No Longer Passively Accepting
By Linda Anselmi on July 23, 2009 at 6:01 PM in Bank Bailouts, Banks, Economy-Federal Agencies, Humor
I love George Carlin. He is a hero from my youth. Revered from the first time I heard “The Seven Words”. And I still mourn his passing in 2008. So I was a bit surprised by my reaction to viewing Carlin’s excellent riff on “Who Really Controls America.”
Oh, I still marveled at the painful truths he revealed to his audience. I was still awed by his ability to connect dots that the rest of us couldn’t even see. But strangely, I found myself envious of the audience’s ability to clap, cheer and even laugh. They were like some alien creatures from another era. They still had that Pre Election 2008, Pre Economic Meltdown, Pre Bank Bail Out mindset that wanted to believe – life is good. They knew Carlin spoke the truth. Yet, they still were able to believe that the best was yet to come.
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And if you think I’m being overly dramatic. And Mr. Carlin was exaggerating for the sake of laughs. Then you probably believe the Andy Borowitz’s piece below (h/t BGD) is just satire.
Goldman Sachs in Talks to Acquire Treasury Department:
Sister Entities to Share Employees, Money
In what some on Wall Street are calling the biggest blockbuster deal in the history of the financial sector, Goldman Sachs confirmed today that it was in talks to acquire the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
According to Goldman spokesperson Jonathan Hestron, the merger between Goldman and the Treasury Department is “a good fit” because “they’re in the business of printing money and so are we.”
The Goldman spokesman said that the merger would create efficiencies for both entities: “We already have so many employees and so much money flowing back and forth, this would just streamline things.”
Mr. Hestron said the only challenge facing Goldman in completing the merger “is trying to figure out which parts of the Treasury Dept. we don’t already own.”
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And if you still believe the Federal Reserve is still chaste and pure and doing good, then you might want to view this video by Lagan Sebert, Harry Hanbury and AmericanNewsProject.
h/t- Sonic Ninja Kitty
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Then read this little excerpt from Glenn Greenwald’s recounting of The events preceding Goldman Sachs’ new “blowout profits”
UPDATE: … back in September, the Federal Reserve allowed Goldman (and a few other surviving institutions) to convert from an investment bank into a bank holding company. The Wall St. Journal claimed at the time that the move meant the firm would “come under the close supervision of national bank regulators, subjecting them to new capital requirements, additional oversight, and far less profitability than they have historically enjoyed.” …
But what the conversion did allow was access to lending from the Federal Reserve. Since then, the Fed has increased its balance sheet by $2 trillion while steadfastly refusing to disclose the beneficiaries of that credit. Thus, even aside from the bailout money it directly received and the billions in bailout money which it indirectly received (through AIG), Goldman has had access to massive amounts of Fed lending in order to fuel its bulging profits. …
As of Tuesday, the House bill to require a full-fledged audit of the Federal Reserve by the end of 2010 had won 275 co-sponsors and the companion bill in the senate has 17 co-sponsors. Sounds great. But lets not forget that the road to passage travels right through the House Financial Services Committee chaired by, none other than – Barney Frank. More Greenwald:
UPDATE III: It’s worth recalling this bit of central truth, blurted out in April by the number two Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Dick Durbin:
And the banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.
That was nice and blunt. That same week, it was announced that the newly-hired top lobbyist for Goldman Sachs, Michael Paese, was — immediately prior to his hiring — the top staffer to Rep. Barney Frank on the House Financial Services Committee chaired by Frank. …
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Now, if you still believe Ron Paul’s bill will magically pass through Barney Frank’s committee intact, maybe you need to start at the beginning and watch Carlin’s riff again, then read…
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OMG! The hits keep coming. It was the bankers that got the 16th Amendment passed illegally, at Christmas time when most people had all gone home. The 16th Amendment was NOT ratified by the legal number of states.
Also was did not GS have software that could manipulate the stock market? Someone stole the way to do it and GS control of the software cause a flurry for a day or two. Wish I had taken better notes.
tzada, regarding the GS software. I posted a comment below that I should have nested here. Sorry.
i wish the guy was still around , I enjoyed his comedy very much. Thank for the clip. So true.
My all time favorite Carlin rant…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw
That’s a good one! Can you imagine what Carlin would have to say today??? Too bad we can’t hear that rant!
With 250 co-sponsors it is possible that Ron Paul’s bill will be considered as is. It is possible that Pelosi will not have the ability to stop it.
In the clip above Barney says he will not allow the Feds books to be reviewed in a way that is completely transparent.
The excuse given for not being completely transparent is that if the general (and the implication is “stupid”) public were to know exactly how bad it is, we’d be afraid, and panic.
Which is bullshit. They are not concerned with protecting us because we’d be scared. They don’t care if we’re scared. No, what they are concerned about is that if we had the whole picture we’d be FUCKING ANGRY.
Make no mistake about it, it is not fear or panic they are trying to prevent, it’s the righteous fucking anger of the populace that they want to avoid.
LOl, WMCB well said.
I AM Angry and can only see “around the edges” of this nightmare.
We’ve been robbed, We know it.
We’ve been lied to, We know it.
I have been searching for the “last straw”.
There seems to be plenty of straws. Just not enough collective will.
Teak, if you find that last straw, please let me know. I’d like to grasp at it.
You are absolutely right. And George Carlin was absolutely right in that they do not want anyone to practice critical thinking.
OT but an important push back on Obama’s ACORN
My on topic post didn’t make it through cyberspace
http://www.breitbart.tv/house-gop-report-to-label-acorn-a-criminal-enterprise/
Dear Linda,
Thanks so much for sharing Carlin’s rant. He has been a favorite of mine since childhood. I miss him. And he was absolutely right. Party doesn’t matter very much any more — the trick to try to find the person least under corporate control (if that is even possible any more). (D) or (R) doesn’t matter so much.
As I’ve stated many times, I vote for whoever the corporate controlled media DOESN’T want. Seems to be the smart way to go.
Just remember in 2000, they WANTED Bush.
In 2008, they WANTED Obama.
Hmmm. Makes a girl think…
I keep reminding people that they, media, wanted Bush in 2000. I loved George Carlin. He was right on about alot of things. A thinking person comedian.
And if you think that the NYSE is an instrument of a free market where everyone has equal opportunities, please watch the following stunning Canadian newscast (preceded by a brief U2 commercial):
http://watch.bnn.ca/the-close/july-2009/the-close-july-15-2009/#clip193943
Who’s really running the show?
Wow. Unbelievable. Thanks for sharing oowawa.
Seriously, you have to wonder what part of wall street and our economy is not rigged?
I don’t know. The more I learn, the more apprehensive I am. I do know that if the stock market was a poker game (which it is, kind of), and GS were sitting at the table (which it is), you’d be a sucker to think you were in a fair game. And oh yes, where did GS get that big stack of chips?
Thanks very much for the Carlin clip, Linda! I was very saddened by his death. I’ll miss him. Would he have supported Thee One? I don’t even want to think about it. I don’t think he would have been happy about the current political situation (not that he ever was).
This spells it out pretty clearly, oowawa. Denninger has talked about this churning in the market, and that “special program” that got loose on GS through a Russian programming theft–wasn’t it some sort of “high frequency trading algorithm?” They were pretty freaked out about it and if I remember correctly the market really “quieted” down after the theft was exposed.
Most of this is way over my head but it makes my heart flutter because I still have money tied up in my 401/201k plan. What a bunch of malarky we were sold. I think I rather have the money under my mattress at this point. Over 20 years of savings. Oh well :0).
More detailed explanation of the “high frequency trading” scam that is used to manipulate the markets was published just this morning:
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1259-High-Frequency-Trading-Is-A-Scam.html
I always loved Carlin. He was in your face, profane and didn’t give a hoot if he offended or not. And he was funny and timely and very political. He was also genuine and told the truth the way he saw it. I caught one of his last HBO specials and thought there was a real bitter edge to the skits. And why not? He’d seen alot of history, invested alot of energy and was sorely disappointed in the result. Maybe it’s where all idealists end up–in the Land of Bitter Disappointment.
One can only imagine what Carlin’s comments would be about our present state. I don’t think the 7 deadly words would even come close.
Thanks for the refresher, Linda. I was saddened when I heard Carlin had died but not terribly surprised. I think he’d had a premature heart attack at a fairly early age. Hard living.
But he left a distinct impression. We should all be so lucky.
Hey Peggy Sue
He probably would of made up some brand new words for us to use.
I think you could be right, Linda :0).
I loved Carlin..
My favorite line which brings comfort when my dog leaves me
Life is a series of dogs…
So true!
What Maher and Carlin fail to understand in terms of Religion which they are against is
What is the alternative…Without a higher being written in the constitution which allows for our liberty through the concept of natural law and inalienable rights.
Without the concept of a higher being protecting the individual then
Man becomes God
Government becomes God
The Bureaucrat becomes God
and we lose our freedoms and rights to self determination and individual freedoms.
Good point Seattle. If GOD does not grant us unalienable rights which are not granted by the constitution but recognized to already exist by the constitution… the alternative is the government gives us rights and anything the government gives can be taken away at anytime. Just ask an Indian.
We’ve been BAMBOOZLE!
Hawaii now says it’s discarded the president original paper birth certificate (how convenient) Roland Martin gets hostile
check it out.
http://countusout.wordpress.com/
When our only child, our daughter, turned 13, we thought that an appropriate “rite of passage” would be to take her to see George Carlin, who just happened to be in town doing his stand-up.
She absolutely loved the show, and it forever made her feel special and grown-up.
She still quotes lines today (and she’s in her mid-30’s)
Thanks for the post.
George Carlin is right…
George Bush didn’t give a fuck about us and
Barack Obama really doesn’t give a fuck about us at all, at all, at all.
George Carlin is painfully funny. I miss him also.
I was very proud of my son when, at around age 18, he said to me, “You know, the only thing that matters is your reputation.” I quit worrying about him on that day.
After law school he signed on as a young attorney with the Federal Reserve. He ultimately voluntarily left, one reason being is that his analyses were overturned any time it disadvantaged a “big client.” He recalls being “marched down the hall” on a number of occasions and asked to change his conclusions. The Fed liked his mind but not his morals.
With reputation goes trust which is at the heart of every healthy relationship in one’s life.
George Carlin is corroborating my theory about the illegals. The feds want ignorant, desperate people accustomed to dictators to come into the U. S. and replace legal Americans. It’s no coincidence. They’ve been printing everything in Spanish for 20 years in anticipation of this phenomenon. They want malleable people to be the voting majority.