If You Get The Sense That We're On the Outside Looking In, You're Probably Right.
By Susie Madrak Friday Jun 26, 2009 5:00pm
Clearly, some people are just looking out for themselves. And these are the ones we count on to look out for the rest of us? Oy. I wonder if this falls into the "moving ahead" category, or is anyone going to look into this?
WASHINGTON -- As financial markets tumbled and the government worked to stave off panic by pumping billions of dollars into banks last fall, several members of Congress who oversee the banking industry were grabbing up or dumping bank stocks.
Anticipating bargains or profits or just trying to unload before the bottom fell out, these members of the House Financial Services Committee or brokers on their behalf were buying and selling stocks including Bank of America and Citigroup -- some of the very corporations their committee would later rap for greed, a Plain Dealer examination of congressional stock market transactions shows.
Financial disclosure records show that some of these Financial Services Committee members, including Ohio Rep. Charlie Wilson, made bank stock trades on the same day the banks were getting a government bailout from a program Congress approved. The transactions may not have been illegal or against congressional rules, but securities attorneys and congressional watchdog groups say they raise flags about the appearance of conflicts of interest.
"I don't think that any of these people should be owning these types of financial instruments," said Brian Biggins, a Cleveland securities lawyer and former stock brokerage manager. "I'm not saying they shouldn't be in the stock market. But if they're on the banking committee and trading in these kinds of stocks, I don't think that's right."
Login or Register to post comments.
Why is Barney Frank's picture placed above this story? I didn't see his name in the story or the link....
Because he's the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
I know and respect Mr. Amato's injunction that we stay positive.
BUT FACE THE URSINE WRATH OF RUPERT, YOU FAT PIGS.
We're over. OVER.
Remember that man you were afraid of meeting in the prison showers?
I JUST ATE HIS HEART AND I'M GOING TO DO WORSE THINGS TO YOU.
I don't know what, but it will be metaphysical and completely legal and will not involve actually hurting you, just giving money to anyone who opposes you in an election and telling my neighbors that I think you're a douche.
Yes, why is Barney Frank's pic in it???
of that committee:
http://www.house.gov/financialservices/
The MSM sucks. They don't cover this shit. They don't cover any of it. We have people in the MSM attacking the blogs as amateurs and not worthy of legitimacy. Only because they threaten their corporate existence. Name an issue and the MSM is on the side of the corporations because they sign their paychecks. We need a revolution. It's time. Fuck big Pharma, big Corp, big Tobacco, Big Oil. We need to take to the streets.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!
A little levity makes it easier to take it in the ass.
"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!"
Germans?
Animal House, John Belushi...
Late seventies, classic movie?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI
You're confusing humor with lubricant.
Waht?
Oh, you can tell the young ones 'cause they don't know Animal House.
Be gentle. LUBRICANT!
I guess I'm showing my age.
Ok. I'm not sure if you want me to comfort you in my inimitably bearish way.
BUT
checkitout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvXCYqd8AAs
God. He was so young and beautiful.
Who exactly are you including in the MSM? This story was broken by two reporters from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, not some lowly, forgotten, disrespected bloggers. Last time I checked, the Plain Dealer was considered main stream.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6pUMlPBMQA&fe...
I am shocked. shocked I tell you that someone could suggest there are conflicts of interest in the US Congress.
Shocked I say!
I am so sick of reading these types of stories that all say the same thing in the end. That whatever crazy conflict of interest or bad act was/is being committed is not against any laws or rules.
Why do we have tougher rules for professional athletes and coaches than we do for the scumbags representing us in Congress? If a coach or player bets on a game within his own profession and gets caught they are finished. Yet we allow the people making the rules and providing "oversight" over things that actually matter and it's only frowned upon (wink wink!).
Any wonder why people spend millions of their own money to get a job that pays under 200k.
Here is a list of elected people taking payoffs to cheat the American people and the amounts of bribes being taken. This is just from health care and insurance.
It is mind boggling to think how much these people are taking from others!
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $4,026,933)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $2,833,731)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $2,758,468)
And when you just go right to Big Insurance, the non-presidential candidates who got the biggest legalized bribes were the 7 senators who have been tasked with the job of killing single-payer:
Ben Nelson (DLC-NE- $1,196,799)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $1,184,113)
Joe Lieberman (DLC- CT- $1,036,302)
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $1,035,530)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY- $981,400)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $929,207)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA- $884,724)
We need to investigate and prosecute these criminals now. Severe jail terms are in order for these criminals!
This is just a few of these criminals. There are hundreds of them, all in our government and all doing whatever is best for them.
You did not think they went into government to help you did you?
They went into government because that is where the money is and for very little effort.
Any American not currently involved in government could and should replace the people that are there now. Do a BETTER Job, for 25% of the money these guys are getting.
It was never supposed to be like this. Washinghton said you should reluctantly serve and return to what you were doing before you served.
It was never supposed to be a lifetime job, with health care and reitrement. It was about all citizens stepping up running for the office in your district, getting elected and going to washington to represent the interests of you district. After you served your term you were supposed to go back home and continue your life.
What we have now is no better then the government in mexico. As someone said the other day on here. In mexico they call it bribes here they call it campaign contributions! If you are running for office in congress and it is half a state or even far less area in a lot of cases, and the msm was not part of the problem it would not cost millions of dollars to run for an office you were supposed to be in for two damn years ang go HOME!
This is insane! IT is not what it was supposed to be!
It does not now nore has it ever served us well for the operation of our government to be done by people that are doing it for a profit motive. They have taken something that was ment to be honorable, patriotic, and a duty for every citizen to acheive and preform, into an over blown dash for the cash at everyone elses expense.
We have lost what it was supposed to mean to be an American and have become America the greedy, America the self and not America the whole.
The preamble to the constitution says and I quote!
We the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for th common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for The United States of America.
What we have now is an preversion into something that was never ment to be. We are on the track of the one or the few, and off the track of the Many.
republicanism is a mental illness!
keep the war supplimentals flowing.
America sold out! Now, it's biting America in the ass. Foreign powers are sucking up the greenbacks. Soon the royal families will be paying us off and splitting us up. Seig heil America...Adios. I guess it serves her right. The "devil" is mankind. Now America needs it's God back. You don't need a devil to have God...Serve One Master!
Poncho
Ok. Dial 911 and wait for the paramedics. We're here for you ez2rock2. DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT!
These bastids own us. The only honest aspect of a mule and forty acres is that we are all now sharecroppers.
This sounds like your typical crime syndicate.
as well as the indepenents
obama has exactly 6 months to get the rest of his agenda passed
for the repukes are gonna take back the house in 2010
Clearly, some people are just looking out for themselves. And these are the ones we count on to look out for the rest of us?
--------------------------
Clearly, they are all looking out for themselves, while the public sits around expecting someone else to look out for us.
The fraud and corruption continues unabated. Bernanke spent the day before congress evading perjury- "I don't recall", while i read a news story that President Obama states he has confidence in Bernanke. When are people going to wake up? When are people going to go down the the bank and close their account, instead of continuing to loan banks their hard earned money? Oh, the tax payers will bail out depositors, so who cares? Well, you are one of those tax payers who is going to get the bill.
Bernanke violated the Constitution and President Obama wants to give him more power. Bernanke and Greenspan are one in the same. Both worked to create a ruinous credit bubble. Reward the perpetrators?
Paulson was corrupt, Geithner is corrupt. Greenspan was corrupt, Bernanke is corrupt. Changing of the guard from the corrupt to the corrupt.
Who is looking out for the prudent? The reckless people are being rewarded. Bankers recklessly lent money and people recklessly borrowed money. They are being bailed out at the expense of the people who didn't participate in the recklessness.
Prudent people don't expect others to look out for them because that would be a reckless thing to do.
Haven't these people ever heard of a blind trust? Congress is full of lawyers, you'd think they'd be familiar with the concept. It's certainly something any politician should establish - hell, should be required to establish. The assets and investments are managed by a person or firm on the owner's behalf - the owner has absolutely NO part in any decision. In fact, if done properly, the owner shouldn't even know what his money is invested in.
Of course, then you have to have very reliable financial people. People that you can trust to do what's best with your money, and not to steal it when you're not looking (which is all the time).
Should we be afraid, knowing that Congress was willing to trust the financial community with billions of dollars of OUR money, but don't trust them with THEIR money?
Login or Register to post comments.