Update: The Senate voted yes on cloture. What this means is now the bill can come up for a vote to pass it with a simple majority.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is now online.

The amended Senate version, February 7, 2009 is here (click this) (large pdf).

To find out the latest, well frankly watch the Senate Floor Proceedings and also go to The Library of Congress links.

Huffington Post is hosting a what's in the bill citizen legislative text watchdog volunteer tell us what you found effort.

The Buy American provisions are on page 414, line 12. This covers Steel, Iron and probably the most important provision, use of American made manufactured goods.

A simple question. An obvious question. While the non-debate debate rages on over tax cuts in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, this fundamental question of how many real jobs will go to real American workers needing a job....is not asked.

So, I'm asking it. I do not have an answer.

We have already seen TARP bail out recipients replace Americans with foreign guest workers.

I have held off on posting more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ongoing negotiations in the Senate due to the minute by minute changes and even a question of it's passage.

As usual the talking heads on cable news only talk about victory and not the specifics or credible analysis.

Previous posts include CBO analysis and other economists' analysis with potential stimulus effect. See Part II and Part I.

Here are the latest congressional actions.

The new cost is $780 billion dollars....or $805 billion...or what's another few billion? About $110 billion stripped from the previous Senate version.

By now you would have to live in a cave to not experience the blow back in the simple act of buying U.S. steel. This is the Buy American provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

This is not even the real issue. The question really should be why are not U.S. taxpayer funds to be used first and foremost to create jobs for U.S. workers?

Banks receiving massive U.S. taxpayer funds are firing U.S. workers while keeping temporary foreign guest workers. Why? Because they are an important conduit to offshore outsource and they are cheaper.

It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

Today we are hearing how Buy American is this awful thing, lobbyists screaming threats of boogie man trade war, retribution from the biggest bad ass on the global stage, The World Trade Organization, and other fear mongering things that go bump in the night when the United States tries to stimulate it's own domestic economy in any method that might actually....stimulate the economy.

So, with that, today's videos are a lassoed roundup describing the history of trade, some facts about the WTO and US trade policy.

First up in a more layman's documentary describing what the WTO really is: