Alan Grayson And Ron Paul Ask Whether Bernanke Is "Fit To Serve"
Even as Grayson fights for transparency (see full letter below) which would only be beneficial to U.S. taxpayers, of whom Maria Bartiromo is a member of, the latter asks Grayson the following highly logical question:
You think you and your colleagues in the Democratic party are going to slow down the spending? Perhaps that could help the deficit?
Probing questions from the world's foremost business news leader.
So anyway, sticking to the subject, here is the warranted list of information that Grayson and Paul have demanded to be produced by the Fed in order to evaluate whether or not the Chairman with a dollar deathwish deserves a second term:
- Information that Bloomberg reporter Mark Pittman has requested via a Freedom of Information Act Request on the Bear Stearns rescue and that the Federal Reserve is contesting in the courts,[i] and which Manhattan Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska has ordered by turned over by the Federal Resrve.
- Information that Rep. Grayson requested in February at a hearing and by follow-up letter on which institutions received the $1.2 trillion added to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, how much reach institution received, and what was promised in return.
- All Federal Reserve documents that went to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office relating to the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch merger in which potentially illegal and coercive activity might have occurred, as well all Federal Reserve documents relating to the lawsuit pursued by Merrill Lynch shareholders in the US District court for the Southern District of New York.
- Transcripts of all Open Market Meeting Minutes up to and including that of June, 2009, transcripts which are normally withheld from the public for five years.
- Full disclosure of all terms and conditions of all off-balance sheet Fed transactions in the past three years.
We would have also added the phone number for the undertaker that Bernanke has picked to provide (at the taxpayers' expense) the coffin for the U.S. Dollar.
We are confident that Bernanke, who has nothing to hide, will promptly comply with this disclosure request, which, considering the vast support for HR 1207, is in effect voiced by the entire American nation.
Full Grayson and Paul letter below.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Senate Letter on Bernanke Nomination.pdf | 147.05 KB |
(2 votes)
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:46
#92053
Fit to serve time, perhaps.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:16
#92170
I like the way you think... the only "serving" he has been up to so far is "Self-serving".
"Would you like some fries with that order?"... now that's the kind of serving he's ready for...
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:15
#92461
""Would you like some fries with that order?"... now that's the kind of serving he's ready for..."
That'll come to a few trillion dollars. And you're not allowed to look at your fries after paying for them. It'll cause the entire restaurant to collapse
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 06:55
#92629
There is a word "reach" in the place of "each" in the document. Is the document a fake one? Tyler, can you reply back vouching for the authenticity of the document.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:53
#92058
Excellent and important letter, I am adding comments and faxing to my senator, who is one of the listed official recipients. I urge all U.S. subjects to do the same, whether or not your own senator is listed.
Edit: Bartoromo is smug and smarmy, and she has absolutely nothing to be smug and smarmy about. Not intelligent, not witty, not clever, not useful, not relevant, not even pretty. "Lipstick on a pig" comes immediately to mind.
Edit2: Apologies to Pigpen, present company excepted.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:27
#92129
Bartiromo is like the most vapid, annoying, bought and paid for Corporate-Media owned SHILL we have ever seen..She literally used to let Angelo Mozilo fly her around on his corporate jet in exchange for softballing him "questions"...
She needs to watch a few Alan Grayson videos, so she can learn how to actually get an ANSWER for once!! Stop the Ring around the ROSEY, Maria!
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SICK OF BEING LIED TO!!
WE WANT ANSWERS TO DIRECT QUESTIONS, AND WE WANT THEM NOWWWWWWWWWWWW
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:15
#92278
Geez, you guys don't get it, do you?
The public WANTS and NEEDS their lies, their myths, their warm fuzzy nipples of mis-direction, nonsense, out-right falsehoods, and pandering that the Maria's of the world supply. In fact, they now DEMAND such slop---wrinkled and curdled as it may be---because at least the recognized it as having once been milk, and that's good enough for them.
It's easy to scare little children into confusion and submission. The school and herd easily and neatly.
The real catastrophe will only occur once the bleating masses are forced or required to face up to the reality that faces them.......since they will then turn angry, and vicious, and will show no mercy while they ruthlessly slaughter those messengers of truth who have so stupidly snatched their dirty, sodden, germy security blankets away from them.
P.S. the above is sanitized, polite, happiest ending I could come up with. Others who try a bit will surely be more successfully.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 21:39
#92423
The sheeple won't get it till the air gun drives a four inch spike into their collective heads.
Props to Paul and Grayson for demanding answers to important questions.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 23:06
#92493
mmmmm warm fuzzy nipples
wait what?
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 01:58
#92569
Exactly.
Sad but true. The more you try to help the average person, the more elitist it makes you want to be, because it is just a hopeless, thankless task most of the time.
I still have hope for some of humanity, but the truth is quite sad.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 06:58
#92631
I would love to spend some time alone with Maria.
'O' Maria, 'O' Maria, O maria , o o o...sing along with me.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 18:51
#93626
Following is my letter to my Senator on the Senate Banking Committee:
Dear Senator Merkley:
I hope you have had time to read and consider the letter from Congressional Rep. Alan Grayson and Rep. Ron Paul regarding the re-confirmation of Mr. Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In this letter to the members of the Senate Banking Committee, Reps Grayson and Paul clearly delineate critical negligence of the Federal Reserve to serve the People and Taxpayers of the nation. Further, they identify key professional failures of the Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve to correctly identify and analyze the emerging and developing financial crisis.
As critical prerequisites to considering confirming Mr. Bernanke to a second term, they most strongly suggest a set of documents and disclosures by the Federal Reserve are required for the Senate and the Public to review.
I most ardently support them in these suggestions and in the contents of their letter to the Senate Banking Committee, of which you are a member.
I would consider it a catastrophic failure of the Committee and its Members: 1) To not require these disclosures, and 2) To act to reconfirm Mr. Bernanke without these full disclosures and an analysis of his competency to lead the Federal Reserve in light of the events that have transpired under his tenure as Federal Reserve Chairman, and more completely during his service on the Federal Reserve Board.
Respectfully,
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:50
#92061
Two men of integrity looking out for savers, old people, citizens, non speculators and people who care about the value of a US dollar.
Too bad they are irrelevant and feckless in the eyes of the real financial oligarchs.
Skeptically optimistic,
Pigpen
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:46
#92122
seems to me like they are becoming more relevant, which is a positive sign. If their popularity rises because of this, look for more politicians to start weighing popular support over the goldman campaign contributions. Theyll get a lot of johnny come lately fed-transparency reps and senators if we just show them that this is the way to get the vote instead of being corrupt.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:19
#92202
I felt the same way going into the 1976 election cycle.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:54
#92242
I wasnt alive back then but now I be sure to remind you to screen the candidates for fascist associations like the CFR or the Trilateral commission.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 08:21
#92683
we didn't have zero hedge in 76.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:52
#92063
I really admire Grayson and Paul.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:57
#92077
Grayson seems to be a schizophrenic: he has been good on tightening the screws on the Fed, but he is rectally impacted on the disaster that is laughingly called "health care reform." Maybe it's just about him getting 15 minutes outside of the Congressional barrel.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:57
#92177
Cut him some slack on HC... we've got bigger fish to fry right now.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:46
#92370
I hear your opinion. My opinion is: we don't have Communism in the USA; we just have Insurance Companies.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 07:15
#92641
PD I flagged your stuff as junk. What you wrote is actually junk. You are going on a tangent,missing the point. What we are discussing here is "how the world has been hijacked by LUNATICS of T B T F bankers and the central banks in many other countries. Some treasury secretory organisms included.No body is tightening any screw for "fun". It is about saving lives.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:55
#92173
Grayson is coherent. Name 5 members of the house who are these days.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:13
#92196
Remember that Grayson has essentially bit the (corporate political donation) hand that feeds him with these videos and his questioning. I seriously doubt the bank lobby is handing him campaign checks.
So he needs to beg the people for money. He does this by attracting attention from the grandstanding on the videos.
It doesn't detract too much from what he's trying to do, which is to survive politically (meaning get re-elected) while actually doing his job. What a concept. Do his job.
Pretty tough to do in today's environment and the ultimate political balancing act. I gave him some money from purely an entertainment point of view. That smug self satisfied puss of his repeatedly saying "You know what I mean" to that idiot Fed lawyer on that last video was priceless.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:06
#92264
Grayson doesn't have to beg anyone for money as he's worth 30M+ -- from the Bronx and has big balls. Maybe he thinks he's Jimmy Stewart.
not your average officeholder:
official bio
Alan and his wife, Lolita, have five children - Skye (12), Star (8), Sage (6) and two-year-old twins, Storm and Stone.
Alan grew up in "the projects" in the Bronx. He heard the squeal of the wheels of the elevated trains, every five minutes, all day and all night. At the age of 12, he took the subway to school, by himself. At the age of 11, a bully threw him under a moving bus. He lived.
Six years later, he took the standard test for 12th graders in New York. Almost 50,000 students in the Bronx took that the same test. Alan received the highest score.
Alan was accepted to Harvard College. He cleaned toilets there, and worked as a night watchman. He graduated in three years, with high honors.
Then he went to graduate school at Harvard. In only four years, he received a law degree (with honors), he earned a master's degree in Government, and he finished the course work and passed the general examinations for a Ph.D.
After graduate school, Alan worked as a judge's assistant at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. He worked with Judges Ginsburg, Bork, Scalia, and Starr. He then joined Judge Ginsburg's husband's law firm, where he represented government contractors.
In 1990, Alan left the practice of law, and started a new business - IDT Corp. Alan was the first President of IDT. Today, IDT is a Fortune 1000 public company, with $2 billion a year in sales. Alan took his profit from IDT, and invested it in many other small companies. Today he owns between one and ten percent of a dozen different public companies.
Twenty years ago, Alan helped to found the Alliance for Aging Research, to help promote health and a good life for older people. The motto of the Alliance is "Living to 100 - and Loving It!" Alan has served as an officer of the Alliance for two decades. He also supported the work of Arnold Palmer Hospital for many years.
In the '90s, Alan returned to the practice of law. For many years, he represented honest government contractors. Over the years since the beginning of the Bush Administration, however, he has seen the bad drive out the good. Fraud and corruption among government contractors grows and grows. The Bush Administration did nothing to recover the stolen money, protect the taxpayers, punish the thieves, or even safeguard the U.S. troops using and wearing defective equipment and supplies. And so Alan found his calling - like an Avenging Angel for the taxpayers and soldiers, he has sued the war profiteers in the name of whistleblowers, and forced them to disgorge their ill-gotten gains.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:37
#92301
Of course he could spend his own money. But why should he or would he? I'm not defending him. I don't even like the smug bastard. He is entertaining when he makes someone squirm.
But if you had a choice between using your own money or someone else, why would you use your own money? If you look at where he was getting his donations, it was corporate donations, which is where nearly even Congressman gets their donations. Small dollar donations are not usually a very big part of any Congressional campaign.
So, if he doesn't wish to use his own money, he needs to "beg" the public for his money. And based upon the e-mails and letters his office sends out, this is exactly what he's doing.
I will strike using the word "must" or he "needs" to beg. Clearly he chooses to do so. I was simply saying he isn't getting his donations from the banking lobby so they are coming from somewhere else. That somewhere else is people so he changes the tactics he uses to get them.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:23
#92342
Solid Bio... thanks.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 07:20
#92643
Strikingly impressive BIO. Very happy to know that 'tomorrow's hero' has a solid track record. He speaks out, others are shit-scared to say a word.
Thanks
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 07:39
#92655
he has FU money...as does Issa. more power to them, but the cabin boy typically doesnt rock the boat
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:27
#92210
I admire them both because they have the kahunas to fight the establishment. Grayson thinks that the government can actually help people and Paul knows that, while that sounds good, it is completely fucking impossible.
But what all congressmen should have in common is an extreme dislike of allowing their taxpayers, of whom they are supposed to represent, get rammed in the you know what by a few banksters.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:22
#92341
grayson is close to being suicided.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 23:00
#92489
I've been meaning to ask you: where do I get a blow-up of your avatar? She looks like my kind of one-handed girl...
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 23:12
#92496
I need to add that I do not agree with all Grayson does, but at least he is American enough to ask for accountability.
What is up with Maria? That little George W smirk she has. It almost looks like she is hiding the fact that she blew Bernanke right before she went on the air.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 00:04
#92527
Prove it! Send money to their campaigns, I did. Don't forget about Schiff too, so we don't have to look at that vulture Dodd on TV anymore. Send him to live in Angelo's guesthouse.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:52
#92065
Grayson has recently signed on to be a Democrat shill. Look for Bernanke to be under the bus soon, to be replaced by Larry Summers.
That is the way ward politics works. You reward your friends, and dump on your enemies.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:31
#92351
This and everything the Cognitive Dissonance has written on this thread. I don't want Summers, either, but the shake-up is almost worth it. Who knows, public opinion may galvanize at just the right moment to get another, slightly less evil central banker.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:53
#92384
Obama is recommending Bernanke but Grayson is dogging Bernanke. How is that being a shill?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:55
#92070
Is it me or does Grayson look a bit like Shrek?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:30
#92215
It has already been determined about a week ago that he looks like the tasmanian devil. Forgot who came up with this, but I think it is spot on.
http://images.friendster.com/images/widgetDirectory/widgetThumbs/3a60b37...
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:33
#92296
He's more Jeff Garlin from "Curb Your Enthusiasm".
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:57
#92076
Atta Boy!! Payback for the FED stonewalling freedom of information disclosure. They recently appealed the case that Bloomberg won for full disclosure so this is Ron Paul's way of stirring the pot. Whether this succeeds or not, it's more important to the bigger picture. That is, that more and more people need to be made aware that decisions made by a PRIVATE entity are affecting the nation as a whole. Why should a PRIVATE entity like the FED have the ability to control a nation's monitary policy and hold it hostage and NOT be subjected to full disclosure. Therefore, win or lose, the jig is almost up and the walls will come tumbling down on the Federal Reserve's secrecy. Sometimes it takes a crisis to get people's attention. Decades of secrecy is coming to an end.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 16:59
#92083
I cheer Grayson's efforts here but I did take note of his recent hyperbole regarding the healthcare debate. I'm willing to not kick him in the nuts over that one if he gets the job done on ending the fed. Hell if he can get this done, he can kick ME in the nuts, for free!
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:11
#92269
reminds me of the old joke....
A farmer sees this city slicker hunting on his property and lo and behold, the city slicker shoots down a duck. Farmer walks over and tells the city slicker that it's his property and he cannot have the duck. Slicker boy pleads with the farmer and in response offers a challenge: "We both will kick each other in the nuts as hard as we can and the man who remains standing wins". Slicker says OK and farmer says, "It's my property, I get the first kick". Slicker agrees that this is a reasonable approach and the farmer lays into his stones with his steel toed boots; slicker screams in agony, holding his balls, maintaining his stance.
Slicker says "Okay farmer boy, now it is MY turn!"
Farmer thinks for a second and then says "Screw it. Keep the fucking duck"
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:00
#92087
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/still-chasing-shadows/
Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman cannot understand why banks aren't lending, so I'll help him out.
1) The American consumer is tapped out, and cannot and/or will not borrow.
2) The American Banking industry is aware of #1, and thus refuses to lend despite the current fat spreads.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:13
#92458
Right. Don't forget that banks can still make a good spread buying newly issued Treasury notes by either (a) getting interest free loans from the Fed; and/or (b) exchaging worthless agency notes for something not nearly as worthless.
If I were a TBTF bank, why would I need to add loans to my balance sheet when I can buy Treasuries and assess hefty fees on the huddled masses?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:00
#92089
Looks like he has special test for ties.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 21:48
#92435
it makes you wonder who picks out his shirt/tie combo. that has to be one of the ugliest ties i've ever seen.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:07
#92098
I'll give Grayson a Constitutional Amendment to provide universal health care if he gives me Pelosi and Reed's heads on a platter.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:56
#92176
I would love to see some republican heads on the platter too. Interests on both sides of the aisle are trying to block any meaningful change in healthcare; too rich a debasement target in a wide open system for the sharks to lay off.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:40
#92228
I'll give into universal health care if we quit sending 18 year olds to die to control other people's natural resources and stop thinking it is ok to drop bombs on people just because you cross a border.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 09:18
#92754
Agreed, America's foreign policy and priorities have become a joke. Policies are meant to service a highly particularized part of the American Domestic Paradigm and not provide stability where we need it. Any wonder why the U.S. military's 2 satellite states prior to Iraq (Columbia, Afghanistan) are the number one exporters of Cocaine and Heroin respectively.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:08
#92099
I imagine Bernanke's reply to these two will be "wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up first".
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:11
#92103
I just wrote Corker, my congress criter, in the hopes that he will do that right thing. Thanks ZH for letting us know.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:11
#92192
That fucker won't listen to a thing any of his constituents say or write to him.
Asshole didn't even send me a "thanks for writing" when I told him if he voted for the bailout his ass was grass if I could help it.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:26
#92208
That makes three of us "Volunteers". I agree that contacting Corker is a big waste of time. Too bad Marsha isn't receptive to all of this. She could get a ton of mileage from it if she ever decided to work the dynamic.
BTW, that blues session last Friday was classic dontcha think Lothar?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:36
#92223
Yes, props to the DJ! We should have a TN/ZH support group where we meet up at a malll or something and hand out various and sundry ZH posts/manifesto to our fellow citizens. Who will promptly look at us strangely, discard said materials into the closest receptacle, and continue charging worthless crap on their CCs.
Wait, maybe we could do it at a Bass Pro Shop. The hunters might like it. :)
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:39
#92227
Might get a better response on Beale Street or Mud Island during Memphis in May. At least the music is kickin'.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:44
#92232
Memphis is the next Detroit: http://www.detnews.com/article/20091007/METRO01/910070396/Chaos-at-Cobo-...
Sorry, I don't even want to get near Germantown - still too close.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:55
#92237
haha. Memphis is much more like Atlanta or, of all places, Oakland without the benefits. An epic transportation hub. Sucks to get turned around. Still, this town is seriously on the down low and a far cry from Detroit or Cleveland for that matter.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:41
#92365
Miles is correct. Memphis does not really know there is a recession on so much, yet. The houses in some areas have dropped 20% and others have increased in value.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:44
#92368
Please. G-town gets excited if a kid drives over a mail box. They have a very underutilized police force.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:49
#92376
You are not kidding. Just like Marsha's Brentwood/Franklin force. :)
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 05:15
#92590
Still manage to hold the elusive municipal AAA. It is like discussing particular schools and departments. Only works if your swimming in that particular pool. Me, I am a transient rolling stone. A needed skill when my characters get portrayed in various settings.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:31
#92218
I called and sent emails to all of them on the bailout. What of Lamar?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:37
#92224
Lamar is Lamar. He is going to vote the way McConnell tells him to.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:38
#92225
He's marginally better than Corker, I guess. Heard him on the airwaves today saying all the right things, at least the right talking points.
You up for the TN/ZH Total Awareness Campaign? :)
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:48
#92373
Maybe. Are you really a friendly Rottweiler? Is Miles really a rock star spy? I really am a miscreant chick who has a gun. But I don't smoke like my avatar does.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:53
#92381
I am a wonderfully well behaved Rottweiler who loves all who pat me on the head and rub my belly and behind my ears.
Piss me off enough, though, and those old animal spirits come out... ;)
I won't bite you, but I just may bite some of these thug crims we call our representatives.
There's a bit of a war on media/political wise in TN, specially here, and it's unfortunately my luck to know exactly where some of the bodies are buried.
They'll never be exhumed, however, given the current state of affairs.
Can't say any more than that here...
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 05:07
#92587
As was discussed in the movie, (if you ever see it) Lothar may bite the folks he doesn't like where I tend to bite the folks I like. After all, it was my best friends little brothers who became famous rockers, I am just an author who got to play some fun games once I woke up.
Some things are best left as they are for the moment. Even in Nashville.
Don't short change or attempt to minimize yourself MsCreant. Just when you think all is simplicity, things change. Especially when you make the decision to publish publicly and draw a following.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:55
#92246
If you get a response could you post it? Or just tell us you got an automated email? Can't imagine a personal response from a Senator.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:05
#92260
They are not what they are cracked up to be. I have briefed several and my first response was from "Scoop" Jackson back in '76 when I lived in Washington State while I was fighting for community swimming pools of all things that had a bond issue with a federal & state grant. That was a satisfying campaign. Had the pleasure of putting Jim McDermott on the hot seat when he was a state senator.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:34
#92355
I will let you know. I have gotten both auto-emails and snail mail from Corker. I almost never agree with his positions. Lamar and I will match up once in a blue moon.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:14
#92107
talk about a damning letter - questions about whether bernanke is "fit to serve" is very powerful bureaucratic language warning that someone is about ready to be thrown under the bus....
i agree with whoever said that summers is next in line....so we would be jumping from the frying pan straight on to the griddle with asshole summers....
obama's reappointment may have been a face saving measure to ease satan's little helper out because he knew congress would do the dirty work....(although in thinking about it i think i have moved into a flight of fantasy - i am not sure that obama needs the spectacle of one of his appointees being shitcanned...)
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:15
#92109
the last time maria probed anything i think todd thomson and a private jet were involved.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:19
#92113
:-)
Thats a nasty mental image.....
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:33
#92141
I'm trying to see this, where did she put the jet...uh...is she a pilot...is Todd that big of an a
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:55
#92174
Lizzy, please report to Marla to pick up your quote of the day award.
Cheers,
Pigpen
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:49
#92235
what a moody bitch--I think it's about time for someone to go fetus fishing with a coat hanger
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:59
#92251
there is slightly crude and humorous and there is merely crude (and offensive).
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 00:53
#92548
Thanks lizzy36.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:18
#92114
The establishment press, frightened by plumetting ad revenues, have become shills for those in power. We've come a long way down since the Pentagon Papers case. This Bloomberg case will go to the Supreme Court. Let's hope Bloomberg wins. The only way to save the dollar is to expose and break up the weak banks and get capital into the system after the bad assets have been purged. If B loses the case, it will allow 20 years of Japan-like obfuscation, skullduggery and economic sclerosis.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:18
#92115
Tyler, in all seriousness, how about another petition?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:36
#92145
Forget the petitions. Break out the weapons.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:47
#92233
Someone has to give Bernanke a stink palm
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:36
#92144
God, that shill voice of hers really needs to stop. Someone can figure out a better use of her mouth I'm sure.
How about the fact we're going into a deficit because we spent all of our money saving the banks?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:44
#92152
Grayson and Paul are politicians of the highest order and are really putting it to those Senators that dont support their bill calling for a Fed audit. Now those Senators are damned if thay do, and damned if they don't. If they confirm helicopter Ben without all the info and the economy collapses, they are willfully negligent and damned. If those Senators force the disclosure of the records and those records become public and the dollar collapses, they are also damned.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:40
#92474
Interesting obeservations, Chris...
While the letter overtly challenges the Bernanke confirmation, i think the real pressure Grayson/Paul are targeting are the committee members overseeing the confirmation process in the Senate. If the committee wanted to make this a "clean, quiet & quick" confirmation-- well, the members will now be held accountable to endure that happens.
As now presented, there appears to be plenty of issues on the table that need to be answered. The most important of those is: "How can we confirm a Chairman who is deadset on concealing the truth behind how 'expanded balance sheet' money is used... and how can we hold the Chairman accountable for it?"
As it stands, Congress has given the Fed a free ride in exchange for the Fed providing emergency fiscal policy... which is what quantitative easing really amounts to. The problem with that is the Fed has been a servant to the wrong consitiuency (member banks) while essentially doing clever things to make the taxpayer eat the liability. Congress needs to put an end to that crap NOW. If it doesn't start with HR 1207 (no thanks to Barney Frank's stalling tactics), it needs to start in confirmation hearings.
The first step, is to force transparency and demand accountability for the Fed's expanded balance sheet activities. If Bernanke cannot comply, he needs to go back to his professorship until we can find enough evidence for malfeasance. And if the confirmation committee cannot ask the right questions and demand information the Fed is actively concealing... they need to be held accountable as well.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:48
#92160
1. Mr. Grayson gave an excellent, professional response to the delay bernanke confirmation question posed by Ms. Bartiromo. Kudos and thank you to Mr. Grayson for advancing this critical issue which impacts every segment of the American economy as well as every single U.S. citizen that is in possession of at least one Federal Reserve Note, aka the American Dollar.
To Ms. Bartiromo: I confess that I have not watched your station since April of 2009. Previous to that, I would tune in on occasion (going back to the 90s) and I always found you to be a better journalist than your peers for one simple reason: it seems to me that you consistently ask the "sweat" and "tough" questions and I have always respected you on that count. However, if and when you review the clip, you will likely find as I did that you did come off rather smarky and as a smartalec; however, that is not the real point here.
You have lived and reported on the dot com bust and you have seen the devastation that it has wreaked on the little guys wallet and 401k. You have lived and reported on the Bear Stearns implosion, the Lehman implosion, the Merrill Lynch implosion. For the life of me in regards to the current situation with our domestic banks (they are close to insolvent and I don't need to recite the shenanigans going on now for you because you well understand the game due to your experience) and what the Fed is doing in terms of not releasing important information, I cannot understand why you, as one of the most experienced and well known financial journalists of the modern era, are not screaming at the top of your lungs everyday demanding that the facts and truth of the matter be laid out to the American people.
Now, if you really are a journalist, please go out and get the information released from the Fed. Get in front of the bank analysts and ask them why they are advising the American public to invest their money in bank common equity. Find out and dig as a journalist to see if the plethora of wrongful doing allegations against Goldman Sachs are true or not.
If you are unwilling and unable to do this, that's cool and your prerogative.
Can you or someone in this universe at least tell me who the MSM journalist might be that has some clue as to what people like Woodward and Bernstein (he is still doing it) have done in the past as journalists and are willing to dig in and bring the truth to light?
As far as I am concerned, the books that will detail the failures of the Fed and the US Treasury Department in the next couple of years will read similar to "House of Cards" and others in its genre, except some small details will change, except for the ending which could be worse. I hope the most renowned individual in the "definitive" book will be a journalist who said "enough is enough, let's get the truth out and let the American people decide." Who is that person going to be?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:02
#92183
Deadhead, I believe Dylan Ratigan has taken up the gauntlet in terms of being the MSM anchor who will call out the hypocrisy, demand the truth, call out politicians, call out the FED and demand honesty, transparency and accountability from our ELECTED officials. Somehow they forgot they work for us.
Cheers,
Pigpen
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:18
#92280
good point pig....frankly, from where I sit, the best job of the MSM (albeit "new" MSM) in trying to dig up the truth on the fed, cheat street, treasury dept, etc has been Arianna Huffington.
to zh....you are clearly the best at this matter, though not part of the "mainstream"...
YET!
ps. i still have zh as my odds on favorite to win a pulitzer out of the financial media.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:33
#92220
DH - That's why she worked the Davos '08 show.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:18
#92283
not quite sure what you mean on this one Miles....
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 05:19
#92591
If you can, review some of her interviews from that event.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 17:49
#92163
The quicker comcast takes the rains the better.
Maria will be moved and "key demo" Ms Drury will be in quicker than you can say ,its 4pm do you know where.......
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:22
#92205
Grayson should be asking himself if he is fit to serve. The guy is a J-O-K-E.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 21:00
#92394
It's a Free country still..(I think) You can have your opinions, but Alan Grayson is one of the only people we have asking the tough questions and not accepting the circular psychobabble as an answer!!
If Crazy is what it takes to get the fucking job done, and get these corrupt bastards to ANSWER the question, then Bring on the Crazy!!
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:25
#92206
They are all jokes and hacks and criminals...Just look how they hovered to protect Rangle...I give up..I'm moving to another country, somewhere warm and tropical with no news...
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:35
#92222
I am sure that O'Neil, Thain, Lewis, Paulson and many others have the same idea. As do I.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:54
#92241
La Paz in Baja sounds just right...actually it sounds Perrrrrrfect. Enough of the corruption and high taxes...see ya!
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:12
#92268
Nice choice. Me, I have to stay reasonably close to medical care being a 100% er. I'll be moving soon since my youngest graduates this school year.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:20
#92287
sqworl...have been to several caribbean isles, including grand cayman twice.
grand cayman is where i hope to end up. cannot be beat (unless you want exciting nite life stuff)
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:44
#92369
Nah...to pricey and more corrupt...La Paz is a quiet fishing village in Baja...2000sqft condo ocean front for $175,000...Fantastic weather and great fishing...Im set..
1 pair of jeans
1 black dress
5 t-shirts
1 pair of sneakers
1 pair of flip flops
1 pair of manolos
Done.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:59
#92391
You must swim nude.
Shorts would be good. Cut offs.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 23:16
#92499
Big fan of Cayman, reminds of college, but have to agree, too pricey and not exactly getting away from the BS there. I am thinking about New Zealand (been there, kicks ass across the board), Uruguay, or maybe somewhere in central america or west coast of Mexico as sqworl mentioned.
Either way, not interested in re-arranging deck chairs on the titanic anymore.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 01:00
#92552
DH
Check out the band Thrill Bill from C.I.; topnotch.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 16:24
#93478
The Caymans are fine until the cat 5 hurricane goes right over the top and the whole island is submerged in the pre-storm surge.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:28
#92212
And while you're at it Sen Dodd, are you and the rest of the Senate Banking Committee fit to serve?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:55
#92243
Do you think Maxine Waters is fit to serve??? 98% of them are worthless parasites.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:15
#92274
98%? I am Ivory pure sure that they are worthless parasites.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:21
#92288
maxine and her husband have some banking experience.........
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:51
#92380
LOL...and how...now imagine Paulson looking around the room and thinking what a bunch of fucking idiots, this will be a piece of cake..three page memo for $700B no strings attached...and Voila...
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 18:53
#92239
Too bad Bartiromo didn't ask Republicans that very same question a few years ago or anytime over the course of her career while Republicans were piling deficit upon deficit.
Bartiromo is a poor excuse for a journalist.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:00
#92253
When Revolution comes, and the million man mob descends upon DC, Grayson will wind up in a million little itty bitty pieces strewn all over the Mall, along with everyone else in the Congress, and good riddance.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 19:03
#92258
Anyone seen the video of him questioning bernanke by the way?
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 20:13
#92330
Absolutely nothing will come of this, except perhaps Grayson will not be re-elected. Bernanke will continue to do whatever he wants, or rather what he and GS decide is in the best interest of Bernanke's legacy and GS wallet. If you are all good boys and girls they will occasionally let a scrap fall off the table to keep you happy. We, the American People, are wimps and pussies and will just continue to keep saying "how far should I bend over" and "was it good for you, too, Ben?". We will do absolutely nothing but write and beef and pretend we have balls. We don't. We are a disgrace. We're happy with their leftovers. They win. We lose. We deserve what we have allowed.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 01:03
#92554
If I could smack the shit out of you, I would. And I would mean it in a good way and do it lovingly. You need it.
You have hope or you wouldn't be playing here on this playground.
Peace #92330
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 21:44
#92428
Ahh huh. I was telling someone the other day that it was weird that Bernanke took the job again since he knows by next year everyone will finally realize that we are in a depression. And, of course he said that he would never let that happen. Well I guess his friends in congress are giving him a way out. Nice.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:07
#92452
Uncle Ben is a crook and needs to be in jail. No he has not done a good job, unless you think the captain of Exxon Valdez was on top of things.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:14
#92460
ready fire aim
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:36
#92472
To GRAYSON, PAUL, Goldbugs, and various whackjobs:
YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH.
Go forth with your grand visions of utopia of a transparent Federal Reserve, but if you insist upon these ridiculous assumptions; black helicopters, empty gold vaults, "shenanigans", ending the Fed, you may regret it.
ACCIDENTS HAPPEN
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:09
#92812
Ron Paul is a paranoid old man. I hate the current corruption as much as anyone. too much power. Paulson and Geithner are total insider screw jobs. But Ron Paul is a nut. Sorry. And Grayson is just an opportunist looking to rake in campaign dollars anyway he can.
on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 22:42
#92476
Bigot defined
a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 00:02
#92525
This is about the Fed spending $1.2 Trillion without Congressional approval and then refusing to disclose details. That's the equivalent of 1/4 the annual U.S. budget. Since Congress is traditionally, make that constitutionally, in charge of spending, maybe they a little pissed.
I have a feeling that Grayson and Paul have been tipped off about some of the secret bailout money.
Grayson during t.v. interview: "We've had indications of secret bailouts and we need to pin this down."
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 01:00
#92551
This post was the most useful for me on this thread. This puts down no one. I just wanted careless whisper to know I thought this summed things up really well and got to the core issues fast.
Careless, I hope you are right and this is more than a dog and pony show to distract the rubes.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 01:06
#92556
Don't forget the $14 trln in backstopping by the Fed; equal to US annual GDP.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 09:38
#92776
Thanks MsCreant. Grayson and Paul seem like the real deal. Peeps may not agree with them but I don't think they give a fcuk.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 06:19
#92612
Ron Paul for President!!!
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 06:34
#92618
When is Ben to be corfirmed?? When are Senate hearings??
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 07:31
#92649
It will be a recess appointment. haha
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 08:59
#92724
Ron Paul WILL lose me by associating with Grayson.
I liked Grayson taking on the fed but, even though I am independent, Grayson lost me with his "Republicans want you to die" floor statement and poster. That's just beyond the line of common sense.
Grayson is nothing but an outlandish say-anything to make a buck politician. He is exactly what this country needs to get rid of.
I despise Goldman and Fed and Bernanke and despise the behavior of Paulson and Geithner and all of the Treasury Wall Street shenanigans. I don't like Washington politicians and used car salesmen just as much.
So I am honestly torn now.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 09:38
#92775
Andrew Jackson was an arrogant, racist, loud, foul mouthed, son of a bitch. He is the reason the trail of tears happened and believed himself above the law. However, on Jackson's deathbed he was asked what the greatest accomplishment of his life was. Central bank franchises are nothing new in American History, which is what made his response so interesting. He answered simply, "I killed the Bank".
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 10:37
#92837
A point of concern:
The design of the Fed is that they should be able to act independently of public sway or political manipulation. My biggest finding of fault with the current Fed is that I believe they have been swayed by public opinion. I've never seen market participants get what they want so many times in a row at Fed Target Rate announcements. I can appreciate the concern and desire for oversight, but I believe it is in the best interest of the economy to have a fed that can act without fear of political/public retribution. (Excluding illegal activity, of course).
Logic on weakening the buck:
First, there are pro's and con's to weakening the buck. Economists can argue the benefits and risks on both sides. The most obvious benefit in this environment can be found in the gigantic load of debt form the U.S. Treasury. Influencing a dollar with relative weakness to other currencies (particularly those of our largest borrowers) means that we are effectively paying back cheaper dollars on loans that are already at ridiculously low rates (see the new USD carry trade for further detail). One can easily argue that a weakening dollar can help keep the Treasury solvent and by extension, help keep the U.S. solvent, and by extension help perserve our overall economy.
That being said, I also want to see what's been going on behind the scenes at the Fed.
on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 11:25
#92928
Fuck that, Fuck the Fed, Fuck independent control. There is nothing wrong with keeping the bulk of monetary policy in the Treasury. No more weird quasi-independent secrecy punctuated with unelected decision makers working in the cloak of secrecy. THE FED SERVES CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE PART OF A GROUP YOU AND I ARE EXCLUDED FROM! You can make whatever arguments about government corruption, but a lack of confidence in the political system is a crappy reason to maintain. How bout we lose the central bank, and have a complete turnover of elected leaders (minus the ones we like). Congressional reelection rates are 90/10 in favor of incumbents right now; let's reverse it.
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