Anyone in DC? God, how I wish I could be there today.
In my dream, thousands of Americans gather today on the steps of the Capitol, and when these thieves get out of their limos the crowd jumps into action. They block their entrance, round 'em up, handcuff them, and announce they're performing citizens' arrests for mortgage fraud.
They then load them into their pick up trucks and drop them off at the nearest police station, where they then light torches and grab their pitchforks and demand that justice be served. And that the basic laws of the United States of America are again respected, and enforced.
Here's the dirty list heading to Capitol Hill today. Outside the room, all over the country, all over the world, rage. Inside the room, the donors meet with their biggest recipients.
- Mr. Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Goldman Sachs & Co.
- Mr. James Dimon, Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Mr. Robert P. Kelly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of New York Mellon
- Mr. Ken Lewis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America
- Mr. Ronald E. Logue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, State Street Corporation
- Mr. John J. Mack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Morgan Stanley
- Mr. Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Citigroup
- Mr. John Stumpf, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wells Fargo & Co.
Posts
52 comments:
They're not going to be sworn in! CNBC reported it around 7pm.
Sooo many people are in on this and just want to keep it going. One reason the system is in trouble is that we would have to throw them all out and start all over again to change it and that really would create a panic. Might have to be done though.
God this is nasty.
What about BOJ.
Didn't BOJ gamed the system also.
Read Aggregate liquidity on page 19 then Concluding Remark on page 24.
http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/english
/publication/edps/2007/07-E-19.pdf
Nice dream but all you would end up doing is getting your ass tasered, shot and/or beaten by the police.
Boy are we F*cked. We have no real money and we don't know what anything is worth.
This is going to make for a big change.
IMHO
Off-topic:
DubaiMiniPanic
Riots in Dubai
.
There'll be sulpher in the air...
they need to be anally stuffed by Bubba and 'Twan in the big house...then American people will somewhat like some justice has been done...
I love how the news cycle is going. Talking about how the market is dropping today because investors are "upset" that the details of the FED's plan are vague.
Funny how everything rallied Monday and Tuesday in anticipation even though everything was just as vague.
Bottom line - big bets were placed hoping for a payoff, and when the scent of blood left the water, prices reverted to trend. Then the quants and momentum investors got cold because their models said it was time to get cold so they pummeled everything.
I'm a speculator too, but this whole baloney of crying when the government doesn't rain free money on your investment thesis is really sad and pathetic.
I'm not happy with Obama's or either parties' handling of things. But at least today didn't see us drop money straight into buying worthless "assets" outright as bogus prices.
Now it looks like we're going to buy worthless assets at a discount, and we're putting it off for a few days.... great.
Today was not a good day, but it was better for the republic than the outcome that many speculators in financials were hoping for. The tendency of Democratic politicians to "waffle" may actually serve us well here. As they send up trial balloons they're at least seeing the worst of the worst ideas getting shot down. I anticipate they will only achieve mediocrity at best through this tactic. But at least mediocrity is a step up from Paulson, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, TARP, and Katrina.
How sad that these dolts look good because of their predecessors.
Oh boy! I bet those banker boys are trembling in their boots!!
Bwahahahahahaha!!
Congress will just give them a little earbashing to placate the sheep and then we'll all go back to watching Idol until we're out on the streets huddled over burning trash cans and singing "Living in the city".
Who amongst us would even recognise these bastards' faces? To say nothing of understanding what crap they pulled. But hey -- isn't that A-Rod over there? Let's go ask for an autograph!
On the bright side, if something like that scene ever happened, you know the bank-perps wouldn't make it to the police station. It would be a lynch mob, not a citizen's arrest mob.
Just in case anyone wants to do something like this, keep in mind the following notes. Stay safe, be reasonable, and don't do anything dangerously stupid.
Protests and so on happen all the time in DC. So permits aren't that hard to get, and the laws are fairly relaxed compared to many places. If you're not blocking pedestrian traffic (incommoding), small groups can get away without having a permit. I don't think you'd get one for a citizens' arrest though...
There are several different law enforcement agencies in DC. DC Metro PD, the Capitol Police, and the Park Police. They have different jurisdictions and what is allowed in one's area of responsibility may not be in anothers'. So be aware of when you are on city territory, federal property, or a park. For instance, nothing resembling vending (even for donations, or giving things away) on the mall - but the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street can be ok.
DC police do not use tear-gas. They usually use pepper spray and good old-fashioned beat-downs. Tazers sometimes, but not super-often. If inexperienced people are pepper-sprayed, do your best to keep them calm and stop them from stampeding.
You will be infiltrated. Learn to accept it and work around it. Anyone with a walkie talkie, bullhorn, or in obvious command will be snatched as early as possible in the process (if they care. If you're not causing problems they often don't).
DC riot cops are good news. They deal with protests all the time and know how to deal with them. They *usually* escalate force proportionally and don't panic. Beat cops are ok, but often won't be as disciplined. Watch out for motorcycle cops - they get violent with little to no provocation and often initiate shit.
Leave the pitchforks and torches at home. Some wannabe anarchists had an idea very similar to that a few years ago.... The police were not amused. Very not amused. And I can't say I blame them in that particular case.
Be aware they you could be charged with kidnapping. It may not be something that would stick in court, but a common legal tactic is to overcharge you and use the fear of the seriousness of the charges to strike a plea. There is no downside to police or prosecutors for doing so.
They're not necessarily bad people, but they can and will lie to you about anything and everything - it's part of their training and an accepted part of getting convictions. There are few to no repercussions for them, and having a guarantee from them that you can do x or must do y won't mean anything in front of a judge in terms of your own actions. Use your own judgment at all times and never assume that someone is being nice to you. This can happen before you start, during your action, or after people have been arrested.
If you see officers with blanked-out or concealed badge numbers, things are going to get hairy. Demanding a name or badge number in the face of misconduct can get you a good pop to the mouth.
If you are being questioned or held you can sometimes ask "am I being detained or arrested". If they say no, you can walk away from them. Sometimes asking this question prompts them to answer yes even though they weren't committed to detaining or arresting you before.
I like the sound of it - even if only for the symbolic value. But anyone considering doing it may want to get the advice of a lawyer first. Also, whatever your political persuasion you may find strange bedfellows available for such a cause. The outrage is pretty widespread.
Circle jerk time again.
There's not enough room in prison for all the criminals who helped build up this uber ponzi scheme. I say we hang 'em where we find them.
As someone else who has done that sort of thing before, that is excellent advice.
I'd add: Bring $50-$100 in cash and keep it safe for bail (just in case).
Watch out for the mounted park police -- they will round up your group really fast and you won't even see it coming.
Do something really creative to make the local and national media -- DC is jaded and a simple protest won't get ANY coverage. A group recently staged a sit-in on a federal building and that only got a passing mention.
Sooo many people are in on this and just want to keep it going. One reason the system is in trouble is that we would have to throw them all out and start all over again to change it and that really would create a panic. Might have to be done though.
God this is nasty.
February 11, 2009 5:14 AM
The globalist day traders who were in heaven believing they could sit at their computors getting rich while the rest of the country was being sold into slavery were definatly down with the banksters and their bailouts.
Hoping against hope the gangsters in Washington could keep the Ponzi scheme going and protect their Ponzi wealth. Well The guys I know who fit that profile are finnally beginning to get more than nervous. Their mantra, their is no recession and even if their was, the unwashed, the uneducated the unlucky (?????) will just have to reinvent themselves.
09 Will be the year these greedy vile pigs get to reinvent their own greedy asses. These guys aren't banksters or guberment workers which means the God King Obamma won't be bailing them out.
PS I got ran over about four years ago. This reinvention shit is hard work and I have worked hard all my life. I wish you all the best. Prepare by looking at a third world country to see who eats well there. Yaaa right. Well sit back and watch BO burn what is left of the doller down. Scramble for gold, all kinds of paper or anything else you think will have real value. They say drugs kill, I say greed kills.
No shoe throwing, please.
Give 'em the BOOT!!!
get use to it boys and girls...
this is just the start of a very long road to Olduvai.
Serve them their own testicles for lunch.
Did you all catch idol last night?dropped a couple viagra and watched paula, life is good.
Here's another place to go for Panic...
Pension Tsunami
http://www.pensiontsunami.com/
Here are some of today's headlines:
Maryland's Counties 'Devour' 40% of the State Budget on Pensions, Says Senate President
The Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost in Illinois as Budget Deficit Approaches $9 Billion
Tennessee's Public Employee Pension System Lost $5 Billion in Past Six Months
New Mexico's Public Pension Funds May Require Increased Contributions After $5 Billion in Losses
"Who amongst us would even recognise these bastards' faces?"
the "american idol" generations standard for giving a shit.
it doesn't matter that i don't know there faces...they raped this country.
it is maddening irony that the capitol sits between Independence and Constitution avenues... but it also sits within 1000m of several grassy knolls :-)
Is barney frank for real.Cmon you guys, how did we elect this guy?
"Nice dream but all you would end up doing is getting your ass tasered, shot and/or beaten by the police."
Thats what Marie Antoinette and the Romanovs tought...
No police force or army can stop a desperate or determined crowd. Remember LA riots?
PJ
How come Americans, in a country born out of a great revolution, are taking this huge sh*t lying down?
Mark Ames, author of "Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion," says that Americans have been beaten down to a degree that they're now a pacified population, largely willing to accept any economic outrage its elites impose on them.
Ames argues that the "slave mentality" is stronger in the U.S. than elsewhere, "in part because no other country on earth has so successfully crushed every internal rebellion."
Read more here:
http://tinyurl.com/cejw3k
An interesting analysis by Joshua Holland, titled: "The Whole World Is Rioting as the Economic Crisis Worsens -- Why Aren't We?"
Tyrone said...
"Off-topic: Riots in Dubai"
=====
I lived and worked in the Emirates for six years. They don't allow this sort of thing out there. Immigrants who lose their jobs in the UAE simply moonwalk to the nearest airport and go back home.
The video looks more like a drill than anything else.
Mark Ames, author of "Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion," says that Americans have been beaten down to a degree that they're now a pacified population, largely willing to accept any economic outrage its elites impose on them.
It's also because the US has the most pervasive and controlled propaganda network in the world. The mainstream media doesn't seriously question the actions of the criminals and incompetents in DC. They're biased, they focus on local news stories like the octuplets, Casey Anthony, entertainment news and when they do deal with government they never seriously question government actions - with a few exceptions of course.
How much coverage have you seen of the wars or Gaza? That is actual on the ground coverage. You need to go to the web to get any real information here. If there were real reporting of these conflicts the people would be up in arms in no time.
The Pentagon is instrumental in feeding the population false and misleading information that promotes their own interests and promotes a good image of the federal government. They call it psychological operations and they spend billions on such propaganda.
Most of the population is completely unaware of how badly they are being screwed. The size of these "bailouts" and "stimuli" are so astronomical that people can not even contemplate the cost.
When you have a population that is fed a daily diet of sh*t information, is highly uneducated, is borderline illiterate, doesn't read or value education or learning what do you expect?
-Gonzo
BTW - Here is just one example of how the Pentagon manipulates public opinion:
The Truth About Jessica
"Today the bankers who gamed the system, enabled rampant mortgage fraud and enriched themselves will come to DC. Should we try for a citizens' arrest?"
Keith, you have been out of the country too long. Rich people here in the USA are way, way, above the law.
My nomination for quote of the day:
Mr. President, hope is not an investment strategy, speechifying doesn't do a thing and there are no Unicorns that crap out pretty colored candies. When you make a promise to the market, you either keep it or you provoke this sort of sell-off. - Denninger
Awesome!
We know that will never happen.
Unfortunately, all of these thieves (including our elected public service officials) are setting themselves up for some really nasty repercussions down the road - it's inevitable now.
So far as housing - realestate of any kind - it's all going South for a long, long time.
someone needs to put a trough filled with slop at the top of the steps of capitol so the pigmen will have a place to feed.
No one is rioting yet because it isn't that bad...yet. Unemployment is up but but 92% of the country is still working. Credit is tight but most people understand why. Most people understand if you have bad credit or no collateral (ie no money down) then its tough to get a loan. Leverage is the problem...it always has been. Just because we thought we could better assess risk because of our ability to gather more information and therefore "rate" the risk. It happened at all levels. Companies have credit ratings. Consumers have credit ratings. Their ability to raise capital became a function of these "ratings" instead of the usefulness of their opertation or ability to pay the money back. Our world is just reverting to that now. I forsee a future where credit ratings are a thing of the past. You want to borrow money? Bring collateral. Bring money down. Requiring 10-25% down instead of 0-5% down decreases leverage to a maximum of 10 to 1. 4 to 1 is even better. Its a far cry from 50 or more to 1 where it was. I believe that you can have the worst credit on the earth, but if you bring 50% down someone is going to lend you the other half. Personally I would rather lend two people $100 that brought $100 of their own to the table then $200 to someone who brought nothing. I don't care what their credit looks like. I wouldn't even ask....and I bet that's where we are headed. Having someone bring money down is a great way to own stuff cheap (if they default) You get the stuff, that's valued at X, for X-downpayment. The only areas where this doesn't apply is where they don't know the value of the stuff.
Similar to this article from The Nation:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090223/howl?rel=hp_currently
A few reasons why I think Americans don't revolt:
1. Because they would lose their jobs, and they are all hanging on by a prayer right now. Who can afford to take time off to participate? Who can afford the publicity?
2. People work so hard, who has time or energy to learn the facts, form a plan and get organized with other. Do we really have the time and resources to understand what is happening to us?
3. There is the psychology of - it is good to be the rugged individual rather than a member of the angry mob. It seems un-American and uncivilized to actually revolt en masse.
4. There is denial - do we believe our government is actually that bad? Can we really admit we have been ripped off? In general we are an optimistic bunch.
5. There is fear of the future, change and fear of being hurt in the process - if we did revolt what would happen then? What would replace the current establishment? Do we think we would be better off after? Is there enough incentive?
6. Some of us are too entertained, lazy, or ignorant to care.
7. There is Davy Crockett - be sure you're right and then go ahead. Are we sure we're right?:)
We are so Falked
Thanks you pension Grubbing Greedy Boomers
We have over 55 Fema camps for you with active lifestyle bingo night...
Gen X is not happy with the situation..
How do you think gen X/Y will be votingin the next 12 years??
We will survive this but the boomer retirement pension dream will be our first priority to ruin.
Anonymous said...
"Nice dream but all you would end up doing is getting your ass tasered, shot and/or beaten by the police."
True. I am afraid that my conclusion is that as the noose is tightened history shows that people will reach a boiling point. Unfortunately that is what it will take. It will not be pretty in fact it will be living hell. Yes, they have the guns and power but they will crumble in the face of organized solidarity of the citizens. The government will be forced to concede in the face of civil disobedience.
Ghandi is one example. Martin Luther King. There are other recent examples of governments falling when the people organize and protest. This has even happened in countries where human rights are minimal.
Iceland is another example. Can anybody name some other examples?
Why are Americans so complacent? Because their threshold of comfort has not yet been breached? Could it be government psy-ops? Are so skilled at dividing us along party, racial, gender, age, etc, that we the people are rendered ineffective? Affirmative Action has been the nail in the coffin of freedom.
Businesses are loathe to hire Americans because of all of the affirmative action lawsuits and demands by labor. Affirmative Action has be an pyrrhic victory because the jobs have simply disappeared. Yes citiizens need their rights protected, but the pc industry has gone way too far, it has killed the golden goose.
Note that there are riots and demonstrations in Europe, but Americans remain divided and doscile.
There are many forms of nonviolent civil disobedience. If we all stand together it will work. For example if everybody took a day off and refused to buy anything other than essentials for a day. How about everybody turning off their televisions? How about everybody refusing to pay income tax? Anybody else got any good ideas?
The possibilities of peaceful civil disobedience are many. However, the chilling prospect that someday in the future Americans will be forced to fight for their freedom, remains.
Oh I almost forgot:
8. They still have food.
Oops. I forgot include this in my previous post about civil disobedience and the pc industry.
It is part of an article about psy-ops used on Americans. It is about how 'Bama http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bama
speeches are carefully crafted hidden hypnotism:
An Examination of Obama’s Use of Hidden Hypnosis Techniques in His Speeches
An Examination of Obama’s Use of Hidden Hypnosis Techniques in His Speeches (pdf) (thanks to Right Truth reader Junichi)
THE EVIDENCE IS HERE: This document contains over 60 pages of evidence and analysis proving Barack Obama’s use of a little-known and highly deceptive and manipulative form of “hack” hypnosis on millions of unaware Americans, and reveals what only a few psychologists and hypnosis/NLP experts know.
Barack Obama’s speeches contain the hypnosis techniques of Dr. Milton Erickson, M.D. who developed a form of “conversational” hypnosis that could be hidden in seemingly normal speech and used on patients without their knowledge for therapy purposes. Obama’s speeches intentionally contain:
- Trance Inductions
- Hypnotic Anchoring
- Pacing and Leading
- Pacing, Distraction and Utilization
- Critical Factor Bypass
- Stacking Language Patterns
- Pre-programed Response Adaptation
- Linking Statements/ Causality Bridges
- Secondary Hidden Meanings/Imbedded Suggestions
- Emotion Transfer
- Non-Dominant Hemisphere Programming
Obama’s techniques are the height of deception and psychological manipulation, remaining hidden because one must understand the science behind the language patterns in order to spot them. This document examines Obama’s speeches word by word, hand gesture by hand gesture, tone, pauses, body language, and proves his use of covert hypnosis intended only for licensed therapists on consenting patients. Obama’s mesmerized, cult-like, grade-school-crush-like worship by millions is not because “Obama is the greatest leader of a generation” who simply hasn’t accomplished anything, who magically “inspires” by giving speeches. Obama is committing perhaps the biggest fraud and deception in American history.
Obama is not just using subliminal messages, but textbook covert hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming techniques on audiences that are intentionally designed to sideline rational judgment and implant subconscious commands to think he is wonderful and elect him President. Obama is eloquent. However, Obama’s subconscious techniques are shown to elicit powerful emotion from his audience and
then transfer those emotions onto him, to sideline rational judgment, and implant hypnotic commands that we are unaware of and can’t even consciously question. The polls are misleading because some of Obama’s commands are designed to be triggered only in the voting booth on November 4th. Obama is immune to logical arguments like Wright, Ayers, shifting every position, character, and inexperience, because hypnosis
affects us on an unconscious and emotional level. To many people who see this unaccomplished man’s unnatural and irrational rise to the highest office in the world as suspicious and frightening and to those who welcome it, this document uncovers, explains, and proves the deceptive tactics behind true “Obama Phenomenon” including why younger people are more easily affected.
EXPOSING OBAMA’S DECEPTION MAY BE THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY
Here's the link:
http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2008/10/an-examination-of-obamas-use-of-hidden-hypnosis-techniques-in-his-speeches.html
This Just In. People are wondering when Americans will react. I got it figured out.
The pattern we see is the steady assault on the middle class, anybody with money. The white male has been easily dispatched. "Minorities" have had their families and cultures ravaged. American worker's rights have disappeared, the citizens have lost representation as laws and bills are slipped helter-skelter into unwanted bail-outs and "stimulus" packs.
How was the supposedly strong male worker so easily sanctioned? down? The answer is that he was stabbed in the heart by those he loves the most: Women. To bring down a society get at the women. To destroy a hive get at the females.
Look around and you will see many middle class white women doing very well these days thank you very much. The pc agenda has served them well. However the wolf is at the door. Note that Opera scammed white women by garnering their support and then voting for a black man over the white woman Hillary for purely racial reasons. Obama does not favor women's rights and he is a Muslim.
Many white women were pissed about this. Is this omen?
White women are standing strong, commanding great financial power, protected by pc laws. Their resources and power are too tempting to last long. I fear that they will be systematically rendered just like their men. When the women fall, that is when all hell will truly break loose and revolution will take to the streets.
The reason is that women get what they want because men love them so much and are genetically programmed to react violently to their whining.
Let's face it. Our world revolves around white women and their whims. When Opera wrested the power from white women that was a coup and a mere inkling of what is to come.
See:
http://mensnewsdaily.com/se/2009/01/what-is-feminism/
Ahh but I still love women rue the day that they must collect karma!
Anyway, it is my opinion that things will start hopping when the women start whining about losing their jobs and power, not just white women either.
Remember: Obama was raised a Muslim in a Muslim country. He is a fundamentalist and that "church" he belongs to! And ladies, if you do not understand Muslim attitudes towards women, soon you will! You will whine for your men to protect you, but they will be dead and gone, you have killed them.
YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY!
Anonymous said...
Mark Ames, author of "Going Postal: Rage, Murder, and Rebellion," says that Americans have been beaten down to a degree that they're now a pacified population, largely willing to accept any economic outrage its elites impose on them.
-----------------------------------
In order to be economically outraged, you probably need a little math ability. In order to rebel you probably need to be somewhat fit, strong and courageous.
Can you see where this is goin?
Keith, the blitz to down Obama before he's given a chance is turning highly pernicious! Some anon poster(s?) are going out of their way to infest the blogosphere with egregious comments, and some of the most "creative" of those comments are found here. For example:
Anon 06:03 wrote:
"Psy-ops used on Americans. It is about how 'Bama speeches are carefully crafted hidden hypnotism."
And anon 09:21 wrote:
"Obama was raised a Muslim in a Muslim country. He is a fundamentalist and that "church" he belongs to! And ladies, if you do not understand Muslim attitudes towards women, soon you will!"
Those two examples show how some Rush nuts and bigots are desperately trying to discredit this president, using the old Wild-West way:
"Yeah, let's give him a fair trial and then hang him high and fast!"
Obama, like any human, is not above reproach. This blog has shown that even those who voted for Obama don’t hesitate to criticize him where and when criticism is warranted. But those Nazi hate-mongers have a different agenda. They are even more dangerous than the crisis currently gripping the globe. Rush Limbaugh and his consorts are dividing the country and spewing venom everywhere. They’ll end up driving America to a civil war. Somebody stop them please, before it’s too late!
Alright, since everyone else is doing a good job of bashing the banks, I'm going to have to defend a couple of them.
We need a banking industry and we need financial services. Some banks, somewhere, must survive and maintain our financial system. Those that survive should be those that can survive. On their own.
I'm not saying Bank of New York Mellon is squeaky clean but they never asked for TARP money. Paulson forced them to take the TARP money. Bob Kelly, BNY Mellon CEO has asked to give it back - he wants to give it back.
I believe GS made the same offer.
The reason BK and GS are still solvent is because they never got greedy and they never got stupid. Well, not overly stupid or overly greedy anyway.
BK and GS did not get mixed up in the toxic asset ponzi scheme to the same extent as BAC and CITI.
The solution here is to take over the insolvent banks, do so as quickly as possible, and sell off their assets to the highest bidder. Now.
We could have done this a year ago and we would be out of this already.
These insolvent banks are like broken down old cars stalled in the middle of the freeway. We keep pouring more oil into their engines so they can lurch along for another few miles until we have to fill them up again. The entire economy is stuck behind these wrecks, choking on their blue smoke.
Solution: tow them to the salvage yard, break them up and sell them for spare parts to patch up the cars that can still drive.
Why are we still tinkering with cracked engine blocks??
People are treating the public coffers like their own credit cards and most households have abused their credit cards. Democracy's achilles.
People won't do anything until they have home or food no more. Count on it.
"...2. People work so hard, who has time or energy to learn the facts..."
Got us right where they want us; don't they?
A generation ago, a family could make it on one decent income.
Ooo noooo! Mr. Keef! Pernicious comments! Wild eyed Went2puke lapping it up!
Hey puke, haven't said anything constructive to support your position all.
A common ploy used by provocateurs is to resort to ad hominem attacks and wild eyed accusations designed to incite hatred. Hit a nerve, eh?
Hey puke, you are the crazed wild-eyed the nazi hatemonger here. Guess you can't stand people having a different opinion from yours, eh?
It is obvious what you are trying to pull here. You'd better PANIC when people finally figure it out.
Just wanted to point out that the stuff we are doing here is working! See the article below about the elites $hitting their britches about "public anger". So my earlier post was spot on about how they can be defeated with citizens united and willing for nonviolent civil disobedience.
Wait2puke, don't wait, just lap it up.
The url is here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gNC9_T0LYrITL5vgKz1k1aC5wkMgD9651OC01
Analysis: Washington, Wall Street blind to anger
By CHARLES BABINGTON – Feb 4, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — The growing intensity of public fear and anger has caught Washington and Wall Street by surprise.
So much has changed in the past few weeks, even days, partly because of deepening economic woes, partly perhaps because Americans now have much higher expectations with the arrival of the new president and his promises of change. Politicians and business people are scrambling to keep from falling dangerously out of touch with the people who vote, pay taxes and buy products.
Not so long ago, the resentment could have been shrugged off. Not this week.
First, former Sen. Tom Daschle seemed to have enough Senate support in hand to be confirmed as secretary of health and human services. But he suddenly withdrew his name amid signs that many Americans, seeing jobs vanish by the millions, are seething over powerful people who don't pay taxes while cashing in on their public service.
Then President Barack Obama slapped a $500,000 cap on executive pay for the most troubled financial institutions that are receiving federal bailout money. Americans, he said, are fed up with "executives being rewarded for failure."
Business titans expressed shock at the extraordinary federal reach into corporate boardrooms.
Washington seemed to be waking up.
"It took Washington a year to tell us that we were in a recession, when working people knew it for a full year," said Bret Caldwell, a spokesman for the Teamsters union. "There's a delay here in feeling the pain that our members have been dealing with," he said.
If elected officials were behind the curve this winter, corporate executives proved downright tone deaf. Hardly accustomed to heeding voters' sentiments or lawmakers' whims, they now are asking for billions of dollars in taxpayer money, and the cultural ground is shifting under their feet.
In November, top auto executives were berated for doing something once commonplace — taking private jets to Washington — when they came to ask for public money. A few weeks later, the chastened executives traveled in hybrid cars and commercial airplanes.
But some business leaders didn't seem to get the message. Wall Street firms paid more than $18 billion in bonuses last year, even as the economy collapsed and Congress began pumping in billions of dollars in taxpayer aid.
Wells Fargo & Co., which received $25 billion in bailout money, waited until Tuesday to cancel events at two high-end Las Vegas hotels that included a plush four-day employee sales conference.
Obama often cited workers' fears and resentments during his presidential campaign, separating himself from what he called Republican indifference. Soon after being elected, he told NBC's "Meet the Press:" "Taxpayers, I think, are fed up. They're going though extraordinarily difficult times right now, and they want to see the kind of accountability" that has been missing in Washington.
On his first full day as president, Obama set tighter limits on former and future lobbyists entering and leaving his administration. But even the new president seemed a step slow this week in acknowledging the depth of public anger over unpaid taxes and huge salaries for corporate or government big shots.
He had stood fast against critics of Timothy Geithner, his pick for treasury secretary, when it was learned that Geithner had failed to pay more than $34,000 in taxes when due.
Similarly, Obama appeared ready to fight for Daschle, a friend and mentor, for the HHS job. But some Republicans and talk show hosts hammered at Daschle's belated payment of more than $128,000 in taxes, and his receipt of $5.2 million over two years from various government-regulated industries. Hours after the New York Times' editorial page called for Daschle to withdraw, he did just that. Obama appeared humbled.
"I've got to own up to my mistake," he told NBC News on Tuesday night. "Ultimately it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules, you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes."
At the same time, the White House was signaling its plans for the executive compensation limits, something that politicians have long talked about but not acted on.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has led the effort, calling Wall Street executives "idiots" and warning fellow lawmakers of a rising populist fury. She hailed Obama's actions Wednesday. They will help "restore the confidence of the American people that we have some idea of what's going on," she said.
But corporate pay limits and Daschle's withdrawal alone will not convince working Americans that their government fully understands their pain, labor leaders say.
Furious workers spoke up when car-manufacturing executives flew private jets to Washington while auto plants were closing or scaling back, said Arlene Holt Baker, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO.
"I think we're going to see more of that among workers across America who are going to say 'No more,'" she said.
C'mon folks, sing along: We are the world, we are the children, we are the PONZI...
NYT -- Now, many expatriates here talk about Dubai as though it were a con game all along. Lurid rumors spread quickly: the Palm Jumeira, an artificial island that is one of this city’s trademark developments, is said to be sinking, and when you turn the faucets in the hotels built atop it, only cockroaches come out.
With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.
http://tinyurl.com/chmmqh
All things being equal, you know we’ve been hoodwinked into thinking they are more equal than us, or just plain better than us, etc, ad infinitum. Why, because the bankers have and control MONEY and the average US silly guy isn’t going to risk their own skin on such adventures, they simply won’t do anything about it.
Maybe we can get the women to do it, since they think they’re so in control of everything. Men have been neutralized in this country, how did that happen, you ask? Well the boob-toob and advertisers went after your women, they have all been lobotomized into thinking a man has no worth unless he has substantial wealth. They think that money is everything and there is never enough, except when they are manipulated by guilt and false compassion.
They only want us guys, if we can make them materially happy or can compete with their earnings, they only want you if they need you, temporarily any way. For the most part we went along with their demands and did our best to comply with the new liberated female, unless you are one of the lucky few. Those would be the women that haven’t listened to Dr. Laura, Gloria Steinem, Oprah, PETA, Cosmo and Desperate Housewives.
You see, we’ve been weakened by our females, we won’t fight anymore, we are slaves and the trillions and trillions and trillions going to our masters, will enslave the future generations of men as well. Enjoy slavery, idiots.
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REMEMBER FOLKS, WE'LL BEAT THESE CROOKS (POLITICIANS, BANKERS, CHINESE) AT THEIR OWN GAME. DON'T SPEND A DAMN THING FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. LET THEM STARVE WITH US. THE MORE BAILOUTS AND TARPS (HEISTS), THE LESS YOU SPEND. DON'T BE A FINANCIAL SLAVE TO SUPPORT THEIR LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE. BOYCOTT ALL OF THEM! YOUR WALLET HAS MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK, SPREAD THE WORD.
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Someone needs to throw the first rock.
Americans are sheep.
Throw a rock, the rest will follow.
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