Bailout deal breaks down

Terminate him with extreme prejudice. (Or, at least that's what McCain said he wanted to do. I think Obama has something a little more subtle in mind.)

"...and your job, Captain Willard, is to go up river and terminate Paulson's command."

"Terminate, sir?"

"With extreme prejudice."

Exterminate all the brutes.

Pat Paulsen would be a better choice for Treasury Secretary.

BeeSting @ 1:

Bailout deal breaks down

give mcKeatingFive, seeker of limelight, all the credit he deserves.

As sad as it will be.......it matters not what happens in terms of spending, inflating or printing more dollars, unless the Chinese, Japanese and everyone else wants to buy our bonds....and keep the dollar tied to a barrel of oil........since no one seems to be willing to float our debt much longer......it seems we will need a war to keep things flowing.......or perhaps, as seems to be the case......we need a Big-Ass war to upset the global financial applecart.......and lo & behold....out of the ashes will rise a newer stronger dollar and a new Bretton Woods to wipe out all that old "pre-war" debt..........what a frick'en obvious game........only this time arond I feel the need for a cheaper army......so my three draft age kids are screwed.......what abunch of incompetent criminals.....

Bob

I think of Paulson as a pimp.

The entire congress needs to realize that hundreds of millions of us have had it up to here with these crises just before elections. I just heard that calls and letters to them are running 200-1 against the bailout. Now they won't even help adjust mortgage terms to help keep people from losing their homes. Nothing to add jobs. Nothing to hold these crooks accountable. And I thought I was pissed about Rove not being held in contempt. All of Wall Street and many politicians have nothing but contempt for the citizens of this country who go to work everyday (if lucky enough to still have jobs), pay their taxes, raise their kids, obey the laws--and these greedy bastards get off scot free? Give us all a break. How many lies and tricks, inside of lies and tricks, can you continue to perpetrate? Wake up America. And then lock up Rove.

Paulson's Hanky-panky plan needs to be terminated with extreme prejudice.

To add insult to injury, the ineffective congress which has continued to fund Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may also end up approving Paulson's directive that he and Bernacke should not be held accountable for their actions.

Robert @ 13:

As sad as it will be.......it matters not what happens in terms of spending, inflating or printing more dollars, unless the Chinese, Japanese and everyone else wants to buy our bonds....and keep the dollar tied to a barrel of oil........since no one seems to be willing to float our debt much longer......it seems we will need a war to keep things flowing.......or perhaps, as seems to be the case......we need a Big-Ass war to upset the global financial applecart.......and lo & behold....out of the ashes will rise a newer stronger dollar and a new Bretton Woods to wipe out all that old "pre-war" debt..........what a frick'en obvious game........only this time arond I feel the need for a cheaper army......so my three draft age kids are screwed.......what abunch of incompetent criminals.....

Bob

let the speculators fucking die.
the layoffs were going to happen anyway
foreclosures are going to happen anyway
some business crunch was going to happen anyway

now maybe there will be some semblance of a middle class to help the recovery.
we can us 700 billion to rebuild the infrastructure, something that would be impossible if booshco got their way.

mcKeatingFive may have done us a favor, not that he meant to.

Robert @ 13:

As sad as it will be.......it matters not what happens in terms of spending, inflating or printing more dollars, unless the Chinese, Japanese and everyone else wants to buy our bonds....and keep the dollar tied to a barrel of oil........since no one seems to be willing to float our debt much longer......it seems we will need a war to keep things flowing.......or perhaps, as seems to be the case......we need a Big-Ass war to upset the global financial applecart.......and lo & behold....out of the ashes will rise a newer stronger dollar and a new Bretton Woods to wipe out all that old "pre-war" debt..........what a frick'en obvious game........only this time arond I feel the need for a cheaper army......so my three draft age kids are screwed.......what abunch of incompetent criminals.....

Bob

Unfortunately, you are correct. Wars are usually the end result. We saw the same thing happen with Germany during its hyperinflation, Argentina invaded the Falklands during their financial crisis, Yugoslavia fell into civil war during their financial crisis and so on.

It's only just recently that I've started to realize what it is I wish C&L and other like-minded blogs were doing right now and in general. (that includes dailykos etc...).

It seems to me like these blogs for the most part have become cheerleaders for Democrats generally and certain politicians specifically. Providing evidence, daily evidence, on why we should vote for X and why we shouldn't vote for Y. Or to be more exact, why X is better (usually obviously better) than Y. Now sometimes, you'll see occassional criticism leveled against a Democratic candidate--like when Obama starts to back-pedal on issues like telecom immunity, or when he picks biden over hilary, etc... But generally, blogs like this are like reactionary cheerleaders, staying on message about how great their candidate is.

But with the growing influence that you've gained through careful positioning, why not use that influence to take important stands when they matter. Like now.

How is Obama esentially supporting the bush/paulson plan good for America (or even good for Obama?). For example, see Arianna's post here regarding Obama and the bailout. It's frankly an amazing post considering that it's coming from the most mainstream blog there is (perhaps as mainstream as anything you might see on abc, nbc, cbs etc...). Yet it was spot on.

It's as if blogs like this one are too scared to say anything negative about "their" candidate for fear that it will cost him/her the election. Well, at a time like this, we don't need cheerleaders, we need blogs that are strong enough to call for an end to business as usual. As Arianna puts it, Obama is making a big mistake in going with the (money) flow and we ought to be sufficiently sick of the status quo to tell him so.

Jo @ 24:

I have listened and read all I could today and have yet to hear about the draconian Section 8 if the bailout extortion plan put out by Paulson.

Any new info on this?

Anyone?

(except dennis)

there is NO DEAL, thankfully. I doubt there would have been a section 8

Private Equity and Hedge Fund Impact on Financial Crisis: Paulson, Cox and Bernanke

Ron @ 18:

I got angry enough to tell the truth and this is how it goes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZSh1diQRQ

Good stuff!

CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 29:

Jo @ 24:

I have listened and read all I could today and have yet to hear about the draconian Section 8 if the bailout extortion plan put out by Paulson.

Any new info on this?

Anyone?

(except dennis)

there is NO DEAL, thankfully. I doubt there would have been a section 8

Thanks! No deal is a good deal.

milquetoast @ 33:

Joe O. @ 12:

I do agree with the analyst though when he said:

"For the average American, this is what they will experience. The price of food and oil are going to skyrocket due to hyperinflation. The only way they can possibly pay for all these bailouts is to inflate the money supply."

I think that is correct. The direct taxation required might be extremely painful and politically unwise.  Borrowing to such an extreme is also out of the question due to the fact that many foreigners are already nervous about their current dollar holdings and are unwilling to lend more.  The only option left that I can see is to inflate the money supply which will result in what was stated in that quote.

I would like to point out that not only will the money supply be increased, but we will also see higher taxes.

one begets the other

The Fed will create the 700 billion of new money out of thin air as they always do, flooding the market as they give it to wall street, and then put it on the taxpayers bill. (add it to the existing trillions we already owe) = more taxes.

its not a choice of one or the other...

Thats true.

Max Keiser did the dollar gold banana waving thing last week, here is the video. Pretty sobering in a funny way.

Max Keiser on the banana republic of America.

Colonel Klink, maybe suits him better.

U.S. Thrilled As FDR Outlines Recovery,1933/10/23 (1933)

This is the opposite of the snickering, sneering, pouting piece-of-shit Resident of 1600. we have fallen quite far.

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Would that someone in our leadership would actually look back and see how it was done.

archmunster @ 27:

It's only just recently that I've started to realize what it is I wish C&L and other like-minded blogs were doing right now and in general. (that includes dailykos etc...).

It seems to me like these blogs for the most part have become cheerleaders for Democrats generally and certain politicians specifically. Providing evidence, daily evidence, on why we should vote for X and why we shouldn't vote for Y. Or to be more exact, why X is better (usually obviously better) than Y. Now sometimes, you'll see occassional criticism leveled against a Democratic candidate--like when Obama starts to back-pedal on issues like telecom immunity, or when he picks biden over hilary, etc... But generally, blogs like this are like reactionary cheerleaders, staying on message about how great their candidate is.

But with the growing influence that you've gained through careful positioning, why not use that influence to take important stands when they matter. Like now.

How is Obama esentially supporting the bush/paulson plan good for America (or even good for Obama?). For example, see Arianna's post here regarding Obama and the bailout. It's frankly an amazing post considering that it's coming from the most mainstream blog there is (perhaps as mainstream as anything you might see on abc, nbc, cbs etc...). Yet it was spot on.

It's as if blogs like this one are too scared to say anything negative about "their" candidate for fear that it will cost him/her the election. Well, at a time like this, we don't need cheerleaders, we need blogs that are strong enough to call for an end to business as usual. As Arianna puts it, Obama is making a big mistake in going with the (money) flow and we ought to be sufficiently sick of the status quo to tell him so.

lets put it this way

with an obama administration, there is a chance at real change

with a mccain administration, there is a chance that we will indeed go into iran and russia

one should never vote based on ideals

Bloomberg: Paulson Retreats on Pay, Equity Measures in Bailout

As Goldman's chief, Paulson himself received an $18.7 million cash bonus for the first half of 2006, and in 2005 he was the highest paid chief executive officer on Wall Street, reaping $38.3 million in salary, stock and options.

He had also accumulated 3.23 million shares of Goldman's common stock worth $492 million, plus restricted shares worth $75.2 million and options to purchase 680,474 shares, according to a Goldman regulatory filing on July 2, 2006.

Paulson wasn't required to pay a 20 percent tax penalty on some of his compensation from Goldman under an Internal Revenue Service rule that waived the tax on executives forced to sell stock to comply with government ethics rules.

Pechorin @ 22:

Paulson is more like Colonel Klink.

Only it's the American people, not Hogan, who will be forced to dig their way out of the economic prison camp the Republicans put us in.

afterburner @ 49:

If you add up the $700B and the dozens of billions used to buy out Bears Sterns et al, the total is (right now) $1.8 Trillion. This means $1.8T is no longer available - it bought bad debt and has disappeared. If the gov't continues to do this, there will only be the gov't with a MASSIVE debt, and no cash or credit left, as it will all be going into gov't debt maintenance.

I'm fairly certain that's precisely the intention.

Erroll @ 39:

archmunster @ 27:

It's only just recently that I've started to realize what it is I wish C&L and other like-minded blogs were doing right now and in general. (that includes dailykos etc...).

It seems to me like these blogs for the most part have become cheerleaders for Democrats generally and certain politicians specifically. Providing evidence, daily evidence, on why we should vote for X and why we shouldn't vote for Y. Or to be more exact, why X is better (usually obviously better) than Y. Now sometimes, you'll see occassional criticism leveled against a Democratic candidate--like when Obama starts to back-pedal on issues like telecom immunity, or when he picks biden over hilary, etc... But generally, blogs like this are like reactionary cheerleaders, staying on message about how great their candidate is.

But with the growing influence that you've gained through careful positioning, why not use that influence to take important stands when they matter. Like now.

How is Obama esentially supporting the bush/paulson plan good for America (or even good for Obama?). For example, see Arianna's post here regarding Obama and the bailout. It's frankly an amazing post considering that it's coming from the most mainstream blog there is (perhaps as mainstream as anything you might see on abc, nbc, cbs etc...). Yet it was spot on.

It's as if blogs like this one are too scared to say anything negative about "their" candidate for fear that it will cost him/her the election. Well, at a time like this, we don't need cheerleaders, we need blogs that are strong enough to call for an end to business as usual. As Arianna puts it, Obama is making a big mistake in going with the (money) flow and we ought to be sufficiently sick of the status quo to tell him so.

archmunster

Very well said. Crooks and Liars and other liberal blogs should be highlighting the recommendations of this person and the excellent suggestions that he has put forth.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/25-1

Amen!

Paulson is about to complete the biggest bank heist in the history of the world. The American taxpayers are watching their money be stolen from the comfort of their living rooms.

George Carlin says it best
The Owners of this Country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dY4WlxO6i0

Joe O. @ 36:

milquetoast @ 33:

Joe O. @ 12:

I do agree with the analyst though when he said:

"For the average American, this is what they will experience. The price of food and oil are going to skyrocket due to hyperinflation. The only way they can possibly pay for all these bailouts is to inflate the money supply."

I think that is correct. The direct taxation required might be extremely painful and politically unwise.  Borrowing to such an extreme is also out of the question due to the fact that many foreigners are already nervous about their current dollar holdings and are unwilling to lend more.  The only option left that I can see is to inflate the money supply which will result in what was stated in that quote.

I would like to point out that not only will the money supply be increased, but we will also see higher taxes.

one begets the other

The Fed will create the 700 billion of new money out of thin air as they always do, flooding the market as they give it to wall street, and then put it on the taxpayers bill. (add it to the existing trillions we already owe) = more taxes.

its not a choice of one or the other...

Thats true.

The problem is compounded when foreign holders of our currency start to cut their losses by dumping dollars.
china has about $1.5Trillion
Japan has about $900Billion
GBrit has at least $500Billion
Saudi has about $1.2Trillion

If we cross them by dumping our own currency into the world market, and they then dump dollars in response to falling value, the value of the dollar goes to fucking zero and we can use the dollar as wallpaper and bookmarks.

Additionally, the rate for T-Bills has dropped as low as .0304%, making them unattractive. One reason this had to be done is because the debt service on the already $10Trillion national debt is now $2Billion/day or $730Billion/year. When and how is that supposed to be paid off?

Canuknotusa @ 47:

This is crap.
If sites like C&L ever expect to be taken seriously, posts like this won't help.

Shame on you!

I never thought you to be a concern troll. You a dennis miller fan or something?

archmunster @ 56:
you make a fair point and a good one.

I want ALL the corporations involved placed in Federal Receivership.

I want ALL the ASSETS of the CEOs, CFOs & other agents SEIZED while a Federal Panel sorts out WHO GOES TO JAIL and WHO FORFEITS EVERYTHING.

In the meantime, any CEO, CFO, or agent who wants funds released from what USED TO BE his own bank account must petition the Federal Receiver.

And, after ALL these corporations have been NATIONALIZED the max pay for any bureuacrat who works for them will the the max pay for any other civil servant - two maybe three hundred thousand a year. And if they can't live on $200-300,000 a year, then let them GET A REAL JOB.

Canuknotusa @ 47:

This is crap.
If sites like C&L ever expect to be taken seriously, posts like this won't help.

Shame on you!

you are so right

he is more like frankensteins monster than kurtz

where are the torches and the peasants?

Bank Bail Out and the FED

Interesting details.

MountainMan23 @ 61:

I want ALL the corporations involved placed in Federal Receivership.

I want ALL the ASSETS of the CEOs, CFOs & other agents SEIZED while a Federal Panel sorts out WHO GOES TO JAIL and WHO FORFEITS EVERYTHING.

In the meantime, any CEO, CFO, or agent who wants funds released from what USED TO BE his own bank account must petition the Federal Receiver.

And, after ALL these corporations have been NATIONALIZED the max pay for any bureuacrat who works for them will the the max pay for any other civil servant - two maybe three hundred thousand a year. And if they can't live on $200-300,000 a year, then let them GET A REAL JOB.

Middle-class re-education camps...
YES!!!
I wanna teach a course or two...

Dahgrostab'ph-r-i @ 66:

I know this isn't a Kurtz line but I think it fits: I love the smell of fleeced tax payers in the morning!!! Smells like victory!

the most important thing about any good grift is to make someone want to give you the money.

There they were - a pile of taxpayor arms.

Is it possible that John McKane and Joseph Conrad are one and the same?!?

Joe O. @ 12:

I do agree with the analyst though when he said:

"For the average American, this is what they will experience. The price of food and oil are going to skyrocket due to hyperinflation. The only way they can possibly pay for all these bailouts is to inflate the money supply."

I think that is correct. The direct taxation required might be extremely painful and politically unwise.  Borrowing to such an extreme is also out of the question due to the fact that many foreigners are already nervous about their current dollar holdings and are unwilling to lend more.  The only option left that I can see is to inflate the money supply which will result in what was stated in that quote.

Chimpy and the nazicons only need to keep the economy alive until nov 5th, or maybe still twitching til january 20th.
They dont care about after that.

Required @ 41:

DEAR AMERICAN:

I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.
......
REGARDS
MR. PAULSON

Very well put!!! Exactly.

These are the same evil fucks who bullied us into Iraq.

We are now going to trust them?

"Never be in a hurry to spend money"

I guess the snake oil salesman in the White House never heard that one

CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 57:

Canuknotusa @ 47:

This is crap.
If sites like C&L ever expect to be taken seriously, posts like this won't help.

Shame on you!

I never thought you to be a concern troll. You a dennis miller fan or something?

Sorry - don't know who Dennis Miller is.

Just think posts like this don't raise the bar much.

That's all.

There are very few reasons why this bailout has bogged down, but the major reason is you and me! The American tax payer. These fools in D.C. are scared shitless based on commentary from the NY Times to the Huffington Post to Red State, that the American tax payer will no longer tolerate bailing out a bunch of crooks while we're left with crumbs at best. If you have written, faxed, called or sent a carrier pidgeon to your rep's great. Keep it up. Many have said if this bail out goes through don't bother coming back after Nov 7th and that's the way it should be. The second revolution has begun.

Andrew @ 81:

There are very few reasons why this bailout has bogged down, but the major reason is you and me! The American tax payer. These fools in D.C. are scared shitless based on commentary from the NY Times to the Huffington Post to Red State, that the American tax payer will no longer tolerate bailing out a bunch of crooks while we're left with crumbs at best. If you have written, faxed, called or sent a carrier pidgeon to your rep's great. Keep it up. Many have said if this bail out goes through don't bother coming back after Nov 7th and that's the way it should be. The second revolution has begun.

Lets all do one thing, strating say October 1st.

Everybody stop paying their credit card bills, mortgage repayments, and any other loans payments.

I wonder how long the economy would stay afloat, and the politicians unaware of the public anger then.

ferrofluid @ 82:

Uppity Blue Lensman @ 71:

There they were - a pile of taxpayor arms.

Is it possible that John McKane and Joseph Conrad are one and the same?!?

Joesph Conrad was the first modern western novelist and a wonderful writer,
to compare WcCain to him is sacrilege.

John WcCain is a creature of zero talent, miserable at college, useless pilot, pathetic lawmaker, and only has mediocre longevity due to money no object health care (which he denies poor Americans) as the reason he is still alive at 72.

Joseph Conrad

"by the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel... before all, to make you see. That — and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you shall find there according to your deserts: encouragement, consolation, fear, charm — all you demand — and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask."

his books

My bad - just a feeble poke at McInsane's putrification (he and Conrad might be very similar in that respect).

LibertyWatch @ 80:

BushCo has managed to destroy itself!

To the Neo-cons its mission accomplished! ...everything went according to plan.... exept for those weapons of mass destruction the never managed to smuggle in to Iraq. I think this financial collapse happened a little sooner than expected but looks like congress will come to the rescue and help Bush prolong it another month or two.

Our country is financially broke, without much constitution left and our military is busted.

Bush is a rich dictator, with a well equipped private army.

Great. Now JP Morgan Chase (one of the Fed Reserve owners) is taking over WaMu.
We, the taxpayers are about to transfer $1 trillion out of our treasury to give to two other Fed Res owners - Goldman Sachs and Lehman.

See, this is why the Federal Reserve was created in the first place - to suck every last ounce of wealth out of the USA. The Powers that Be (PtB) including the Bush crime family have been patiently working for decades to create the proper "atmosphere" for their final solution. After GHWB (CIA) had JFK and RFK killed (cause you may remember JFK tried to warn us about these secret groups and he also tried to dissolve the Fed), then Reagan (with GHWB as VP) put the free market, trickle down shit into place and lowered taxes for the rich. GHWB had his own presidency to move things along and crash the Soviet Union, etc. Clinton is the biggest fake, just a Bush tool, and signed the NAFTA, and other deregulatory legislation passed by the Repug congress, including the Feddie/ Fannie crap. Then the "piece de resistence" - they had GWB installed with Cheney to help the neo-cons finish us off. Georgie will do whatever they say as he's a very sick, alcoholic sociopath - they conduct a false-flag New Pearl Harbor to scare the bejeebus out of Americans to make an excuse to start a few wars to transfer even more wealth to the Crime Family and their corporatist buds.

Now they're about to start an inflationary cycle and depression that will put all of us back in the 17th century, and everybody is still making jokes about how ugly Paulson is. The joke is on us - and yes, I guess I am a conspiracy theorist.......#:)

Remember the urgency and fear mongering these criminals laid on us about Saddam Hussein and the imminent danger and threat and all those WMD's and the mushroom cloud ? This is the same bunch .Make sure you haven’t been screwed over , go to ” can I vote.org ” , and please pass this one on . Also sign Bernie Sanders petition , the low and middle class shouldn't pay for Wall Street and Investor class greed and out right criminal activity , it’s right on his web site ,and please pass it on .

I hear that the public is 200 to 1 against the bailout of these "worthless" assets and anything this prez, admin and congress does give me distrust, but since the "American public" is against this with such certainty, I can only conclude that they must be wrong (I have yet been disappointed by betting against the popular ideas of Americans).

The idea that devalued mortages are worthless assets is crazy, these are leins on properties. As a price to be paid in liquid cash trade, yes they suck, but as a value to be acquired, any investor would kill to have the security, time and money to work these to maturity, but no one can take on that level of risk now, except?

If these things can be held, they will make money and can pay back into the treasury. GM bailout made a profit for the US. GM did not deserve it, but in the long-term picture of the treasury, is was a positive venture and there is no reason the public can not be the loan shark on corporate America for it's own interests. Our govt does little to pay it's own way though it has all the power to do so, and we get ripped off on minerals and other natl assets.

yeah, yeah, I know, the powers that be will never let that happen, but I still think disaster capitalism can work both ways.

I would like to see Obama as prez with these assets to influence housing with.

Erroll @ 96:

Kathleen @ 55:

Paulson is about to complete the biggest bank heist in the history of the world. The American taxpayers are watching their money be stolen from the comfort of their living rooms.

George Carlin says it best
The Owners of this Country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dY4WlxO6i0

Excellent link. As Carlin correctly observed, what the owners of this country and the elites do not wish to happen if for the population of this country to engage in critical thinking. At the risk of being labeled unamerican or, worse, a neoconservative, let us examine the phenomenon of a politician named Barack Obama. Here we have a presidential candidate who has galvanized the country by claiming to be an agent of hope and change. On closer inspection, however, that claim proves to be false. Obama wishes not only to increase the size of the military, which is already the largest in the world, but also to add more money to the military budget, money which could certainly be better spent on hospitals, schools, libraries, infrastructure, etc. He is against a single payer health care plan. He is against impeaching perhaps the most criminal administration in the history of this country. He wishes, however, to send more troops to Afghanistan where they will undoubtedly help to slaughter even more innocent Afghan children and civilians. Yet so many Americans and liberals have been mesmerized by this politician because they apparently "hope" that Obama "might" do the right thing, though why they believe this to be true they cannot say. It also should be pointed out that the previously mentioned positions taken by Obama hardly constitute change; on the contrary, they indicate that he wishes, for the most part, to keep the status quo intact.

The irony is that the most progressive candidate out there, Ralph Nader, is not only not being invited to the presidential debates [shades of 2000] but has been vilified and cast aside by liberal blogs like C & L for the more charismatic and centrist candidate Barack Obama. Of course the last thing that Obama wishes to have people hear is what Nader has mentioned which is that Goldman Sachs was Obama's number one donor and that Henry Paulson was its former CEO. Nader wishes, unlike Obama, to crack down on corporate crime and is for single payer and for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney and for a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and is against nuclear power. As people like Carlin and Sinclair Lewis and others have noted, the citizens of the U.S. can become easily swayed by their emotions while allowing their minds, as the blues singer Mose Allison would say, to go on vacation.

exactly

Erroll @ 96:

Kathleen @ 55:

Paulson is about to complete the biggest bank heist in the history of the world. The American taxpayers are watching their money be stolen from the comfort of their living rooms.

George Carlin says it best
The Owners of this Country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dY4WlxO6i0

Excellent link. As Carlin correctly observed, what the owners of this country and the elites do not wish to happen if for the population of this country to engage in critical thinking. At the risk of being labeled unamerican or, worse, a neoconservative, let us examine the phenomenon of a politician named Barack Obama. Here we have a presidential candidate who has galvanized the country by claiming to be an agent of hope and change. On closer inspection, however, that claim proves to be false. Obama wishes not only to increase the size of the military, which is already the largest in the world, but also to add more money to the military budget, money which could certainly be better spent on hospitals, schools, libraries, infrastructure, etc. He is against a single payer health care plan. He is against impeaching perhaps the most criminal administration in the history of this country. He wishes, however, to send more troops to Afghanistan where they will undoubtedly help to slaughter even more innocent Afghan children and civilians. Yet so many Americans and liberals have been mesmerized by this politician because they apparently "hope" that Obama "might" do the right thing, though why they believe this to be true they cannot say. It also should be pointed out that the previously mentioned positions taken by Obama hardly constitute change; on the contrary, they indicate that he wishes, for the most part, to keep the status quo intact.

The irony is that the most progressive candidate out there, Ralph Nader, is not only not being invited to the presidential debates [shades of 2000] but has been vilified and cast aside by liberal blogs like C & L for the more charismatic and centrist candidate Barack Obama. Of course the last thing that Obama wishes to have people hear is what Nader has mentioned which is that Goldman Sachs was Obama's number one donor and that Henry Paulson was its former CEO. Nader wishes, unlike Obama, to crack down on corporate crime and is for single payer and for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney and for a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and is against nuclear power. As people like Carlin and Sinclair Lewis and others have noted, the citizens of the U.S. can become easily swayed by their emotions while allowing their minds, as the blues singer Mose Allison would say, to go on vacation.

Please explain how Nader is a progressive when he takes money from Rethugs to play spoiler.

Me II @ 99:

Erroll @ 96:

Kathleen @ 55:

Paulson is about to complete the biggest bank heist in the history of the world. The American taxpayers are watching their money be stolen from the comfort of their living rooms.

George Carlin says it best
The Owners of this Country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dY4WlxO6i0

Excellent link. As Carlin correctly observed, what the owners of this country and the elites do not wish to happen if for the population of this country to engage in critical thinking. At the risk of being labeled unamerican or, worse, a neoconservative, let us examine the phenomenon of a politician named Barack Obama. Here we have a presidential candidate who has galvanized the country by claiming to be an agent of hope and change. On closer inspection, however, that claim proves to be false. Obama wishes not only to increase the size of the military, which is already the largest in the world, but also to add more money to the military budget, money which could certainly be better spent on hospitals, schools, libraries, infrastructure, etc. He is against a single payer health care plan. He is against impeaching perhaps the most criminal administration in the history of this country. He wishes, however, to send more troops to Afghanistan where they will undoubtedly help to slaughter even more innocent Afghan children and civilians. Yet so many Americans and liberals have been mesmerized by this politician because they apparently "hope" that Obama "might" do the right thing, though why they believe this to be true they cannot say. It also should be pointed out that the previously mentioned positions taken by Obama hardly constitute change; on the contrary, they indicate that he wishes, for the most part, to keep the status quo intact.

The irony is that the most progressive candidate out there, Ralph Nader, is not only not being invited to the presidential debates [shades of 2000] but has been vilified and cast aside by liberal blogs like C & L for the more charismatic and centrist candidate Barack Obama. Of course the last thing that Obama wishes to have people hear is what Nader has mentioned which is that Goldman Sachs was Obama's number one donor and that Henry Paulson was its former CEO. Nader wishes, unlike Obama, to crack down on corporate crime and is for single payer and for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney and for a radical shift in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and is against nuclear power. As people like Carlin and Sinclair Lewis and others have noted, the citizens of the U.S. can become easily swayed by their emotions while allowing their minds, as the blues singer Mose Allison would say, to go on vacation.

Please explain how Nader is a progressive when he takes money from Rethugs to play spoiler.

--cynic_mode_on
People are motivated by fear. Right now more people are afraid of losing there jobs then of the black guy with the funny name so Obama is leading.
--cynic_mode_off

Sometimes that the way it feels. I'm not turning handsprings when Obama does things like vote for FISA or gets all "macho" on Iran. But that is the game that has to be played. Folks like Nader and Kucinich aren't willing to admit to that and they can win local or even state wide contests but that attitude won't fly in a 2 year no-hold barred pundit-filled slog to the Whitehouse.

So I'm glad to have them around. Let Nader rant about corporate greed. Let Kucinich demand impeachment. Hell, I'll sign petitions and even donate money to their campaigns and causes. And maybe enough people will listen and some things will change a bit. But don't for a moment think they could get to the Whitehouse without having to appeal to the masses and unless this country goes completely into the toilet (which it might) they'll have to 'sell out' or not get elected.

#101- Ontheleftcoast

"Let Nader rant about corporate greed" as well as other issues. The huge problem that Nader faces is the fact that the corporate executives have seen fit not to invite him to the presidential debates which severely decreases the chances that Americans will see and hear him rant about anything. As I have said in the past, this as quite reminiscent of Orwell's Animal Farm-2 legs good, four legs bad. In this case, Americans get to make a choice for president as long as that choice is between a Democrat and a Republican.

A little background as to why all of this smoke and mirrors. There is a little more to why they are scrambling.

Sept. 30 is the deadline for compliance with Basel 2.

The whole ponzie scheme of mortgage backed direvetives is going to collapse.

There ain’t no money.

http://www.developer.com/java/.....hp/3403901

viola @ 106:

I'm sick of you saying you're the richest country and the best country in the world. Manifest destiny died long ago. Your poverty, health care, social security, veteran care sucks big time. Your roads and bridges are falling down everywhere. Haven't you heard of the boiling frog syndrome? Keep chanting your naive,evangelical mantras as you take the trip down the toilet.

Oh. The people you're looking for are down the hall, three doors to the right.
Also, you might try foxnews.com, the guys you passed on the way up from the toilet.

Gregg @ 95:

I hear that the public is 200 to 1 against the bailout of these "worthless" assets and anything this prez, admin and congress does give me distrust, but since the "American public" is against this with such certainty, I can only conclude that they must be wrong (I have yet been disappointed by betting against the popular ideas of Americans).

The idea that devalued mortages are worthless assets is crazy, these are leins on properties. As a price to be paid in liquid cash trade, yes they suck, but as a value to be acquired, any investor would kill to have the security, time and money to work these to maturity, but no one can take on that level of risk now, except?

If these things can be held, they will make money and can pay back into the treasury. ...
...
I would like to see Obama as prez with these assets to influence housing with.

I am in favor of bailing out assets with liens in real estate myself. But, I am not in favor of bailing out anything that isn't secured. I don't believe the derivatives (credit default swaps) are secured. I'd like to see language in the bailout to that effect. If the security isn't collateralized, then, the tax payers need to acquire ownership in the company being bailed out.

You sure these clowns are not trying to outdo Cournel Klink of Hogan's Heroes???

He looks more like Colonel Klink. Hooooooooggggaaaaaaaaan!

Required @ 42:

DEAR AMERICAN:

I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.

I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY
HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF
US$800 BILLION. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE
MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.

I AM WORKING WITH MR. PHIL GRAMM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY
REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY. AS A SENATOR, YOU
MAY KNOW HIM AS THE LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION
MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S. THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% SAFE.

THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED A BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE
FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS
IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER
SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A
RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE
FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.

PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND
ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO
WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION
FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND
WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO
PROTECT THE FUNDS.

REGARDS
MR. PAULSON

You are exactly right on target.

Perhaps this is the "October Surprise" that half of America's voters were anticipating.

The NeoCons raped and pillaged the people and state of California RE: electricity.

The NeoCons have raped and pillaged the people and government(s) of New York, Virginia, and the USA in their collusion with terrorists from country or countries unknown on 9-11, as outlined in THEIR PNAC (Policy for a New American Century).

The NeoCons raped and pillaged the people and government(s) of Afghanistan and Iraq, with phony "cooked-up" intel to justify invasion and brutal occupation.

The NeoCons have raped and pillaged the people and government(s) of Louisiana and Mississippi with their handling of the Hurricane Katrina debacle.

The NeoCons have (yet again) raped and pillaged the people and government (treasury) of the USA, with their no-bid, insider trading war profiteering in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, all in support of their phony "war on terror".

The NeoCons have (is this the final act?) perpetrated yet another major fraud against the people and government (treasury) of the USA, with their manipulated Wall Street and international investment bank meltdown, in order to bleed the very last vestige of USA dollars, corporate equity, and future USA economy.

As such, there needs to be an accounting held, not just of dollars or gold, but of blood from the NeoCons -- their blood, and the blood of their offspring. A more fitting "reciprocity" against NeoCons could not be devised, considering the burden of debt that THEY have placed on the backs of OUR children AND grandchildren. (Well, yes it IS class warfare, but they did start it first AND have backed the Middle Class and Poor into a corner called economic slavery.)