Does Goldman deserve the theatrical roasting it has been subjected to all day? Of course. Will anything come out of it? Not too likely, especially with our president, who made a whirlwind global tour on the Volcker Rule, and now is aggressively backtracking behind the shadow of his teleprompter (or at least until the next Massachussettes emerges, and the next, and the next). Yet in order to keep a fair and balanced perspective on things, it may behoove those watching Carl Levin's sanctimonious monologues to realize that the November 4, 1999 vote on S. 900, better known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, received Senator Levin's full endorsement. If Goldman is the pure, unadulterated evil it is today, it is so only because of idiotic Senators who were corrupt, or stupid enough, or both, to let GLB pass when it did, and usher in the era of unbridled prop trading/hedge funding by banks with full access to the discount window and taxpayer bailouts.
Any attempt at fixing Goldman must begin with reinstating Glass-Steagal - period. Anything and everything else is smoke and mirrors. Yes it will be painful (for the banks), and yes it will cost massive equity losses due to forced spin offs (for bank shareholders), but it will prevent the next scapegoating circus after the fact. How about we preempt these things from happening for once? That said, we applaud the 8 out of 100 senators who had the foresight to not sell their country's future to the banking cabal.
From Govtrack.us (funny, when it should really be dot com)
Vote Details
| Vote
|
State
|
Representative
|
| Alabama |
| Yea |
AL |
Sessions, Jefferson [R] |
| Nay |
AL |
Shelby, Richard [R] |
| Alaska |
| Yea |
AK |
Murkowski, Frank [R] |
| Yea |
AK |
Stevens, Ted [R] |
| Arizona |
| Yea |
AZ |
Kyl, Jon [R] |
| Not Voting |
AZ |
McCain, John [R] |
| Arkansas |
| Yea |
AR |
Hutchinson, Tim [R] |
| Yea |
AR |
Lincoln, Blanche [D] |
| California |
| Nay |
CA |
Boxer, Barbara [D] |
| Yea |
CA |
Feinstein, Dianne [D] |
| Colorado |
| Yea |
CO |
Allard, Wayne [R] |
| Yea |
CO |
Campbell, Ben [R] |
| Connecticut |
| Yea |
CT |
Dodd, Christopher [D] |
| Yea |
CT |
Lieberman, Joseph [D] |
| Delaware |
| Yea |
DE |
Biden, Joseph [D] |
| Yea |
DE |
Roth, William [?] |
| Florida |
| Yea |
FL |
Graham, Bob [D] |
| Yea |
FL |
Mack, Connie [?] |
| Georgia |
| Yea |
GA |
Cleland, J. [D] |
| Yea |
GA |
Coverdell, Paul [?] |
| Hawaii |
| Yea |
HI |
Akaka, Daniel [D] |
| Yea |
HI |
Inouye, Daniel [D] |
| Idaho |
| Yea |
ID |
Craig, Larry [R] |
| Yea |
ID |
Crapo, Michael [R] |
| Illinois |
| Yea |
IL |
Durbin, Richard [D] |
| Present |
IL |
Fitzgerald, Peter [R] |
| Indiana |
| Yea |
IN |
Bayh, Evan [D] |
| Yea |
IN |
Lugar, Richard [R] |
| Iowa |
| Yea |
IA |
Grassley, Charles [R] |
| Nay |
IA |
Harkin, Thomas [D] |
| Kansas |
| Yea |
KS |
Brownback, Samuel [R] |
| Yea |
KS |
Roberts, Pat [R] |
| Kentucky |
| Yea |
KY |
Bunning, Jim [R] |
| Yea |
KY |
McConnell, Mitch [R] |
| Louisiana |
| Yea |
LA |
Breaux, John [D] |
| Yea |
LA |
Landrieu, Mary [D] |
| Maine |
| Yea |
ME |
Collins, Susan [R] |
| Yea |
ME |
Snowe, Olympia [R] |
| Maryland |
| Nay |
MD |
Mikulski, Barbara [D] |
| Yea |
MD |
Sarbanes, Paul [D] |
| Massachusetts |
| Yea |
MA |
Kennedy, Edward [D] |
| Yea |
MA |
Kerry, John [D] |
| Michigan |
| Yea |
MI |
Abraham, Spencer [?] |
| Yea |
MI |
Levin, Carl [D] |
| Minnesota |
| Yea |
MN |
Grams, Rod [?] |
| Nay |
MN |
Wellstone, Paul [D] |
| Mississippi |
| Yea |
MS |
Cochran, Thad [R] |
| Yea |
MS |
Lott, Trent [R] |
| Missouri |
| Yea |
MO |
Ashcroft, John [?] |
| Yea |
MO |
Bond, Christopher [R] |
| Montana |
| Yea |
MT |
Baucus, Max [D] |
| Yea |
MT |
Burns, Conrad [R] |
| Nebraska |
| Yea |
NE |
Hagel, Charles [R] |
| Yea |
NE |
Kerrey, J. [?] |
| Nevada |
| Nay |
NV |
Bryan, Richard [?] |
| Yea |
NV |
Reid, Harry [D] |
| New Hampshire |
| Yea |
NH |
Gregg, Judd [R] |
| Yea |
NH |
Smith, Bob [R] |
| New Jersey |
| Yea |
NJ |
Lautenberg, Frank [?] |
| Yea |
NJ |
Torricelli, Robert [D] |
| New Mexico |
| Yea |
NM |
Bingaman, Jeff [D] |
| Yea |
NM |
Domenici, Pete [R] |
| New York |
| Yea |
NY |
Moynihan, Daniel [?] |
| Yea |
NY |
Schumer, Charles [D] |
| North Carolina |
| Yea |
NC |
Edwards, John [D] |
| Yea |
NC |
Helms, Jesse [R] |
| North Dakota |
| Yea |
ND |
Conrad, Kent [D] |
| Nay |
ND |
Dorgan, Byron [D] |
| Ohio |
| Yea |
OH |
DeWine, Michael [R] |
| Yea |
OH |
Voinovich, George [R] |
| Oklahoma |
| Yea |
OK |
Inhofe, James [R] |
| Yea |
OK |
Nickles, Don [R] |
| Oregon |
| Yea |
OR |
Smith, Gordon [R] |
| Yea |
OR |
Wyden, Ron [D] |
| Pennsylvania |
| Yea |
PA |
Santorum, Richard [R] |
| Yea |
PA |
Specter, Arlen [R] |
| Rhode Island |
| Yea |
RI |
Chafee, Lincoln [R] |
| Yea |
RI |
Reed, John [D] |
| South Carolina |
| Yea |
SC |
Hollings, Ernest [D] |
| Yea |
SC |
Thurmond, J. [R] |
| South Dakota |
| Yea |
SD |
Daschle, Thomas [D] |
| Yea |
SD |
Johnson, Tim [D] |
| Tennessee |
| Yea |
TN |
Frist, William [R] |
| Yea |
TN |
Thompson, Fred [R] |
| Texas |
| Yea |
TX |
Gramm, Phil [R] |
| Yea |
TX |
Hutchison, Kay [R] |
| Utah |
| Yea |
UT |
Bennett, Robert [R] |
| Yea |
UT |
Hatch, Orrin [R] |
| Vermont |
| Yea |
VT |
Jeffords, James [I] |
| Yea |
VT |
Leahy, Patrick [D] |
| Virginia |
| Yea |
VA |
Robb, Charles [?] |
| Yea |
VA |
Warner, John [R] |
| Washington |
| Yea |
WA |
Gorton, T. [?] |
| Yea |
WA |
Murray, Patty [D] |
| West Virginia |
| Yea |
WV |
Byrd, Robert [D] |
| Yea |
WV |
Rockefeller, John [D] |
| Wisconsin |
| Nay |
WI |
Feingold, Russell [D] |
| Yea |
WI |
Kohl, Herbert [D] |
| Wyoming |
| Yea |
WY |
Enzi, Michael [R] |
| Yea |
WY |
Thomas, Craig [R] |
h/t Bobby
It's not going to stop the next implosion, you will be living in this implosion for the rest of your life.
Humans do not have unlimited power. It always blows up, for a reason, basic Math.Let me know when you want to put Glass-Steagal back in so I can go dig a fallout shelter first. I love hearing people's ideas about how they THINK they are going to get out of the black hole. How about positive thinking, let me know how that works out for you when you hit the event horizon.
"There is no out, there is only in"
So you're saying without Glass-Steagall reinstated, you won't need a fallout shelter? Or are you saying you've got a better idea? The lack of constructive criticism is a little confusing.
Oh no, you'll need a bomb shelter either way. Instant pressing of the button though.
Anyone that thinks implementing that has a rude awakening for them.
"There is NO out, there is on in"
Or are you saying you've got a better idea?
There is no idea to get out, anymore then having an idea to get out a black hole. Why would I come up with an idea that has no chance? The system is a ticking time bomb since the beginning, it was always going to collapse, usually 60-80 years, the only question is exactly when.
The only way of stopping the implosion from happening and cause millions if not billions of people to have to be liquidated is to stop using the equation, if you use the equation collapse of the system will always happen... it's pure Math. There is no solution in the way that you seek. The solution is not to use the equation but it's too late to discuss avoiding the implosion unless you have unlimited power.
Huh?
Well, OK. Thank you for sharing. I feel much more informed, now, on 'pure math.'
As the old saying goes, to those who elect to put their heads in the sand please step aside while the rest of us get things done.
You can feel anyway you want nothing I can do about it... I assure you humans do not have unlimited power. I love people that act like smart-asses but can't do simple Math.
You are not going to get anything done, matter of fact you will be doing less and less.
Yeah, I have heard it all before, Math must be wrong, good luck buddy you in for one rude ass awakening. I would suggest you "learn to swim".
The "houses never go down" crowd always think positive ignore the negative. Unfortunately thinking positive doesn't change the Math.
Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland, France, insert country here is next.Eventually California, New York, Illionis, New Jersey, insert your state here is next. Eventually the United States and the whole credit system, no way to feed 7 billion without a global credit system.
Sorry you feel this way. Please take some deep breaths and then when you've calmed down, read this. While you may disagree with how he uses the terms, once you get it, you'll discover that perhaps you don't know everything there is to know about everything. The walls of your reality may come down, but that is a good thing :) We can do it, you can help.
http://www.goalsys.com/books/documents/DESTRUCTION_AND_CREATION.pdf
It has nothing to do with how I "feel". The equation is simple 6th grade Math if that. Humans have no ability to "do it", the only way humans can "do it" that is keep up the lie is to supply and demand "exponential growth" forever, which would require you to be God or God-like. Thinking positive is not going to change 2+2 to not equal 4 which is what you will need to keep the system going.
Don't worry people have been promoting the lies like you for centuries, they all come down in the end... last time the lie came down 100+ million dead, this time it will be billions.
Ignoring the truth only last so long, about 60-80 years or generation, then the balloon payment comes down the pike.
Here is some positive news, if nukes are not use there is a good chance humans don't go extinict yet.
You are really part of the think positive crowd that believes houses could never go down, you just don't know it.
Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair
The "Aviator" Howard Hughes at Senate hearings
great Clip
Levin actually looks like Alan Alda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ECPpIe2veg&feature=related
Carl Carl Carl,
That was a shitty vote.
Damn that was dry...LOL.
Well done.
It does, but not on this strawman issue!
[deleted - meh, possibly innacurate re. Levin?]
It was as if everyone at Goldman had been coached by the lawyers to shut up. The result was that they all became stiff. awkward, and ultimately, unable to defend themselves and their firm in the court of public opinion. It was a disasterous strategy. The only person with any animation was the CFO, who seemed not to have received the memo.
Listening to Blankfien was like going through several layers of disbelief. At the outset he seemed like a complete doofus; not only completely lacking in self-confidence, but also, yes, stupid. He let Levin walk all over him. He could simply have said: “Not so, Senator. Half the time we were long. Net net we lost money on residential mortgages. What's the problem?” Instead he was left saying it was okay to bet against your client's investment: a completely indefensible position.
Then I began to think that this was a setup. Under Coburn's questioning, Blankfien starts talking about quality time he is spending at the White House. He avoids criticism of Fannie and Freddie. He doesn't necessarily have a problem with the Fed taking over banks like his. Now he's sounding like a New York Jewish liberal Democrat, a businessman with a dose of self-hate. So perhaps this is the deal. He knows that the Dems need a scapegoat and that he has been designated. He is taking one for the team, knowing that, in the end, his man Obama will go easy on him. But no, that couldn't be. The damage that Levin is doing to Goldman's business interests is too great a sacrifice for any CEO to invoke upon his company.
In the end, I concluded that Blankfien was just being his weak, insecure, egghead self. This was not the persona that I had expected from a former, very successful, trader. Perhaps some people find his stuttering mannerisms to be endearing. It is a sad image for me in this post-modern government-dominated era: a liberal, socially insecure Wall Street CEO slithering around D.C. from the White House to the Treasury to the FDIC, thinking that the key to success is through government influence. The tragedy is that he is right.
He'd taylor the message to the senator he was talking to and after some length of grilling, he forgot what he said to who. I don't care how talented you are, there is a limit to how much bullshit can be spewed before it collapses on itself.
brilliant
FYI, Connie Mack-FL was a R.
When Bubba signed this, we knew the foundation for the recent insanity was put into place. Too bad few people listened and actually believed the mantra:
"This time it's different, we've evolved."
Richard Shelby always seemed a cool worldly man
Jim Bunning however is decent but dim , perhaps his anger in the forums was a manifestation of disgust at his stupidity
Great job with the traitor list, TD.
Carly needs to pull her ad after seeing the Boxer " NAY ". No doubt Babs got shorted on a check.....but she bumped into the right choice.
Sorry if me be bad for business.
For those who haven't heard, I am doing a fundraiser for ZH with Tyler's approval at www.zazzle.com/Howard_Beale
I worked on the new Vampire Squid mug all day with Lloyd as the eye of the squid and the graphic was the fun part. Any suggestions for other text greatly appreciated. Lloyd is driving me nuts as he continues to ramble.
Please click on this link to see the full graphic on a T-Shirt.
http://www.zazzle.com/vampire_squid_t_shirt-235894204159425665
And over 50 people have come to the store today. As this is all for the benefit of ZH and the items will be continually created, feedback is greatly appreciated! More creative stuff like today's squid is in the making. You want it, you got it!
Have I got an idea for you! I sent it off for your consideration. Lemmie know whatcha think.
Miles, I already suggested the "Girls of ZH" calendar, but I don't think there are enough to cover all 12 months. :-)
Oh, ya there are. It is just that most ZH women are far more discreet than Fab Fab. No, I was thinking of that idea we kicked around late last year when Howard was ill .. Please be discreet for now until Howard gets a chance to look at it. I bet she would be awesome for it if she has the time. peace
I am so going to get in trouble for even suggesting this! :-)
See velobabe about that trouble thing..
LMAO!
can i be september? i can get skankier. my nickname is, leggs.
You and the pup need to meet. ZHeharmony style. He is a shy, housebroken pup looking for someone that likes his cooking. Now it is your turn to chat Lothar.
With a little additional input from Robotrader we may have something really great on the Calendar but no copyrighted Victorias Secret.
Need Marla in there for sure. She's a public figure so I doubt she has any say on her published web photos. Half of them are stills from movies anyway! Easy work.
Velo--strip down baby and send me the shot. Go to www.zazzle.com/Howard_Beale and send one in an email. Someone get MsCreant involved. I know of another woman disguised as a man here and will fetch her somehow.
Ok guys, this is going to take some work. I need your help with the girls so keep your eyes open wide for the Girls of ZH and a calendar for 2011 will be made! I'm guessing this will be about a 2-3 month project since there is no hurry. But it will get done. And it is for a good cause. I gave my password to Tyler so he knows exactly how much comes in.
By the way--so far--lots of hits but not many sales. But the creative stuff is just getting started and it will be good. Anyone that wants to submit graphics can send them through the Zazzle site to me.
Any feedback on my Vampire Squid with the inhaling of the government and taxpayers? Did ya like it? I worked fucking hard on that!
Hell ya, I liked it hence the reason I wanna run that idea past you. ;-] There are some fabulous women here. Are you gonna do a cake calendar for the 'em in return? Since the women here are more the GI Joe type than the Ken type... at least during the weekends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QKK5IDSXE
Well why not! Zazzle produces on demand. So hunks galore--lets get that done. I think Brad Pitt has to be January though...only fitting for the Tyler association. Check your hotmail account.
As regards all these issues surrounding regulating the finance system - laws and regulations are worthless if the institutions implementing them are corrupt. Look, if the U.S. will not prosecute Bush's crimes against humanity because Obama wants to "look forward" and similarly, criminal conduct in finance is treated with civil torts rather than criminal indictments, the precise language of the laws and regulations pales to insignificance. What is needed is an institutional bias toward implementing the law. The lack of such bias lies with the leader of the U.S. administration, one Barak Obama. Until he is changes, nothing will change. Don't hold your breath.
And maybe Arizona would not have passed Senate 1070 if the federal government would enforce the 1986 Immigration "overhaul?" For example?
Good point.
Thanks for this, TD, and for your perfect description of Levin: Sanctimonious monologues. didn't think it was possible to make Goldman look sympathetic, but Levin accomplished it. His whole inquisition was based on one dimly-perceived nugget from Matt Taiibi's seminal article: Goldman's prop desk was shorting positions sold long to customers, and email traffic showed that Goldman's employees thought some of these positions were shitty. Ok. How could it be otherwise, once you allow all that prop trading by "Bank Holding Companies" who do everything at once, operate an internal hedge fund, borrow money from the The People, and operate a broker-dealership. All the Senators did, with the exception of Kaufman, who's pretty impressive, is mess up the record for the SEC. Nice work!
I disagree. I don't think he made Goldman look sympathetic at all. The first round was PATHETIC. They were so schooled by their lawyers that no answers were coming.
But I agree with the rest of your post.
Dang, just Sinators. Oh well.
Tankage Tuesday is followed by Wish I Was Short Wednesday.
Was looking for the cigar smoking faggot.
Where is Bernanke and Geitner in all this wall street grilling. Bernanke has taken over from Greenspan with the easy money era. Geitner helped rob the taxpayers while at the NY Fed. And why does Obama still have him as Treasury Secretary. Change we can believe in.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/92196584.html
Timmy and the Veep were in WI chatting up biz students.
conducting Goldman interviews?
Will anything come out of it? Not too likely, especially with our president,
Right, so instead of doing the heavy lifting for the German Better Business Bureau let's focus on something important....
Here's something and bonus! Goldman Sachs is involved!
Sen. Kerry was supposed to introduce Cap-and Trade legislation (today I think) but is holding it up because of the AZ immigration drama.
Guess who will be running Cap-and-Trade?... Fannie Mae...you know the government mortgage giant that was never mentioned today. Guess who owns a fucking patent on the system that will trade carbon credits? Franklin Raines, the crook goon who ran Fannie Mae into the ground. Where will this happen? The Chicago Climate Exchange (GS 10% owner I believe). Al Gore, The Chicago Obama boys and the usual rent seeking trolls are all involved too.
Whadya think is this more important than Goldman shorting RMBS to dumb money three years ago?
Get to work.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Fannie-Mae-owns-patent...
Someone please "steal" these patents and force their hand. Set up an exchange using this exact patent. I dare them to sue anyone.
I hate Levin. It was funny watching Lloyd and Carl spat for a bit. Tonight they'll be having drinks, sharing hookers, laughing and joking about their exchange.
LB: "Dude, you just wouldn't drop that shit about selling a broken product thing? Didn't you like my IPO analogy? If you Morts really understood banking, you would have asked why underwriters for IPOs don't like to issue ratings on the same security prior to the IPO. At least we TRY to pretend there are Chinese walls."
CL: "Yeah... I was just busting your balls. Knock $20K off your next campaign contribution and we'll be square."
Please, have a heart. Don't make me visualize Carl Levin with a hooker. Where would the comb-over wind up? Read the 8th Amendment and get back to me.
That's not a comb-over. That's his hooker getting a piggy-back ride.
CL: "Lloyd, it was fucking genius when you pretended that you couldn't find the exhibits. 'Exhibit 55-B? What? It goes straight from 55 to 56. I can't find 55-B.' Wow. Seriously, I was getting pissed for a sec. You really were pissing me off."
LB: "It just sort of came to me when I saw those binders. You must have special ordered those things from Trapper Keeper to hold all that paper. Before I tossed the stuff, I measured it and the two binders were foot thick. What was the point of all that?"
CL: "You and I both know we don't understand the shit. We just have to appear we understand for the voters. One way to demonstrative 'authority' is paper. It's the most cost effective tool in town. Pens are another cheap 'authority' trick. You could have the most worthless bill, but if you sign it with a Mont Blanc and a big ceremony- it's important. The interns give the best BJs for those pens. We call them 'swag sluts'."
The Congress used to have a service called the Office of Technology Assessment, one of the only services to provide future trend analysis to support policy making. It had few of the constraints of the Intelligence Community's analysis, which primarily supported Cold War efforts. The OTA actually thought broadly about science and technology, and the various implications for economics, security, and society.
It was one of the first agencies targeted for elimination in the "Contract with America" period of the mid-90s. The claims were that it "duplicated work done elsewhere in the government," referring mostly to the Intel Community, even though this was not true.
One former executive with OTA told me about when he suggested an agency to analyze the future scenarios possible from each set of major legislation. He said, "You never heard doors in Washington slam so fast or so hard. When God bestows Congressional power of the owner of the largest car dealership in the sixth district of some forgotten state, the last thing he wants to hear is the negative potential impacts of his brilliant decisions."
We need a government that can incorporate foresight into its operations.
Celente is close enough for me, and he is almost as negative as Mako. Trends Research has a credible track record, and his recommendation for the near future is "network". Not the business card swapping type, but the "find out who in your town is a ZH reader" type.
Gotta admit - McCaskell is tearing it up. I ain't Crat but she's Blankfein look like a fool.
Viniar was asked whether we should restore Glass-Stegall. He said it's not possible.
Horse hockey!
Am not an expert, but i think i disagree with TD.
Surely a simple restoration of Glass Steagal would destroy the business model of C/BAC/JPM more than GS/MS?. What GS are scared of is a division between prop trading and client-facing trades which is very different, and completely anathema to the way GS is set up in every singe one of its business lines. Every trader at GS is a prop trader, the desk names dont matter.
I know some ex-LEH and ex-Bear guys who blame the removal of the bill for forcing their firms to compete with the effectively free funding of the megabanks, and the only way to do that was to leverage the balance sheet 40 times. Not the whole truth, clearly, but there is definitely a feeling among some at pure investment banks like GS that going back to old ways wouldn't hurt in the medium or log run.
Goldman could cope with a return of Glass Steagal, but they are still fragile right now so they wont admit it.
Ah, how can you not love it?
Nothin' like pure, unadulterated, evil!
Welcome to the Dark Side of the Force Carl.
What's real pathetic is to hear those CNBS sock puppets try to marginalize blatent securities fraud. But hey, what should I expect from "shallow" Jim Cramer & Co.
Sock Puppets! +10!
Ye Gods Tyler (et al!), you bods certainly do your homework!
DavidC
Nice Rant Tyler.
Sorry to say; This country is so corrupted anyone see what you see.
You, or maybe them, are in the Matrix.
Carl Levin has put on perhaps one of the most ill-informed and disgraceful demagoging performance in years.
He has NO idea what he is talking about.
He has done the impossible made me actually a tad sorry for Goldman Sachs.
Ditto! Ditto! Ditto in spades! Levin has no clue what an extreme embarrassment he is.
I agree,he just can't shut up, and seemed just not able to understand why AIG had to pay with taxpayer money.The gov decided to bail them out so they had to pay,they should have just let them fail but they probably had too much of their pensions tied to them.
More like Chinese pensions...
One measure of what a lousy job Levin did is that all these Goldman people, including the CEO, could testify at mind-numbing length, without lawyers, never take the 5th, almost never say "I don't recall," about matters directly related to an SEC complaint - and yet Goldman probably STRENGTHENED its position, and won the PR battle because of the excessive browbeating by a tremendously overmatched group of hacks (excepting Kaufman and sometimes McCaskell). That's pretty hard to top. Sam Dash of Watergate days, these guys ain't.
+1 Some Senators prepared, others didn't.
Collins and McKasKill were the only ones digging into the shitty documents.
All Levin did was read their emails over and over.
Backtracking on Volker Rule? Hmmm, seems to me the only ones trying to block the Volker Rule are bankers and GOP congressmen. But yeah, keep reading teabagger emails for updates on public policy, they've proven to be so accurate. Better yet, let's pretend like nothing happened a few years ago and go back to the days of constant deregulation of Wall Street.
C. Levin: "I am GMAC's bitch."
Anyone?
It was at this vote that Byron Dorgan all but predicted the meltdown. I am still in the fear of disillusionment that the President is ultimately going to go down the middle with the banksters. If there isn't some real perp walks with real criminals...starting with joseph cassano, by august barry will have blown another chance to really be transformational instead of being more of a republican than Hillary. He has two chances, the aforementioned multiple perpwalks, and appointing someone who will counter goldman's law firm, thomas/alito/scalia and thomas esqs. If he comes up short there the liberal base will sit on their hands.
It always a treat to watch someone speak about about a topic that is technical in nature and requires a great deal of knowledge and/or experience. In the case of the grilling gorillas, since staff did all the research, they came across like substitute teachers in the wrong school district, as they tried unsuccessfully to corner GS. The weekend crash course in CDO's and CDS's must have been an one hour audio tape or VHS. Also, feigning concern for the average taxpayer or investor reeked of "novemberitis."
Wow, Barbara Bouncer from CA voted nay. I'm stunned and textless.
GS grilled by Congress
dow ind down 200
GS +1
My first thought was that this was the big fu from GS to Congress. On additional thought, I've come to realize the big fu was not from GS but from all of wall street. I bet even Dick Fuld had two middle fingers pointed at the tv screen today as the senators did their grilling. Well, okay, maybe not. But, still, this was a big fu to Congress. When I grow up I want to work on wall street.
When I heard the Hon. Chairman Levin, as he was lambasting and chastising said GS employees, there will be a need for more regulation. At that moment I knew they were going to get away with just a fine? and slap on the wrist. No criminal charges, what a joke!
I now know when I call up Goldman Sachs for help, I will receive a financial enema.
Goldman Sachs are still scum. Levin's monologue doesn't change that.
There are two possibilities with Levin.
1. He genuinely believes his prior vote on GLB was wrong and wants to correct the past. I highly doubt this.
2. He understands which way the political winds are blowing and is trying to ride the populist wave. This is the more likely cause in my opinion.
carl levin is a douche bag blow hard. his questioning was the most pointless and infuriating of it all. (well mccain was a close second). if i were there, i wouldve verbally bitch slapped his ass for trying to speak to me in the way he was.
best comment of this whole charade - "oversight panels are only conveined after the fact..." yeahhhh... maybe that whole oversight thing should start up front, instead of being this worthless circle jerk i watched all day. i wouldve been the biggest prick those idiots had ever seen if i was called into some bullshit like this today.
These guys didn't know the full scope of what would happen. We need a moral complicity scale to give credit to those who can change and punish those who know all these facts and still do not. I don't think even Ronald Reagan could stomach the actual results of this deregulation. Most politicians who voted for the Commodity bill never saw this coming even though some critics did. NOW matters the most. What's Phil Graham have to say about only a handful of farmers and industries using derivatives? It's about now. Obama's Cooper Union speech bypassed all the imagery of fraud and said only bilkers don't support reform. A negative inference about bilking doesn't cut it when all these facts surround us. Obama is not moving this market they way he could. Who's more culpable today, someone who knows the truth and holds back or someone who didn't and voted the wrong way in 1990's? Now that the USA got a lesson on their "market makers", Obama has to move. Market making in all its forms has been bilking Americans for trillions over three decades.
In countries like Indonesia under Suharto - the best strategy for businessmen was to keep a low profile, pay the politicians generously and speak in politically correct inanities. Today Blankfien gave me some hope that we are not quite at that stage yet. He was blunt, and actually argued with a Senator. ( hint: you dont do that in dictatorships). In dictatorships no matter how stupid and incompetent the politicians are the best strategy is to smile and take it. I pray ( oops - retract that - Atheist here- although not really sure maybe really an agnostic!) - that in the US logic and rational argument still trump corruption and politics. But then Iam an optimist.
Blankfein represents the best of America. Scrappy , pugnacious and very very smart. Grew up in the projects in the Bronx and fought his way up. It will be a very very sad day when slimy corrupt little politicians are able to shut down the Blankfeins of the world. And the scary part is is its not that hard for a corrupt and determined dictatorship to shut dowm people like this.
Yeah - if the intent of these hearings was to turn around the accelerating public anger against wall street in general and GS in particular - I have to say it was spectacularly successful.
Monday, April 26, 2010
By Glenn Beck
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Faith, hope and charity: We used to seek God's blessings on the country, we used to pursue maximum freedom to solve problems and we'd rely on one another in times of need.
Now we're being pushed towards what progressives have always found hope in: Dependency on regulations and administrations. Average Americans find that approach to be red tape. Our Founding Fathers found it to be slavery.
So it kind shocks me when there's no outcry to news stories like this one reported in the Financial Times over the weekend: The "U.S. is preparing to pivot from domestic regulatory reform to push for a tough new international capital regime."
Excuse me?
We're talking about the foundation of international financial regulations and global governing. It's a trial balloon being floated out there and I guess it was a success because the response was complete and total silence.
Is it just me who thinks this is a bad idea? Am I alone? I guess so, because even Republicans are OK with this one. How could that happen? Easy: It's those evil, greedy Sith lord Wall Street executives! Like the ones at Goldman Sachs, who are appearing before the almighty Senate Tuesday to get grilled by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (sounds scary) about their so-called attempts to manipulate and profit off the crash of the housing market.
They'll get chewed out and made an example of by people like Chris Dodd, who joined in the chorus of Goldman haters on "Meet the Press" on Sunday:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. CHRIS DODD, D-CONN.: Here we are, 17 months after someone broke into our house in effect and robbed us... and we still haven't changed the locks on the doors.
LARRY SUMMERS, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: These off-balance sheet, nontransparent vehicles with what people call implicit guarantees, invite these kinds of problems.
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY, R-ALA.: We have to end once and for all the casino atmosphere on Wall Street, where they're gambling, basically, on synthetic ideas and so forth — with somebody else's money.
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(END VIDEO CLIPS)
You're right, Chris: You have to change those locks. But the other thing to make sure of is that the people you are calling to change the locks aren't the same ones who were involved with the robbery in the first place.
Yes, Dodd and his buddies will chew out Goldman, but if they are the root of all evil, why do these people all still work in the administration?
• William C. Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; was a partner and managing director at Goldman
• Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; spent 18 years at Goldman
• Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Tim Geithner; former Goldman lobbyist
• Philip Murphy; nominated for ambassador to Germany; former Goldman executive
• Diana Farrell; deputy director of the National Economic Council; formerly with Goldman
• Emil Michael; White House fellow; former investment banker with Goldman
There's just a few. And if Goldman really are the bad guys, we have bigger problems than just regulation, because we have to talk about global warming as well.
I got a tip from a watchdog — and by the way, if you are new to the program and don't know what a watchdog is, that's you. We've got millions of watchdogs e-mailing in tips and stories big and small and we welcome every single one of them. We get to as many as we can and even report on some of them, like this one about the Chicago Climate Exchange.
In case you didn't know the Chicago Climate Exchange existed — it does and it started trading in 2003. It's billed as: "North America's only cap-and-trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide." Members agree to a voluntary but legally binding agreement to "meet annual Green House Gas emission reduction targets."
What's cap-and-trade? A scheme designed to transfer wealth from the companies that have to the companies that have not through the regulation of invisible gases. Remember, it was ENRON who lobbied heavily for this type of system, because they knew how to swindle a profit out of it.
Environmentalists like Obama want this system because it will make prices skyrocket and people will be forced to use less energy. But I don't want to put words in his mouth, I'll let him say it:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANIDATE BARACK OBAMA: Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Got it? So the main beneficiaries will be big corporations and proponents of the redistribution of wealth. You are the loser here because you pay more for energy. But you can feel good because you saved the planet.
Uh-huh.
Not to mention, other places — like Europe — who have tried to implement green initiatives (like Spain) and then base markets on it are suffering the consequences. Because, as Time unwittingly described the creation of Chicago Climate Exchange, it "creates something out of nothing." There is no value behind the market; it's like Pets.com except now its solar panels.
So who would want to create something like this?
In 2000 and 2001, Chicago Climate Exchange received start-up grants from the Joyce Foundation. The Joyce Foundation is like the George Soros' TIDES Foundation. In fact, it's actually bigger than TIDES and even funds TIDES. Think of it as a place where uber-rich and powerful liberals like to dump their money into, so the cash can be spread around to their pet projects without a direct link.
The Joyce Foundation supports such luminaries as John Ayers (William Ayers' brother).
There was one influential member on the board of the Joyce Foundation at the time the Chicago Climate Exchange got its seed money; someone instrumental in steering the funds towards the creation of the Chicago Climate Exchange. They were on the board from 1994-2002. The founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange, Richard Sandor, said that he "knew (this person) well," which is perhaps how the money was awarded to the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where Sandor was a research professor. I'll get back to that person in a minute.
Sandor saw big things in a climate exchange market. How big?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLOOMBERG REPORTER: So how big do you think this market could be?
RICHARD SANDOR, CHICAGO CLIMATE EXCHANGE: I think it's a $10 trillion a year market.
REPORTER: Say that again?
SANDOR: $10 trillion a year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
A $10 trillion a year market? That's a lot to go around. In comparison, the value of U.S. company shares on major U.S. and foreign stock exchanges equities market was $15 trillion in 2009. There's a lot of money riding on this climate legislation. But remember: It's all about saving the Earth.
London-based Generation Investment Management sees the earning potential as well. That's why they purchased a stake in Chicago Climate Exchange and are the fifth largest shareholder. The cofounder of the London-based firm? Former Vice President Al Gore. I say cofounder because some of the other founders include David Blood (former Goldman executive), Mark Ferguson (Goldman) and Peter Harris (Goldman).
In 2006, the Chicago Climate Exchange got a nice boost of confidence when an investor stepped to the plate and ponied up to purchase 10 percent of the combined company. Cofounder of the Chicago Exchange said the investment was big and welcome news. The investor? Goldman Sachs.
Oh and I almost forgot: The person at the beginning of it all? The one on the board of the Joyce Foundation that secured the initial funding for this project? Barack Obama.
This is so weird. It's almost like those our government says are responsible for the financial collapse are the ones directly involved in the "solutions." So much for "changing the locks," Chris.
OK, now let's look at this. What you have is a structure. This is the building: the Exchange. You've got the structure, all the players.
So what are we missing? Well, we're missing the bill and the technology to make it happen; the machinery to make it happen.
You are trading air; it's hard to keep track of air. The good news is, the bill is being worked on by Republicans and Democrats. That's cap-and-trade.
The machinery, the device? A patent for such a device was worked on by CO2e.com CEO Carlton Bartels. Shortly after he filed for the patent on his system to trade residential carbon credits, he was killed in the 9/11 attacks. Bartels wife then shopped the idea around and was able to find a buyer. The buyer ended up being a guy who wasn't really a good guy, he committed massive accounting fraud and manipulated earnings in his company in order to make huge bonuses.
That person was Franklin Raines, who just happened to be the CEO of Fannie Mae at the time. The patent was eventually approved by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office on Nov. 7, 2006 — coincidentally the day after Democrats took control of Congress. Thanks to Barbara Hollingsworth of the Washington Examiner for pointing this out to us.
So now, Fannie Mae, who is congressionally mandated to "make housing more affordable," is poised to reap billions on a system that has nothing to do with housing except for that it would make housing costs go up.
That's great.
Remember when Fannie purchased risky mortgages from banks, bundled them together and sold to investors as mortgage-backed securities? And then the housing market was absolutely destroyed? Well, former Fannie VP Scott Lesmes was responsible for that bundling.
Well, here's the good news: Not only will this new carbon trading "system" try the exact same bundling method (except with air); they are using the exact same guy: Scott Lesmes.
But, please, don't worry. The only ones involved in this are the corrupt Franklin Raines, Mr. redistribution of wealth Barack Obama, and all the people who the House and Senate are currently saying are the bad guys. Other than that, this should work out great.
It's almost like Goldman is willing to take a little heat now, in order to get a little piece of the $10 trillion green pie later. I challenge the media: Will anyone pick this story up? Will anyone question this and the timing of it all?
All of a sudden illegal immigration has leap-frogged global warming? Is it because Goldman has to take hits to get the global government structure done? And then they get the payoff? Or will you continue to say oh, he's crazy and not talk about the facts.
— Watch "Glenn Beck" weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel
Please don't foul this forum with that anything by Beck. If you must, use a link. By invoking Beck, you've lost all credibility.
Sorry
We don't just need glass/stegall, we need a worldwide glass/stegall
All the worthless crap throughout the world needs to be wiped away, big banks and corporations around the world need to be broken up (valid case by valid case basis....which shouldn't be that hard to determine).
Otherwise could you imagine the screwed up party if we instituted a glass/stegall and the rest of the world did not? Sure we'd be better off in the short term, but the rest of the world would implode. Which of course the ramifications would be felt by us and could very easily derail us. We need GLOBAL GLASS/STEGALL.
...and that my friends is the answer to the 64 million dollar question. But lets not kid ourselves. If WE can't even realize our folly, how the hell are we supposed to convince everyone else of it? It will be very tough, perhaps akin to digging the panama canal type hard work. But it can be done. If America leads, and leads with truth and facts on her side, the rest will eventually follow.
But first we need to get our heads out of the sand or our ass, whichever has been people's preferred resting spot.