The Problem and the Solution

The Problem---

While Leaders spend billions on war machines (never mind killing people and polluting the ecosphere with the wastes of proxy wars and war games), natural ecosystems, economies, and societies continue to unravel.

1.  FIVE banks now more or less have failed, not two.  [Due primarily to massive unrealized losses in the Bond Market.]

2.  Debt Bubbles continue to grow around the world.  [Total Debt now is more than 3 times the world's GDP.]

3.  The food crisis continues.  Literally millions of people are starving, many of them children.

4.  The U.N. has issued a final warning:  eco-crises (especially climate change) are not being addressed at the proper scale to prevent catastrophe.

5.  Extreme drought, extreme flooding in other areas, extreme storms, soil loss, deforestation, extreme temps, etc. all continue.  Meanwhile, new permits are issued for more fossil fuel extraction.

6.  Mass shootings are up, suicides are up, and the pandemic is still killing a few thousand people per week in the USA, which is more than in any other country in the world.

7.  Confidence in both political Leaders and Banks is at a very low level.

8.  Almost HALF the workers in the USA are either in poverty (12%) or on the brink of it (30%).  Not quite, but almost everyone else is living paycheck-to-paycheck.  Meanwhile, politicians claim our economy is "strong".  Right...for the 20% or so in the upper tier.

9.  The serial liar, Trump, is campaigning again in his normal style - whining.  Talk about "Old News", he's it.

10.  "Oil Man" Biden is showing his true colors with the Arctic Willow Project and Gulf leases.

11.  Despots around the world, who sense a peaceful grass-roots uprising, are cracking down even more on populations.

12.  Neoliberal propaganda still abides.

So my question is:  when will people start demanding a different path???

[It's a rhetorical question.]

The Solution---

 https://steadystate.org/discover/definition-of-steady-state-economy/  [Pay particular attention to the blue Menu on the right side of the page.]

More later.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

GREAT, innovative article on Gold, Money, & Banking

 The info in the article at the link below is NOT the standard fare found regarding the title above.  I would venture to guess you haven't heard or seen three-fourths of it anywhere.  It's truly ground-breaking.

 https://steadystate.org/money-and-the-steady-state-economy/

The author, Herman E. Daly, died just recently at 84.  He was a giant in Ecological Economics, & pretty much ignored/suppressed by the Establishment.  One of the reasons for that:  he believed "money" is a public utility, & should not be created out of thin air by private banks (which it is, via fractional reserve banking).

R.I.P., Prof. Daly.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Beware: The U.S. "Debt Ceiling" is an Utter Joke

It was instituted by Law in 1917.  In the 20th century, our Government's Debt Ceiling was raised 90 times.  From 2001 through 2016, it has been raised 14 times; and it was supposed to be raised again last Fall.  Through some sort of machinations, Congress conjured up "emergency spending funds" and postponed the problem until mid-March of this year.

Doublespeak---

March 2018 has come and gone, so what happened?  Congress SUSPENDED the Debt Ceiling until March 2019.  In other words, there is no Debt Ceiling presently.  It was suspended once during Obama's Administration as well.  Considering the history of it, arguably there never has been a Debt Ceiling.   The whole thing appears to be Orwellian Doublethink and Doublespeak.

The Nixon Shock---

Why is any of this important?  Why should we care at all?  It started with the "Nixon Shock" in 1971.  That's when the Executive Branch issued a "temporary suspension" of the convertibility of the U.S. Dollar into gold.  We went completely off the "Gold Standard".  Essentially, our Gov't defaulted on its Debt.  Shortly thereafter, the Dollar lost 25% of its value.  Our long, "temporary" excursion into fiat currency began.  Instead of being backed by gold, our "money" became backed by "the full faith and credit of the United States".  That means virtually nothing at all if our Gov't borrows, and borrows, and borrows into oblivion... and the rest of the world knows that.

The Largest Debtor Nation---

This great Land has gone from being a creditor nation to being the world's largest debtor nation.  To whom is the "money" owed?  Primarily, it's owed to foreign Central Banks, other Mega Banks (including domestic ones), and other Mega Corporations.  The kicker is this:  that Debt is now mathematically impossible to repay in full.  So why do those outfits keep loaning us funds?  For the same reason a Bank doesn't want you to ever repay the full amount on your credit card:  the perpetual interest payments; they will never end.  And from where does the Gov't get the funds to make those multi-billion dollar interest payments to Banks & Corporations...from personal income taxes, of course.

In the spirit of Orwellian Doublespeak, the Fed Reserve calls borrowing the "selling of Debt, or Bonds".  When other entities cut back on "buying Debt" (loaning us funds), the Fed Reserve (which is made up of privately owned banks) "buys" U.S. Bonds.  That essentially means a supposed part of our Gov't loans funds to our Gov't.  All this borrowing serves to devalue the fiat Dollar.

The Bottom Line---

Why should we care?  If for no other reason, because we are saddling our children and grandchildren not only with a continually devalued Dollar, but also with a Debt that will have interest payments in perpetuity.  Then there's the extremely high probability that our economy will collapse because of the Financial shocks brought on by the Fed's insane amount of borrowing.

When it comes to borrowing, the Trump Administration is following right in the footsteps of the Administrations of Obama, Dubya Bush, and others:  increasing the National Debt by multiple times.  And why all this borrowing?  For the most part, it's to maintain U.S. Hegemony throughout the world.  And why is that?  Because the availability of several key natural resources is peaking or shrinking, and without control of those resources, the USA cannot dominate the world and further enrich itself.  Naturally, the Establishment denies any such thing...hardly a big surprise.  The Plutocrats claim the whole shebang is to protect the world, spread democracy, and preserve freedom.  Right.  Edward Bernays would be proud of such claims.
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SIDE NOTE---
Price Inflation is not the result of the cost of production going up; rather, it's the result of the value of the Dollar going down.  When the value of the dollar decreases, it takes more dollars to buy the same amount of goods or services as before the decrease.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

We Deserve Corporatism, and Notes on Fed Income Taxes, & on Banking

Most Americans today appear to know very little History, Geography, American Government, & Logic, and pretty much zero about the Constitution.  Never mind knowledge of how Propaganda works, or anything at all about Corporatism, or the significance of gerrymandering, or how political candidates really are selected.  And worse, they don't see the relevance of any of it to their lives.  They don't care that they don't know.  But most of them know the really important stuff, such as when the new I-Phone will be coming out and whether or not it will be able to fry eggs, or perform some other mundane or silly function.  The whole situation is an utter disgrace...on all of us.

In this country, we deserve the Corporatist Clinton (both of them), the Corporatist Bush (any of them), the Corporatist Obama (the Fake Populist), and the Corporatist Trump (the doubly Fake Populist)... along with Global Private Rule.  We all deserve it all...because we all have let them (the Elites) get away with egregious, rampant Edward Bernays style Propaganda---the molding of the public mind---and with blatant violations of the U.S. Constitution.

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Notes on Fed Income Taxes & on Banking---

In 1946, the Chairman of the New York Fed Reserve, Beardsley Ruml, presented a paper to some auspicious group or another.  The thesis of his paper was this:  the idea of Fed Income Taxes for government revenue is obsolete.  I don't have the time or energy to explain his reasoning, so if you're interested, Google/Bing the topic.

I do have the time for this much.  A good deal of his reasoning was centered on the central planning of monetary issues by the Fed Reserve, and on the changing of the Gold Standard by FDR.  A fairly recent example of Ruml's thesis is as follows.  Between the times when Congress voted down the 2008 Bailout package for the Mega Banks and then fairly quickly afterward approved it (about $700 billion), the Fed Reserve felt it had to do something, so it made TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS available to the Big Boys in the form of loans at essentially zero percent interest.  Not one cent of those trillions was from taxes.  Nor was any of it from government "savings".  [There are no gov't savings; the National Debt is $20 trillion...an amount impossible to repay in full.]  The Fed simply added a bunch of digits to its balance sheet; it created the "money" out of thin air.  That's entirely possible with a fiat currency.

Banks do it every day.  For example, let's say you deposit $100 into your bank account.  Because of the obscenity known as fractional reserve banking, your bank is required to keep only $10 of that $100 on deposit.  It loans out the other $90 to someone else.  So now, you have $100 on your account and the other person has $90.  That's $190 from your $100..."money" created out of thin air.  This is all possible because only 3% of the "money" in circulation is actual paper or coin.  The rest of it is nothing but digits on a computer.  In a nutshell, that is our goofy "money" system.

The point of all this is:  Ruml was correct; Fed taxes (NOT State & Local taxes) are unnecessary for revenue.  That's especially true ever since Nixon took us completely off the Gold Standard in 1971.  The Fed Gov't never will "run out of money"; to get more, all it has to do is add digits to its balance sheet.  Some people counter this argument by saying that the Fed Reserve doesn't just add to its balance sheet; instead, it buys Bonds (T-Bills)...which means the Fed loans "money" to the Gov't.  Yes, it does that...but it doesn't hand over a wad of cash to the U.S. Treasury.  It simply adds digits to its balance sheet.

Without a Gold Standard to restrain spending, any Gov't with a fiat "money" system can "print" (97% of the currency never gets "printed") as much currency as it needs...and anytime it so desires.  Some people counter that argument by saying:  in such a scenario, people would lose confidence in the Dollar.  Hello!  All around the world, that's exactly what's happening right now.

Finally, during the Reagan Era, the Grace Commission did a two-year study and found that 100% of Fed Income Taxes goes toward paying the interest on our National Debt.  Not one cent goes for Gov't services.  And who gets those interest payments?  Primarily they go to Central Banks around the globe, other Mega Banks, and other Mega Corporations...the really Big Bond Holders.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Truth is Being Sidestepped, Omitted by Politicians & the Corporate Media

Those at the highest levels in politics, along with the Corporate Media, are avoiding talking about the Economic Crisis in this great Land.  For most people here, the American Dream has turned into the Nightmare of the Working Poor.

Fifty percent of working households in the USA now are economically insecure.  They are just getting by... barely.  Many of them have two part-time jobs because they can't find a decent-paying, full-time gig.  Many companies nowadays prefer part-time workers...fewer employee benefits to cut into corporate profits.  Ask the Great Wall of Mart...the largest private employer in the world.  Because these workers are only scraping by, they can't save for emergencies...or anything else.

Many college graduates now are working as bartenders, or waiting tables in restaurants, or working as CSRs in "call centers", or as security guards (the minimum wage type), or as part-time cashiers in retail stores.  Not only have wages across the board stagnated for the last thirty years, but adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage in this country is the same as it was in the 1960's.  Meanwhile, those few in the Upper Crust here have seen their incomes go up by 700% in the same time period.

Ever since NAFTA and other "Free Trade" Agreements were approved, millions of jobs have evaporated from our economic landscape.  Since the year 2000, about 60,000 factories have closed or been moved out of the country.  The TPP will exacerbate the problem.  The jobs replacing those generally good-paying manufacturing positions are mostly, to be blunt, shite...crap...bullshit.  For the most part, they are low-paying, often part-time, and sometimes temporary.  They rarely match the jobs lost in terms of pay & benefits.

The 2008 Crisis resulted in the loss of eight million jobs.  It's clear by now that the cause of that Crisis was not only "greed".  Massive fraud was involved...by Mega Banks, by stock-rating agencies, by real estate brokers, by due diligence companies, etc.  On top of all that, the highest levels of the Fed Gov't were not paying attention to the developing Crisis.  Worse yet, at the beginning of the meltdown and in between the times when TARP was voted down by the Congress and when it finally was passed, the Fed Reserve made between $12 trillion and $13 trillion (estimates vary) available to several Mega Banks in loans at point two-five percent (.25%) interest.  That amount of money is equal to all Fed Gov't expenditures from the Revolutionary War to the beginning of 2008.  Think about that.  It turns out that the overwhelming bulk of those loans was not converted into loans for businesses or consumers.  The Mega Banks either hung onto it or used it for more stock market casino gambling.  Neither action created any jobs.  The Fed saved the Mega Banks instead of the economy of our Land.

What should have happened is QE for the People instead of the Mega Banks.  All those trillions of dollars did not "trickle down" to the economy of We the People; those dollars stayed in the Big Banks.  QE for the People would have saved the economy.  About 70% of our economy is driven by consumer spending.  It isn't driven by Mega Banks or the Stock Market...and especially, not by the Casino Gambling done by Wall Street ever since the invention of bizarre financial derivatives.  Those derivatives now infect almost all commodities and stock transactions to the tune of $1.25 quadrillion (best estimate by experts).

Estimates of the real unemployment rate are at about 20%.  Some people have given up looking.  I remember looking in 1997 for what turned out to be my last wage-slave job...the last before I retired in 2004.  I sent out 88 inquiries & resumes, had 16 different interviews, and finally secured a job after about five months of effort.  I was getting fairly discouraged just prior to being hired.  Some people today have been looking for two years; imagine how they feel.

Despite what the highest levels of the Gov't and the Corporate Media tell us, there is no Recovery going on in the U.S.  Any honest evaluation of our economic condition shows that.  In addition, the world economy and financial situation appear to be imploding.  The whole scenario, according to many reputable analysts, is so fragile that we are a hair's breadth away from another Great Depression.  Unfortunately, too many people in Power seem to have their heads in the sand.  Either that, or they don't want to risk putting us into a panic.  Or, worst case, they are keeping us in the dark until they and their Big Business Cronies can suck as much wealth as possible out of the economy before the Crash.  [The last choice probably is unlikely...but I would never say that it's impossible.]

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Political-Financial Complex

Ike was right when he warned us about the danger of acquisition of power by the Military-Industrial Complex.  Steve Keen, an Australian Economics Professor, is right when he warns us about the Political-Financial Complex...a term coined by him.

A perfect example of the Political-Financial Complex is as follows.  Not too long ago, a lobbyist for CitiBank essentially authored a Rider to a Legislative Bill in the U.S. Congress.  This was not just any old Bill the Rider was attached to---it was the Omnibus Spending Bill for the U.S. Gov't...if I recall correctly, it was a $1.1 trillion Bill.  The CitiBank Rider basically rolled back some protections that were in the Dodd-Frank law.  Dodd-Frank was nothing to write home about, but it did give some protection from out-of-control elements in the Financial Sector.

Mega Banks are major contributors to both Dems & Repubs in the U.S...at the same time; in other words, the Banks contribute to both Party candidates in the same election.  The reason for that could be innocent, but somehow I doubt it.  Then, too, we have estimates from a few different sources stating that in the 2016 national election cycle here, about $10 billion dollars will be spent by all major candidates.  That's not only a reflection of how debased the dollar has become; it's also an abomination.  It would be interesting to know how much of that total is/will be coming from Mega Banks.  At the end of 2014, five of the largest banks here had total assets of about seven trillion dollars.  Those banks are:  J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup (CitiBank), & U.S. Bancorp (U.S. Bank).  They could easily fund a very significant percentage of 2016 election expenditures.  [There are probably a dozen ways around rules limiting political contributions...if any of those rules still exist.]  I think it's very naive to believe that politicians are not influenced by major campaign contributions.  As someone (can't recall who) once stated,  "The Big Banks don't influence elections... they own them.".  Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but not by much.

According to CNBC, the banks listed above account for 45% of the banking industry.  Think: Sherman AntiTrust Act, Clayton AntiTrust Act, and Federal Trade Commission Acts.  Think: monopoly.  Think: common sense.  Since 2008, the "Too-Big-to-Fail" Mega Banks have grown by 37%.  So much for the politicians "protecting" us.  Those banks need to be broken up...ASAP.  Either that, or make banks public utilities. North Dakota has just such a public bank; it outperforms Wall Street while being heavily regulated.

All of this is not only a U.S. problem...it's a worldwide problem.  Those at the seats of public and private Power collude to convert publicly owned infrastructure into privately owned assets controlled by Mega Corporations.  "Austerity" is imposed on countries in order to save not their economies, but instead, to save the out-of-control Financial Sectors in those countries.  Banks weren't meant to be financial parasites engaged in speculating on bizarre, highly risky derivatives and other no-job-creating ventures.  They once served a legitimate, almost modest function:  servicing home, auto, and business loans.  The Mega Banks have become giant casinos... to the detriment of the Lower and Middle Classes around the world. Unfortunately, politicians everywhere aid and abet them.

Boycott Mega Banks.  They create almost zero new jobs.
Lobby to have them broken up.
Following the successful example in N. Dakota, lobby to have banks converted to public utilities. 

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Oligarchs Are Trembling on Several Fronts

Open to anyone who knows how to do "library" research, public sources are revealing at a rapid rate how/why the Oligarchs (public & private) are getting extremely worried.  I don't have the time or energy to delineate all their areas of concern, but here are a few.

1.  Guatemala---
There is a peaceful, popular uprising going on there right now.  For the time being, its focus is on corruption in the Gov't, a gov't backed by the highest levels of the USA Gov't.  The worry is that if the Guatemalan Gov't topples, focus then may shift to the dark deeds of the current President back when he was a CIA operative, a Colonel & later a General in the Guatemalan Army & Intelligence Service, and led Death Squads which slaughtered Mayan people in Guatemala.  The pretense for the slaughter was that the Mayans were the Boogie-Men of Choice back then, communists.  This was all fully backed by the U.S. Gov't. & Reagan.

The Fed Gov't here has had Guatemala as a pet project ever since the early 1950's, when Edward Bernays was hired to develop & implement his unique style of propaganda falsely showing that the democratically elected President of Guatemala was a Communist.  The guy wasn't a Communist, but he was overthrown.  The old United Fruit Company then essentially ran Guatemala for years & years.  Now we have the corrupt President of Guatemala, the Oligarch Molina (the former Death Squad Colonel), being propped up by the Obama Administration.  Public and private Oligarchs always are concerned when it looks as though some Populist movement may be successful in installing a genuinely democratic government.  I say "genuinely" because simply having elections doesn't guarantee a democracy.

2.  Black Monday---
 Monday, August 24, 2015 the Wall Street Market opened and lost 1,000 points in short order.  It recovered about half of that by day's end, but Wall Streeters and the Fed Gov't were shaken to the core.  The President's Working Group on Markets (or some similar title, can't remember), the so-called "Plunge Protection Team", made valiant efforts to help...largely to no avail.  The Fed Reserve, part of the Team, did what it could but with little effect.  The Corporate Media presently are claiming that the situation is now essentially back to normal...but that the Market remains "volatile".

Volatile, indeed.  According to several reputable analysts (e.g., Paul Craig Roberts and James Rickards), the Stock Market has been enjoying an "Asset Bubble" that is propped up by the Fed Reserve...and the Ponzi Party is almost over.  What the Oligarchs are worried about is as follows:  1. the elephant in the room--- the Bubble of the $1.25 quadrillion worth of bizarre financial derivatives floating around out in the marketplace,  2. the gargantuan amounts of currency being pumped into the world monetary system, and 3. loss of confidence in the dollar.  The number one priority of any U.S. Administration is to preserve the perception that the dollar is strong.

3.  The Exposure of Gold Price Manipulation---
Revelations of this manipulation have become more numerous recently.  Not only are central banks, mega commercial banks, and mega Hedge Funds manipulating the price of gold (keeping it from rising), but now (according to James Rickards & others) the evidence strongly suggests that the highest levels of governments---including the USA---also are involved.  [This is not news to those intimately involved in the gold market.]  The demand for physical gold is through the roof, so much so that the available supply is almost completely dry.  That means the price should be through the roof as well, but (given today's inflated dollar), it's not.  Hmmm.  Oligarchs need to keep the price of gold relatively low because a high price indicates that the dollar is weak.  That's the very last perception the Oligarchy wants out in the world.

Along with the idea above, the Oligarchs are worried that their "Recovery" Propaganda is failing.  It's becoming more obvious every day that we still are in a recession...and that a depression may be close at hand.  Some analysts claim that the coming economic collapse will make the 1930's look like a picnic.  I don't believe that any prognosticator can say such a thing with any degree of certainty; nevertheless, even I can see that things are not looking good.  Despite what our Gov't reports, unemployment is relatively high, quality jobs are evaporating while inferior jobs proliferate, the prices of goods & services steadily are creeping up, Wall Street remains a giant casino, wages essentially continue their 30-year stagnation, the 700% rise in income (over 30 yrs) for the upper crust continues, "Free Trade" Agreements on steroids (which offshore manufacturing & jobs) are being pursued by Repubs & Dems, and many of the WORKING poor still qualify for public assistance programs.  The Corporate Media say that the "Recovery" still is "fragile".  It should be obvious that there is no Recovery.  We're still in a recession...and sliding rapidly into a depression.  Of course, that only applies to the Poor and Middle Classes.  The Oligarchs (the top 1%, or some say, the top one-tenth of 1%) are doing just fine.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Coup in Greece & Why it's Important to You

The new government in Greece was blackmailed by Oligarchs.  The Greek Gov't did not close the banks; it was the European Central Bank that did so.  Imagine if, for example, the Fed Reserve here closed all banks in the USA.  They would be re-opened only if our Gov't agreed to receiving a large loan AND the following:  raising taxes on everyone; cutting SS (which is paid for by every individual over the span of his/her working life); and selling off public infrastructure to mega corporations.  What do you think would happen?  I think our Gov't would cave in to the demands.

Those at the top of the hierarchy in the Euro-Zone, the IMF, Germany (the richest country in Europe), the European Central Bank, various hedge funds, etc. brought about the coup in Greece in order to continue Debt Bubble economies there and throughout the world.  Greece had been mounting what probably is the first democratic challenge in the modern world to the oligarchical, fiat money, central bank, debt bubble, false economic model, and wealth-transfer-to-the-rich SYSTEM.  It will be interesting to see what the Greek Parliament does now.

On Democracy Now tonight, it was pointed out that Goldman Sachs had been involved in a fraudulent way in getting Greece to qualify financially for the Euro-Zone in the first place.  Goldman apparently made a lot of money on the deal.  That was back when, of course, Greece had an entirely different government.  My point is that what's going on doesn't involve only the IMF, the Euro-Zone, the European Central Bank, and Greece.  Other mega banks are also a part of the whole scenario.

So, why should anyone care, especially anyone in the USA?  Here's why---

The situation in Greece is but one example of what's going on around the world relative to Neoliberalism.  Using various institutions (mega banks, other mega corporations, the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank of International Settlements, the WTO, "Free Trade" Agreements, governments, and others) and rampant Edward Bernays style propaganda, Neoliberals are ensuring the continuation of the largest transfer of wealth in history from the poor & middle classes to the super-rich.   Many methods are used, not the least of which is to make certain that everyone everywhere is in massive debt.  [None of this is a "conspiracy"; most all of it is in plain sight.]

Sooner or later, the worldwide Debt Bubble (public & private) will burst.  History shows us that all financial/economic bubbles eventually do so.  I imagine that Oligarchs either have, or are working on, some new system of money and economics.  Once the crash occurs, though, it may take months or more to institute that new system.

Until We the People in every country stop putting faith in deceitful politicians, this all will continue.  That's not pessimism, it's reality.  That means all politicians in all the traditional, major political parties in every country.  They've had their shot for hundreds of years.  In general, they have failed to enable a just and prosperous existence for all of us on a long-term basis.  It continually amazes me that people support these same, old, hack political parties and their dismal records.  They all, and that includes the Democrats in this country, work for the Super-Rich.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

KUDOS to Greece...Again

The Greeks did it again.  They told the Oligarchs of the IMF, the European Bank (or whatever it's called), and the various other white-collar criminal frauds involved to stick it where the sun doesn't shine.  Kudos!  It's hardly a surprise--- what country would want to be forced into raising taxes, cutting pensions, and selling off their public infrastructure (to mega corporations) during a time of economic disaster?  I can't imagine that any government would want to do those things.

The Corporate Media here reported that Greece may be forced to issue currency that amounts to IOUs; the implication was that such action is foolish, almost unheard of, and would be disastrous.  Are you kidding me?  The Fed Gov't here in the USA does that every single day.  The USA, thanks to the Fed Reserve, is the largest Debtor Nation in the world.  Every single dollar in our wallets is a debt instrument, an IOU.  Our Govt's debt is so large that the principal will never, ever be re-paid... that is to say, the foreign debt portion of it.  All our foreign creditors know that.  They are happy to get just the interest... in perpetuity.  In our system, that's what personal income taxes are for... Gov't services are financed by other means of revenue, such as excise taxes, fees, impounds, duties, asset forfeiture, corporate taxes, and most importantly, more borrowing.

Every developed country that I know of utilizes a fiat monetary system.  The whole thing is a farce in terms of genuine money, but it's the system the world apparently has settled upon.  It depends on good will... nothing else.  I imagine that Greece has just as much good will as most other countries.  Critics might say that defaulting on a debt does not show good will.  I would respond:  that depends on how the debt is structured, the conditions of acquiring it, and whether or not the creditors involved have good will.  History shows that the IMF, for example, plays a Rigged Game... for the benefit of bankers and other mega corporations.  As far as I can see, no government should ever get involved with the IMF.  Ask South American countries about that... see what they have to say.

The Corporate Media here also imply that Greece leaving the European Union (or Euro-Zone, or whatever the Oligarchs are calling it now) would be an unmitigated disaster for the country.  Corporatists and their Media puppets love to promulgate the idea that life without economic zones, without the WTO, and without the Corporatist version of Globalization is virtually impossible.  What a crock of horse crap.  In my 72 years, I've never seen more blatant, Edward Bernays style propaganda.  It's completely disgusting, untrue, and designed to benefit the Corporatist Oligarchy and their sycophants.

The whole idea of Corporatist Globalization, the IMF, the World Bank, and mega banks in general is nothing but a scam and a fraud visited upon the "little people" (which is exactly what Oligarchs refer to the rest of us as).  Most of the common people of the world are awakening to that fact... despite the fact that the Corporate Media are unrelenting in their oligarchical, Bernays style, Corporatist, anti-democratic propaganda.

Don't believe any of it, Greece.  You can make it.  Most of the world loves you.  Cowboy up, and continue on.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Consummate Liar Strikes Again

Obama's lies have become so blatant that even a person who is totally apathetic and ignorant of politics must be able to detect them... at least, I would think so.  Following are just a few of his latest attempts at deception.  Feel free to laugh, cry, or sigh... or cuss.

1.  Regarding the Obama-Osama story, the Administration claims there are too many assertions by Hersh to respond to any of them.  What a cop-out.  So much for accountability.  Obama, through spokesmen, claims the whole Hersh story is false; we are supposed to simply accept their word.  Personally, given the President's record, I would believe Sy Hersh over Barack Obama any day of the century.

2.  Regarding his support for the TPP---
Obama claims he fought hard for banking regulations after the 2008 Crisis, so "Why would I sign something that rolls back those protections?".  His implication is that parts of the TPP do not roll back protections against crooked mega bankers.  That's a bald-faced lie.  In addition, the regulations he supported back when were nothing but window-dressing.  Finally, he signed the fairly recent omnibus spending bill that included an Amendment written by Citi-Group lobbyists which did roll back the paltry protections of Dodd-Frank.  Obama must believe that we have the shortest memories in the history of Humanity... or, he simply doesn't give a damn about what we think... or???

3.  Obama continues to claim that NSA dragnet, bulk collection of our records (phone, email, other internet use, credit cards) is legal.  Just the other day, a Fed Appeals Court vigorously disagreed and called the bulk collection "unprecedented and unwarranted".  The Court went on to say that the Executive Branch doesn't even pretend that such collection is related to any "specific, defined inquiry".  All that makes the whole business a blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment.  Given his Constitutional Law education, Obama must know that.

4.  Obama lies by omission.  Not long ago, he stated that "No one is listening to your phone calls.".  He left out this:  one of the Snowden documents revealed that calls are being recorded automatically, and that the NSA has the technology to enable a key-word search and then generate a transcript of the conversation.  All of this is done by high-speed computers because of the billions of calls involved.  So, the end result is the same as if someone were listening to your calls.  Even if there were no key-word searches or transcripts, simply recording the numbers of whom we call (without a specific reason or specific warrant to do so) is plainly unconstitutional.  Read the Fourth Amendment:  the word "effects" surely includes our records.  Obama must know that.
....................................................................
Yes, other Presidents have lied and violated the Constitution.  That's no legitimate excuse for the current President to do the same.  Democrats and Republicans (at the highest levels) both appear to believe that the U.S. Constitution is a Menu... just pick out what you like and discard the rest.  These same Democrats and Republicans appear to believe in Legislative Absolutism, a term coined by a Supreme Court Justice, Harlan, in 1901.  The term means passing laws that violate the Supreme Law of the Land... such as the misnamed PATRIOT Act.  This will all continue until We the People peacefully put a stop to it.

Not just my opinion.  Happy Trails

National Politics in the USA is Utterly Disgusting...and Harmful

Again, I emphasize that I'm not a Republican or a Democrat... thank "God".  With the world's greatest library (the internet) at our fingertips and a fairly good grasp of both History and Logic, it's beyond my comprehension how anyone could belong to a limited, specific political group.  To do so almost certainly would require one to be an idealogue, a blindly partisan advocate & adherent... not a good thing.

Here's why national politics in the USA is both disgusting and harmful---

1.  Wall Street runs the show.  Anyone who still doubts that either is not paying attention, or is propagandized beyond the point of no return, or both.  Not only does the Financial Sector run the show, it is waging war on both workers and industry.  The USA rapidly is being reduced to a NeoFeudal State.

2.  With the help of politicians at the highest levels, Mega Banks continue to run amok.  Wealth continues to be transferred from the poor and middle classes to the upper crust at an unprecedented rate.  This is being accomplished largely by Financialization, which extracts income from the 99% and then does not use that money for the creation of jobs.  Instead, funds are invested in bizarre financial derivatives, or foreign currency speculation, or foreign capital investments in manufacturing overseas, or socked away offshore to avoid taxes, or in raiding existing domestic companies & then downsizing or dismantling them.

3.  There's a revolving door between private corporation, CEO (& lesser) positions and appointed, high-level U.S. Government positions.  Men such as Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, Robert Gates, and others should have been disqualified from government service due to conflict of interest.  Especially Paulson, who previously was Goldman Sachs' CEO, and then essentially gave mega banks billions of taxpayer $$$.  [Ben Bernanke, a non-corporate appointee, topped Paulson:  he made $13.1 TRILLION available in loans to mega banks at POINT 25% (.25%) interest just before TARP.  That makes one wonder why the banks needed the "paltry" TARP funds.]

4.  Politicians at the highest levels (in general) are notorious liars.  They say anything to get elected.  Obama is a prime example.  The 2008 Obama-worshippers have to be the most disappointed people in American political history.  Obama, the corporatist and warmonger... posing as some sort of Leftist.  Obama, who (contrary to the Constitution) chooses which people (including Americans) are to be killed by drone attacks.  Obama, who is waging war on US workers and industry.  Obama, persecutor of Fed Whistleblowers.  Obama, who joins with McConnell to push for the TPP abomination.  Obama, who fines crooked mega banks billions & billions of dollars for FRAUD, but jails not one of their top execs.  And on & on.  The guy is the greatest flim-flam artist in the history of our politics.  Bar none.  He even beats out Bush-Cheney for that title... which I didn't think was possible.

5.  Politicians at the highest levels (in general) mostly ignore about half the U.S. Constitution, especially Article I Section 8, Article II Section 2, and the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Amendments.  Each therefore is violating his/her Oath of Office.  Put bluntly, essentially they are Outlaws.  Where the hell is Law Enforcement?  Where is Justice?
.........................................................................................

So, what can we do?  Here's a start...just a start---

1.  Ignore the Edward Bernays style Propaganda.  Don't automatically believe anything a high-level politician says until you check it out using multiple, diverse sources.  Additionally, stop relying on one or two sources for your national news.  For one thing, the Corporate Media outlets (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc.) omit so much that you can't possibly have an accurate picture of what's going on if you rely only on them.

2.  This one seems counterintuitive, but don't vote in national elections.  A national election is a Rigged Game; don't play.  That's the best way to make the Oligarchy pay attention to We the People.  Everyone who is a "true believer" in some political ideology (& thus a "voter") is perpetuating the Rigged Game.  The Neoliberal Coup that has taken place here and throughout most of the world cannot be overturned by voting.  National candidates for office are selected from the top down, not the bottom up.  Even if, by some miracle, a "genuine Populist" or a "good person" gets elected, that person will be marginalized completely by the Rotten System.  That won't be true forever, but it certainly is now and for the near future.

3.  Educate yourself and others.  With the world's greatest library in front of you, you have no excuse not to.

4.  Be an Activist... organize around just causes.  Do something, something peaceful, even if it's anonymously and by yourself.  If group protests are not your bag, there's nothing wrong with that.  There are plenty of other things that can be done:  boycotting, writing, all types of Art, discussions, commercial ads, speeches, stickers (Street Art), flyers, business-type cards (of a political nature), videos, or ???  Be imaginative.

5.  The Neoliberals have won because basically they have distracted and divided us.  That has to end.  I'm guessing that most of us don't want pointless war, or jobs shipped overseas, or an ever-intrusive Surveillance State, or unsafe food, or a completely debased dollar, or stagnant wages, or economic bubbles, or de-industrialization, or never-ending debt, or ever-increasing price inflation, or the ridiculously high cost of higher education, or a war against workers, or inferior, meaningless jobs, or the rip-off, add-on fees imposed upon us by Big Business, or major rivers & rainwater owned by corporations.  If that's all true...that we don't want those things, then we have to stop being so fragmented when it comes to politics.  Democrats AND Republicans have brought us to the point where we are now.  They need a message sent to them...and quickly.

Not just my opinion.
Happy Trails

Part II: "Fixing" Our Government

Below is my response to an email I received from some friends.  In their email, they talked about the right to vote, and the fact that they weren't clear on what my solution was to the problem of our government (& economy) mess. 

I suspect that you guys still think 

the Rotten System can be corrected from within the system.  If that were true, then it would 

be corrected by now... especially given that we've had at least 100 yrs to do so.  Keeping 

you in that Rigged Game is a huge part of the Propaganda.  Currently, voting at the 

national level is a complete waste of time, and more importantly, it perpetuates the Rigged 

Game.  That will change only when changes from outside the system force changes 

within the system.

As to clear answers on what to do, I agree with you, but only up to a certain point.  I think 

this is pretty clear: "As long as Americans stay stuck in this Repubs v. Dems charade, that all 

will continue.".  And this:  "...the very first step in "fixing" our Gov't and 

overcoming the coup of Neoliberalism is this:  somehow we have to destroy and/or expose 

Edward Bernays style Propaganda.".  ["somehow" would include writing, talking, songs, other 

Art, discussions, websites, formal speeches, ads, and especially, organizing.]  This stuff will 

not happen overnight, if at all.  And this is clear: "Don't vote at the national level.".  The 

Establishment has to be shown that We the People are in charge.  When we vote, they know 

we're not.  I know, that sounds counterintuitive, but it's true.  [The Rich & Powerful select, 

groom, & finance probably 99.9% of all candidates at the national level.  So, how does voting 

help correct that?]  The top-down, dictatorial Republican & Democrat Parties will select two 

total Yahoos for Presidential candidates in the next election.  Any 3rd Party doesn't have a 

chance in hell because of Propaganda, the Corporate Media, & harsh ballot-access laws.  

How does voting help correct that?  I'm serious.  Voting perpetuates the problem.

I don't know the complete solution to the problem, but I'm fairly certain of where to start.  

The Propaganda of the Neoliberals must be exposed...that's 1st.  Then, peaceful activism 

outside the Rotten System must be organized & instituted.  That means either 

individually, or in groups, or both, we have to boycott, demonstrate, & otherwise protest.  

That can be done any number of ways... it doesn't necessarily mean marching down the street 

with banners held high.  Many things can be done quietly & anonymously... e.g., boycotts of 

Mega Banks (who finance corrupt politicians).  Even in a dictatorship, public opinion matters; 

but making it matter requires hard work & solidarity.  Right now, Americans are so 

fragmented that it's no surprise we're essentially beaten.

There are many, many obstacles to solving America's mess.  One is that too many of us 

think that things can be solved fairly quickly... by voting, for example.  I don't have a lot of 

hope that Americans ever will overcome the Neoliberalism Coup, or even understand what 

that is.  But I keep writing & making vids... because I have very young grandchildren, & fear 

for their future.  NeoFeudalism is almost upon us.  Voting won't stop it.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

p.s.  I'm convinced that when my body is dead & I'm gone, someday I'll chuckle (or whatever 

spirits do) when I hear you guys say, "By God, Woodrow, I thought he was nuts, but Haley 

was right all along."...:) 

So, How Do We Fix Our Government?

In my opinion, there is no magic bullet to fix things, but...

if we don't vote, much more can be done than just waiting for the collapse.  Even if people do vote, much more can be done.  There's a huge obstacle, though...

PROPAGANDA from Neoliberals (in general, the highest levels of Repubs & Dems).

Unfortunately, Americans seem to have forgotten that this country was founded due to 

the efforts of Activism.  Violent activism is not an option nowadays, but peaceful activism is 

always possible... one issue at a time.  It's a long haul.  The trouble is, due to Propaganda, 

the ~ 25% of adults who are on the "Right" think that demonstrations, protests, boycotts, etc. 

are "Leftist", or "Socialist", or "UnAmerican".  Nothing could be more American.

So, what could be done?  Well, about a gazillion things could be done... IF Americans had the 

will and weren't so distracted & propagandized.  Here's one tiny thing that could be done:  as 

much as possible, boycott all Mega Banks.  Destroy their credit card biz with boycotts.  Is it 

inconvenient for people?... of course.  You can't change who finances your mortgage, but you 

can have an impact in other areas such as credit cards.

By the way, most politicians voted in by most Americans (Repubs & Dems) just recently gave 

the Corporatist Obama so-called Fast-Track Authority on the TPP.  That means one man 

(Big Biz Obama, not Congress) will do the negotiations for that abomination.  When it comes 

up for a vote in Congress, there will be no debate, no amendments, just a yea or nea.  If it's 

approved, we lose.  Big Biz likes the TPP 1000%; so does Obama, so does McConnell.  If 

Congress votes it in, there will be a downward pressure on wages (because of greed, not 

a lack of choice for biz owners), a decrease in food, toy (& other goods), & pet safety, the 

elimination of Buy American in Gov't procurement contracts, more offshoring of jobs,

& the ability of any corporation to sue our Gov't (or any gov't) for infringement on their profits 

caused by EHS regulatory compliance***.  Way to go, you Gravy Train, Fat-Cat Congress 

people!  [EHS: Environmental/Health/Safety]
***The "court" will be a private, corporate tribunal.  It will have the capability of allowing corporations to "legally" raid the U.S. Treasury.

Everyone in Congress who voted for Fast-Track should be inundated with phone calls, 

emails, or letters berating them for such stupidity.  But that won't happen... because of 

Propaganda, distraction, apathy, or ignorance.  The Neoliberals win again. 

So, what am I getting at here?  Simply, I think the very first step in "fixing" our Gov't and 

overcoming the coup of Neoliberalism is this:  somehow we have to destroy and/or expose 

Edward Bernays style Propaganda.  That propaganda has deceived and immobilized the 

American people.  It has misinformed and distracted them.  They are, for the most part, lost 

in the charade of Right v. Left.  The whole thing is a Rigged Game.  The Main Street "true 

believers" in politics have been duped... completely.  [None of this is a "conspiracy".]  Can this 

"first step" be accomplished?  I doubt it, but maybe.  In any case, it's worth the effort to try.  

NeoFeudalism in America is fast approaching.  Doing nothing is not a good choice.  The 

solution to the problem is not to be found in the current major political parties... they 

are a major part of the problem.

Not just my opinion.  Happy Trails

Who Owns the Fed? - A Great Scam

http://www.globalresearch.ca/who-owns-the-federal-reserve/10489

This explains one of the greatest scams in American history... in which We the People are being ripped off for the benefit of privately owned banks.  The piece cannot be "skimmed over"; you have to be alert in order to grasp it.  It's a great reference, or source...very legitimate, with impeccable scholarship.

Will Congress make the necessary corrections?...not without pressure.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

The Emperor is not Wearing any Clothes

By "The Emperor", I'm referring not only to our President, but also to the U.S. Treasury, the Fed Reserve, the Justice Department in general, the NSA, The FBI, the SEC, the CIA, and the Pentagon.  Without too much effort, I also could include the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court.  At the highest levels, most of our Fed Gov't consists of people engaged in obvious deceit and outright fraud.  On top of that, many of their activities are utterly and blatantly unconstitutional.

For examples of the deceit, fraud, and unconstitutionality, I could refer you to the past posts on this venue... for over seven years now.  That, however, really isn't necessary.  Anyone who has made a sincere effort to stay abreast of the political and economic news (not just from the Corporate Media) in the past few decades knows what's happening.  Despite that, let's at least cite a very few of those examples.

1.  Read Article II of the U.S. Constitution.  It's the section that enumerates the powers delegated to the Executive Branch by We the People.  Nowhere in Article II is the President delegated the power to put this Nation at war.  War-making powers reside with the U.S. Congress.  Despite the Orwellian view of Obama (and just about all past Presidents since the end of WW II), the "Commander-in-Chief" is not Constitutionally permitted to commit the military to war...by himself.  Those at the highest levels in our Gov't surely cannot help but know that for a fact.  That means they all are violating their Oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Supreme Law of the Land.

2.  Neither does Article II delegate power to the President to write "Executive Orders" on any subject he pleases.  Only two subjects are enumerated:  a written report from any of the Executive Department Heads on any topic relevant to their Departments; and, the power to issue Presidential Pardons (except in the case of Impeachment).  Today's puppets of the Oligarchy claim that Article II implies that other Executive Orders may be written as well.  That belief has prevailed for decades and decades.  In the beginning, back in the 1800s, the Orders were innocuous---things such as declaring a certain day to be in honor of the Mighty Oak Tree, or some such trivia.  But for years now, the fraudulent power has been used to bypass Congress.  It has made the modest Office of the President into that of a soft dictator.  Let's be clear:  the Constitution does not imply powers; instead, it enumerates them.  Republicans & Democrats at the highest levels know that full well; they simply don't want to give up the usurped power.

3.  The FBI now can search your home without a proper warrant.  The Agent simply writes what's known as a "National Security Letter"; that supposedly serves as a search warrant.  If you're not home, they don't have to inform you that your house was searched.  Not only that, if you are home and aware of the search, the Agent can tell you to never reveal the fact of the search to anyone...under penalty of being sent to prison.  This is what's known as a Police State.  [The late writers George Orwell (1984) and Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) must be amazed that their fictional dystopias have more or less materialized.]

4.  The U.S. Treasury - Fed Reserve System - Banking monetary system is a complete fraud and scam.  There's so much legitimate info on that subject so as to make it unnecessary to explain it further.  Nevertheless, consider the following quotes.

"I am afraid the ordinary citizen will not like to be told that the banks can and do create money. And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of Governments and hold in the hollow of their hand the destiny of the people." Reginald McKenna, as Chairman of the Midland Bank, addressing stockholders in 1924.

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies." Thomas Jefferson, US President 

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the corporations will grow up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." Thomas Jefferson in the debate over The Re-charter of the Bank Bill 

"The government should create, issue and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. By adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. Money will cease to be master and become the servant of humanity." Abraham Lincoln, US President
......................................................
According to the Constitution, Congress is charged with regulating the value of our money.  Congress does no such thing.  Plus, according to Alan Greenspan on a PBS News Hour interview several years ago, "No one has authority over us [the Fed Reserve]."  So, private banks both issue money (through the fraud of "Fractional Reserve Banking") and regulate the value of it...by the arbitrary interest rates set by the Fed.  The Fed is simply the Middle Man between the U.S. Treasury, other banks, and the People.  The private stockholders of the Fed make 6% interest (by Law) on all those Middle Man transactions.  Six percent doesn't sound like much, until you consider that billions of dollars are involved in those Middle Man transactions.  All of that is unnecessary...and nothing but a scam.

I suspect that many or most Americans feel that little or nothing can be done about everything written above...so about 50% of us "vote", thinking that we just need the "right" people in office.  History shows anyone who looks carefully that "voting" is not the answer, at least, not presently.  We've had well over 200 years of "voting"...things only have gotten worse.  Whether we care to admit it or not, Oligarchies control politics with propaganda, ballot-access laws, and money.  Neither is violent revolution the answer...for reasons that should be obvious.

An activist once said, "We be many; they be few."... it was a call to peaceful resistance.  The first step is to stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.  Next, people need to identify what they want...what type of governance?  That's a most difficult question.  A republic protects individual rights, but throughout History, republics have been controlled by Oligarchies...the Meritocracy.  The overall results rarely have been good.  A pure, participatory democracy can be little more than mob rule...unless individual rights are protected regardless of what the "majority" wants.  So, it's a conundrum, a genuine dilemma.  There are other choices.  [Obviously, totalitarianism is not even up for consideration.]  One thing should be clear, though:  what we have now in the USA is not for the benefit of We the People.

Not just my opinion.  Be Well

Part 2: Paying Homage to Gonzo

The other day in the grocery store, I watched as the lady just ahead of me paid an incredibly high total for her goods with a credit card.  Shortly thereafter, that brought to mind the largest scam in the history of the USA.

When the Fed Gov't bailed out the speculative banks (and AIG, et.al.) a few years ago, I suspect that the public in general missed the biggest part of that scam.  But before I get into that portion of the story, let's consider the following.  [If this weren't so tragic, it would be comical beyond belief.]

Here's what happened.  The richest one-tenth of one percent of the people in this country, through speculative banking, did this:
1. created bizarre financial instruments such as credit default swaps which were supposed to guarantee or "insure" investments;  [Technically, they weren't "insurance policies", so no money reserves were required to back them up.]
2. created mortgage-backed securities, lied about their quality, and sold them to investors on a grand scale...along with the bogus credit default swaps.

As we all know, the whole scam went bust when subprime mortgages defaulted in large numbers.  But they were just the trigger of the crisis.  The underlying causes were:  the lying about the quality of the mortgage-backed securities; and the phony credit default swaps which were backed by zero reserves.  Then the investment banks told the Fed Gov't that they were "too big to fail", and the Gov't sold that lie to the public.  Next came the $787 billion bailout.  Unfortunately, that was just a small part of the scam.

The main ripoff was the following.  The Gov't made approximately $13 TRILLION in loans available to those banks...at far less than one percent interest.  They were the same banks that were the richest in the country, fraudulently sold shabby products, gambled it all...lost...and then had the Gov't bail them out AND loan them huge amounts of money at almost zero percent interest.

Let's imagine this---  I interview Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and several prominent economists, and they all agree...  "Yes, obviously it was a scam.  If those few banks had failed, the economy would not have collapsed.  Things would have gotten bad, but with adjustments, the market would have corrected itself.  Smaller banks would have filled in the gaps.  We should have let them fail and made the $13 trillion in loans (at less than 1% interest) available to American housholds.  They borrow money every single day with credit cards...at anywhere from 9% to 22% interest.  Imagine what it would do for Main Street and the economy if every household had a $15,000 loan at less than 1% interest, instead of a credit card balance of thousands at, say, 12-15% interest."

Not only was the financial bailout and loan program a scam, but the money was not used as intended.  Originally, the Gov't was going to buy up all the "toxic assets"; instead, the money was simply given to the banks to do with as they pleased.  They made more bets.  There are still approximately one quadrillion dollars worth of credit default swaps out there...guaranteeing nothing.

So, as I sit here sipping Wild Turkey and shooting through my window at a target outside, I wonder:  why does the Gov't loan money to super-rich banks at almost zero percent interest instead of to households?...and, why do we commoners put up with mega banks at all?  There are plenty of smaller, local banks that would love to have our business.  I suggest we boycott the big boys.  Immediately.  Let them eat credit default swaps.

By the way, I heartily recommend the movie, Where the Buffalo Roam... and the documentary film, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.  Gonzo galore.

Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo

Obama and Financial Reform

Obama and the Democrats are telling lies again. They claim that the current financial legislation will reform the practices of the Wall Street Banksters. The Republicans, unfortunately, contribute to that myth by implying with their opposition that the legislation has significant weight.

In the last crisis, government intervention resulted in several mergers which caused the mega investment banks and commercial banks to become even larger. The current proposed "reform" does nothing to correct that. The OTC derivatives market, which grew from $95 trillion to $600 trillion in a short span of time, is now 95% controlled by our country's five largest banks**. The current proposed "reform" does nothing to correct that either. Most importantly, the current proposed legislation does nothing to separate the regular commercial banks from the Wall Street Bankster investment banks, as did the Glass-Steagall Act. In short, the current proposed legislation does nothing significant; it is designed to appear to be financial reform and protection. It's a fraud.

[** A note on derivatives---
The use of various derivatives can result in accounting fraud by the Banksters, thus allowing them to claim assets that essentially are worthless. The failure of the sub-prime loan market recently was only the trigger for the financial crisis; the basic cause was accounting fraud enabled by the use of some types of derivatives. $600 trillion of derivatives are still out there, and according to Senator Ted Kaufman, the five largest banks hold 95% of those.]

The only sane voice I've noticed regarding this issue is that of Senator Ted Kaufman. For a look at real financial reform (and a blistering criticism of the current package), Google him plus the words "financial reform". This guy seems to understand clearly that Obama, Reid, et.al. are just playing at reform; basically, they are protecting the mega banks.

I smell another Obama backroom deal in the making.