William Greider Is Impassioned and Sober on Subject of Wall Street Power

As William Greider says in this week's Bill Moyers Journal program, we the people need to say to the politicians in Washington, including Pres. Obama, that we see through the latest Treasury plan to buy up "troubled assets." Already protests are happening and more are planned over this outrageous corporate give-away scheme.

Before tonight's broadcast the other well-known writer to speak out on the general subject of the economic swindling now rampant has been the economist James K. Galbraith.

It is clear that scholars and average Americans alike are waking up to the corporate take-over and shake-down of this country. I heartily invite you to view the Greider interview for some solid and inspiring information.


http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03272009/profile.html

Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason, Says Constitutional Scholar

A look at the secret Bush memos recently released shows men at the top levels of power in the process of enacting a coup d'etat against the United States. Of course, the world regarded the coming to power of G. W. Bush following the 2000 election fiasco as a coup d'etat in and of itself, though Americans generally did not realize it at the time.

We desperately need an official accounting of matters so this will not be attempted in the future. We had become so used to Constitutional government in the United States we forgot, if we ever knew, how common such coups are in world history. May those guilty of crimes or even treason be held accountable in a near time.


http://www.truthout.org/032609L

Pithy Quote from James K. Galbraith

There is no way the project of resurrecting the economy by stuffing the banks with cash will work.


-- James K. Galbraith

(See post below.)

James K. Galbraith's Enormously Useful Article on the Economy

I have just started reading James K. Galbraith's article in the March/April 2009 Atlantic Monthly. Since I have not yet finished the article I will save definitive comments for later. However, this article is extremely informative and most useful in understanding what is going on with the young Obama Administration.

What is clear from the opening paragraphs are two points: First, the stimulus package was based on assumptions of the Congressional Budget Office which may be seriously out of date. And, second, the components of the stimulus package were based on consensus, a strategy which was not valid in this case.

President Obama has around him certain advisers who are acolytes of Robert Rubin, the Wall Street tycoon and purveyor of market solutions in the Clinton Administration. Their philosophy is What's good for Wall Street is good for Main Street. If there is any philosophy which has been thoroughly soiled it is this one!

If the pro-market approach of the Wall Street crowd continues to dominate White House policy our economy is doomed for the foreseeable future.

That is one reason I was on the phone with the office of Senator Dodd (Head of the Banking Committee) today opposing the latest bail-out announced on Monday by T. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.





http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0903.galbraith.html

New Ways of Relating in Tough Economic Times

Russian-American, Dmitry Orlov, having experienced the economic crisis in Russia following the break-up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's, has an unusual ability to describe the current economic crisis in the West, especially in the United States. He lays out a vision of the future which is rather frightening. I must say at the outset that I do not see this vision as inevitable. However, I do see it as likely given the path we are currently on. And with the size of the economy, the ingrained habits of persons and institutions, it is all the more likely that conditions will deteriorate further.

What makes Orlov truly different is his view that certain changes are permanent. The current crisis is not some temporary "slow-down," a "bump in the road," a "slump," or any other innocuous-sounding temporary situation. What he is saying is we will have to have a different way of relating to each other in order to get ourselves through this crisis. As Orlov says, justice will have to be part of everyday life, not a government department. This is very interesting, and valuable reading.


http://www.cluborlov.blogspot.com/

Former Vice-President Cheney Connected To Death Squads: Seymour Hersh

In an astounding on-line article, Raw Story is reporting that respected writer, Seymour Hersh, has alleged that former Vice-President Richard Cheney had a secret assassination squad reporting directly to him. The details are at the link below (or you may click on the title of this post above).

We are still waiting for further information on this startling allegation. Knowing everything else I know, it would not surprise me. There has been "mission creep" in this area for decades. There are and have always been people willing to skirt around our Constitutional system for reasons of private gain. It is more evidence that the Founders were right when they advocated eternal vigilance on the part of the people over their government.


http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Hersh_US_has_been_running_executive_0311.html

Give Me Liberty Redux

I am currently re-reading Naomi Wolf's fine book, Give Me Liberty. I was very much taken the other evening with her section on public demonstrations. She points out that what happened in the street demonstrations of the Civil Rights era and the Viet-Nam war era would now be illegal due to the stopping of traffic. In terms of a tactic, then, the ordinances which make the stopping of traffic must be reversed or made inert. Ironically, one way to accomplish this would simply be through having a street demonstration stopping traffic. Of course, only those willing to suffer the humiliation of arrest should consider doing this. Otherwise, the regular route of lobbying should be employed.

Court Cases Against Barack Obama Still Alive

In one sense it is amazing that the several cases against Barack Obama which Philip Berg has brought to court are still alive. Considering everything against them, it is a wonderment. At the same time, it tends to add credibility to their merit. You may see the latest news about these cases at this web link:

http://www.obamacrimes.info/

Alternatively, you may click on the title above.


See also previous posts on this subject on this blog.

Civil Wars Looming?

Here is one of the most important articles I have seen recently. Certainly I strongly urge you to read it and act accordingly. I have been doing a fair amount of checking into the world-wide economic crisis. The article linked below is an excellent summation of the current status of things. Particularly troubling is the assessment of the situation in the U.S. with the presence of so many guns.

I do not wish to be an alarmist. At the same time, I don't want people to say later I did nothing to warn my fellow citizens of danger. There is one thing I am absolutely convinced of: the current world-wide economic crisis is extremely serious -- worse than we are being told. This is not like a normal "downturn." There is not going to be a standard "recovery." It is going to take much, much work to make the economy solvent and sound again. I believe many people in government know this, but are hoping somehow things will "blow over." This is foolish thinking.

So again, there is no need to panic; that wouldn't do any good, anyway. However, simply going along blithely in an unconcerned fashion is, to me, the height of irresponsibility. So you can read and be informed. As the aphorism says, Information is power -- now more than ever.


http://www.truthout.org/022709F

The Bank Crisis and What to Do

Below is a link to an extremely important and informative article on the subject of the health of our nation's banks. We have all heard that our banks are in crisis. What we have not heard is there is already a law on the books to deal with this crisis! This article by William K. Black, a former regulator who helped clean up the Savings and Loan fiasco of the 1980's, shows what can be done now. It is indeed remarkable that discussion of this law has been suppressed, and I believe it has.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/why-is-geithner-continuin_b_169234.html

More Is Needed

By now it should be apparent that merely electing a new President has not heralded a new Renaissance in America. Even though the various "stimulus" programs and shifts in policy are welcome, something yet seems amiss. What is missing, in short, is a revision of the core way of doing business, called variously the profit system or capitalism. While this unjust system remains in place, the various efforts at stimulation will produce only marginal results. (And as I have said, what is seen as an alternative is not communism or state socialism.)

This post must be short, but I believe evidence for these statements have already been presented numerous times, and continue to be presented in the daily newspaper. Nevertheless, I shall endeavor in coming days to further bolster these bold assertions.

Bill Moyers Guest Hits the Nail on the Head

Did you see Bill Moyers Journal last Friday evening? I did not but have just caught up with a fairly astounding interview Moyers did. It is with Simon Johnson, former chief economist with the International Monetary Fund. If you have not already seen it I strongly recommend it! Other persons have been saying things like this for months, even years. Up till now these persons have been regarded as highly controversial. That is, they have been saying these things long before September 16, 2008, and even before the so-called sub-prime mortgage crisis. I -- no economist -- have simply been passing these concerns along. So it is significant that the message of Mr. Johnson has finally made it to a national and respected television program.

So I ask you to watch and/or read the transcript. The fact of the matter is there exists a potential for great good for those who can be courageous. It is going to come down to certain individuals who have both intelligence and courage at this time and can act safely and responsibly.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02132009/profile.html

Why The Profit System Will Die

The article referenced below is short and winsome -- and useful. In fact, as far as it goes it is one of the most useful articles I have read.

Those who know me know I am not a proponent of state socialism. But my friends and readers know I am an opponent of capitalism. The article below gives important reasons why a person should be against capitalism or the profit system. And my friends also know that what I favor is an American version of the Scandinavian model of a mixed economy. This article urges us to think deeper -- to put economic functioning in its proper place as a servant of humanity, instead of the driving force of society.


http://www.truthout.org/020909E

Call for New Pecora Hearings

In the 1930's Congress did not simply try to "stimulate" the economy. There was so much more to the New Deal. Thankfully, many of the protections of the New Deal remain, even after decades of attempts by financiers and the oligarchs to dismantle them.

One thing the "New Deal" Congress did was to thoroughly investigate the shenanigans of the Wall Street Bankers. Leading the charge was the prosecutor Ferdinand Pecora. This brave patriot grilled the Wall Street crowd to the point they felt the flames.

The link below will take you to another blog which has posted a New York Times editorial advocating new Pecora-style hearings. Someone with the bravado and knowledge of an Elliot Spitzer but without the baggage should be given the job of investigating these swindlers. The major media should be prevailed upon to present these hearings live. America badly needs a catharsis. This catharsis must start with an honest gathering of the facts surrounding this mega-catastrophe which is our current financial melt-down.


http://www.annoticoreport.com/2009/01/ferdinand-pecora-why-didnt-bush-and.html

Bush's Last Day in Office

I am presenting this video, which I just saw on < Democrats.com > for its historical value. Clearly, the speakers are appropriately impassioned. I don't necessarily agree with everything. For instance, I do not condone throwing shoes at President Obama. Otherwise, this "raw footage" has significant value and a deep meaning. It does a person good to hear and watch these brave speakers.