips on the Internet.

Alas, this technology is wasted on Joseph Tomaselli. For history he substitutes fairytales based on bumper sticker slogans. In his fantasy, the financial crisis was caused by a "scheme" carried out by certain Democratic Congressional leaders, including Barney Frank, D-Mass.

Mr. Tomaselli's fantasy is flawed by several inconvenient facts.

During the time period referenced in Tomaselli's column, Democrats, including Congressman Frank, controlled no committees and could not pass or defeat laws. The Republicans controlled Congress.

When the Democrats did take over Congress in 2007, Congressman Frank acted to strengthen, not weaken, oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He introduced the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1427), which eventually passed as the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Act of 2008, taking effect Sept. 4, 2008. It provided for a single and more powerful regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Authority. The FHFA now had the power, if needed, to remove the management and place the companies in conservatorship. It did just that on Sept. 7, 2008.

Tomaselli claims to be quoting the Freedom of Information Act when he alleges that Frank and other congressional leaders (including Republicans) are criminally corrupt.

But the FOIA is simply a law that allows public access to government documents. The FOIA is not a source for anything. So where did Tomaselli's "quotes" come from?

Tomaselli claims that "their executive privilege" protects members of Congress from investigation. Not true. Executive privilege is the president's power to refuse to give certain information to Congress. Members of Congress are frequently investigated and sometimes prosecuted. Tomaselli claims that I and others "... emerged from their closets to defend their hero, Barney Frank." I assume that his wording is a reference to Frank's sexual preference and is intended as a slur.

Tomaselli claims, in effect, that our Congressional leaders, Democrats and Republicans, are criminals.

OK, where's the evidence? If he can't back up his allegations, Tomaselli is simply irresponsible.

Dallas Dunlap

Brooksville