This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
The Fed's Racket Exposed
A reader provides us with the following letter he received from Senator Mikulski in response to dissatisfaction expressed about Bernanke's reconfirmation. The response from the Senator demonstrates precisely the type of intellectual racket that the Fed is exposing gullible and incompetent senators to, in forcing them to pass law after law that is only in the Fed's, and thus Wall Street's interests, as the alternative would always be a "market nose dive." Enough with the pandering. If senators can not think and verify independently, they should be replaced immediately with people who are capable and qualified to make critical decisions about this country without Wall Street's influence.
Thank you for getting in touch with me about Ben Bernanke's nomination to chair the Federal Reserve. It's great to hear from you.
Americans are angry and they are anxious. In diners and at the dry cleaners, I'm hearing tremendous anxiety about the economy. People are feeling like their middle class way is slipping away, and that brings a lot of anger, fear and frustration.
When Chairman Bernanke thought Wall Street was on the verge of a crisis, he acted dramatically. He used new powers for new programs. Well, the job market is in a crisis now. But the Fed's response has been tame and tepid. We need the same urgency from the Federal Reserve to jumpstart the job market that was given to Wall Street to jump start the financial markets.
I voted to confirm Mr. Bernanke because he is not a man of ideology. When we needed him the most, his expertise and level-head probably helped prevent a catastrophe. Bernanke didn't panic and he took his lessons from economic history, a subject which he has studied closer than anyone else. No one understands the risks the economy faces better than he does.
I was advised that rejecting his nomination would cause markets to nose dive, which would hurt retirees and families saving for their future. I am not enthusiastic in my support. But I think Mr. Bernanke understands the job that he still has to do.
We need bold new approaches - and I'll fight for them. I let Mr. Bernanke know that I am focused on three things to get our economy going again: creating jobs, getting more lending to the middle economy and small businesses, and helping people get out from under the threat of foreclosure.
Thanks again for getting in touch with me. Knowing of your views was helpful to me. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in the future.
Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator
And for the counterpoint, here is an example of a Senator who does not fall for the Fed's racket:
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me. I appreciate hearing your thoughts about President Obama's decision to nominate Ben Bernanke for another four-year term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve (the Fed). I voted against approving Mr. Bernanke, who was nevertheless confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 70-30.
My opposition to Mr. Bernanke is based on a number of concerns about his actions during both the run up to the financial crisis and the crisis itself. Before the financial crisis hit in 2008, Mr. Bernanke failed to either diagnose the housing bubble or adequately protect consumers from many of the abusive financial products, especially credit cards and mortgage loans, which helped to contribute to that bubble. These mistakes helped to precipitate the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and while Mr. Bernanke has taken bold and creative steps to help stop the bleeding, I believe that his record prior to the crisis does not warrant him a second term as Chairman.
In the midst of the crisis, I am also concerned that the Fed has provided an unknown number of financial institutions with billions of dollars at almost zero interest without appropriate transparency or accountability, including to the insurance giant AIG. While the current economic crisis has certainly made increased action by the Fed understandable, it is inexplicable to me that the Fed has taken such unprecedented action without putting conditions on these loans that would require the funds to be used to make loans to small businesses, or would restrict the payment of unwarranted bonuses. In addition, the Fed has refused to inform Congress or the public the extent of these financial commitments. For this reason, I am a cosponsor of S. 604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009. This legislation would require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an audit of the Federal Reserve and submit those findings to Congress to determine what commitments the Fed has made in response to the financial crisis.
Finally, I am troubled that, in the wake of the financial crisis, Mr. Bernanke has argued against creating an independent consumer financial protection agency. It is painfully clear to me that the Fed's failure to protect consumers from abusive products in areas like credit cards and mortgage loans helped to fuel the spiral of debt that contributed to the economic downturn. Given the Fed's abysmal failure in this area, I find it remarkable that Mr. Bernanke wants to give the Fed more authority. This neglect for adequate consumer protections is unacceptable to me, and I am not convinced that Mr. Bernanke would behave any differently now than he did before the crisis.
While I have heard the concerns of many that the failure to confirm Mr. Bernanke would have damaged the financial markets and jeopardized our economy recovery, I do not believe that anyone, including Mr. Bernanke, is too big to be replaced. We should not hold our economy hostage to the Wall Street threat that total economic collapse is the sure result of not doing everything they want.
Thanks again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so again about this or any other issue that may concern you.
Sincerely,
Tom Harkin
United States Senator
»
- 20477 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
The Fed is merely trying to preserve the wealth of the oligarchs. It's just the old war of old capital versus the chance of new capital formation.
That's the net effect of TBTF, QE and Zirp. They are trying to ensure debt repayment to creditors on assets that have seriously deflated. In the context of real asset deflation and personal income deflation, they are actually engineering a Relative hyperinflation where fixed costs are kept artificially high as a side effect. The double whammy to the consumer and small business.
As we know from Japan this situation can go on for 2 decades easy. What has been missed from the analysis of Japan is that if fixed costs are kept high, personal incomes and real assets low, then merely repairing balance sheets will never result in organic growth. Fixed costs will just rise disproportionately to wipe out any savings or new capital formation.
Soon politicians in the US will learn like Merkel that it no longer matters to their constituents that the markets go down and that no matter what gets done unemployment stays the same or rise.
When that blackmail no longer works, that will be the decoupling.
I got the exact same letter from Barb just after Ben was nominated.
A few days later I got a letter asking to contribute to her campaign.
Yep. Right on cue, with half hour or so left in the trading session, and the damsel in distress is lifted up by the anti-hero and saved, at least for the day.
New episides next week... (or reruns)
Yeah, did you see Benny gun that sucker.... Waaaah! Whaauuuu!
http://www.inewscatcher.com/timages/142f3a1c1cb32fdb1fb8b24e904b8d09.jpg
The PPT (Fed Treasury algo trade up no volume consortium) had to save their powder for the end of the day. They tried a couple of times early to mid session, and were rebuffed, so they waited till they could get the last word.
I don't think the FED can do more to "create" jobs than 0% interest rates.
The government can create jobs, usually non-productive ones by hiring people to push paper.
The way to create an environment where jobs will be created is to reduce taxes and reduce red tape and reduce law suits.
Otherwise, we're just another over taxed over regulated socialist dead zone.
“I voted for his confirmation because…he is not a man of ideology.”
Literally translated “ideology” means the study (-logy) of ideas. Also as, “the body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture.” I will take Ms Mikulski at her word: despite his PhD, BB is not a man of ideas. He is, rather, a tool, just like she is.
To expect redemption or salvation from the political process as it currently operates is neither logical nor productive. For your own sanity, stop attempting to reason w/people (and politicians) who are impervious to it.
These commies just pretend ignorance, but show themselves all dressed in RED!!
Commies? All I see are thieves, liars, cheats, and frauds. At least Communists stand for something, albeit naive and misguided as to the give/take supply/demand of our reality, but they believe in SOMETHING. No these fuckers, these criminals, these bastards that have captured our government, they don't believe in anything except power and money by any means necessary. Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, Caesar.... These people subscribed to no ideology, they may have used one to focus their advancement, but they believed in nothing but power. Their is no ideology at work here, this is evil at play. This is not socialism, or communism, or capitalism, or democrat, or republican.... This is criminals with money and power, bent on keeping it and having more. This is about the looting of nations, and the death of the middle class worldwide. Insanity and Evil need no flag or worldview, they are like water, filling the container of whatever will hold it.
+++
disengage - cut the line. float freely. (pack some food and lead, tho')
so, do the elites have their own ZH-like site, where they complain about how the masses are actually catching on, and what they're going to do if they get caught? i'd love to be a fly on *that* virtual wall.
Isn't that what CFR dinners and Bilderburger conferences are for?
Washington DC PR pukes are their connection to the masses. They're the gypsies who interpret the signs to keep the Junto pseudo-informed...
i recall hearing as a kid that soviet state-run newspapers had a code language for politically sensitive events, e.g. leaders who died violently would be described as "died of unknown causes", and heart-attacks were "died suddenly", etc.
sounds like a good PHD thesis for someone over at Hillsdale College. publish a contemporary rosetta stone...
Don't forget the Bohemian Club...
Paint that tape!
Term limits should have flushed this trash long ago. She has a degree in social work, then put it to use as a social worker for all of four years. This wealth of knowledge and experience has qualified her to make financial decision of complexity which 98% of the population can't understand.
There needs to be some academic understanding before you can either become a member of Congress or the Senate. You should be able to quote the founding Fathers and their positions on all subjects. You should be able to recite the fundamentals of all schools of economic thought.
I am disgusted that there folks on this site calling her a whore. Any student of economics can quickly dismiss this statement because she would never make a dime in said profession. Oooooooo-yukie!
I wrote both Senators Boxer and Feinstein in CA. Boxer, who had rejected the removal of Glass-Steagal, agreed and actually voted against Ben Shalom.She's a shrieker, but at least thinks on occasion. Feinstein, typical of her lazy brain, sent me a canned letter talking her book. Her Hubby is a developer and fully integrated into the ponzi mechanism. Feinstein has no forward thinking capability-just acts like a school marm and holds the line on the status quo. Inherently not a bad person, but is not going to do much at all in office except act like the wise old Grandma of the democratic moderates. Most politicians are not smart at all-and macroeconomics and finance complexity are so far out of their jurisdiction I don't expect them to make a decent decision at all. Ron Paul and Liz Warren, however, know what's going on and give a crap. the rest vote their book everytime.
I contend Boxer was allowed by the party to vote against BB because she's up for reelection. Also note that on the same vote, she voted in favor of cloture, because the party figured nobody pays attention to that, and they needed to hurry up and get BB confirmed.
Now you see why they wanted the social security money.
yup
FINANCIAL TERRORISM ,
SO DOES EVERYONE NOW KNOW WHO
THE REAL TERRORISTS ARE ??
FINALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It seems to me that anyone who opposes the US federal government, is a terrorist.
Since the banking consortium has long since captured the US at the federal, and most state, levels they cannot possibly be the terrorists. They oppose themselves?
Only someone who opposes the government is a terrorist, the oligarchy owns it.
We're all terrorists, who just haven't been found guilty yet. That's my answer.
CON CON, before it's too late. We must have a default, a jubilee, a constitutional reset, and our Republic restored. If these things do not happen we will fracture and/or radicalize to bloody revolution or tyranny. Stop participating (No Work/No Tax/No Transactions) for a week. It is time to blackmail our own leaders with threats of economic/political doom, if they do not submit to a CON CON reset, and a list of common sense resolutions including reinstituting Glass Steagall, William Black put at the head of a fully manned FBI political economic special forces team, term limits, pulbic money campaigns open to all parties that qualify, ending WOD Prohibition non policy, border control enforcement by national guard...etc....
Crab Cake
Same as it ever was.
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter12section1....
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1211.html
The most important early attempt of the new unionism to penetrate the domain of corporate-run industry came in 1894 when the American Railway Union, an industrial union founded by Eugene V. Debs, mounted a boycott of the nation's Pullman railway cars. With much of the nation's transportation at a standstill, a federal court granted the railroads an injunction declaring the strike illegal, and President Grover Cleveland dispatched 2,000 federal troops and over 5,000 U.S. marshals to Chicago, precipitating widespread violence. Despite a general strike by 25,000 Chicago unionists, the ARU was crushed.
It is not the same as it was. If even 25% of the working people in the nation cease participation, it will bring the country to a standstill. These 25% don't have to be from one isolated industry, the net makes this viral, and impossible to quash with overt tactics.
The Teaparty needs to take a week unpaid vacation, and the criminal government will bend like a reed in the wind.
We can play the doom card too. Either they submit to a list of common sense changes, and a Con Con, or the tax machine gets blown up. We're off this week, and if you don't bend, we'll be off the rest of the month too.
We deserve REPRESENTATIVE government that actually represents the Peoples' will and interests.
Until we get representation we are within our rights to cease participating.
Pull all accounts into physical gold/silver/cashbills, stop paying the mortgage, stop buying anything unnecessary for survival, and stop generating tax revenue by work striking. We do not need a majority to start the movement. This is doable, and will/would be effective.
Term limits, Reinstate Glass Steagall, Monetary policy by and for the people, Fair public money only elections that are open to all parties that meet the criteria, An end to the burgeoning prison state and the WOD, No taxation of income...
This is our country. We don't have to pay for crap. We can get what we want. Don't pay the government, cease participating, and take a damned vacation. How hard is that?!
TIME FOR FDIC FINANCIAL FOLLIES FRIDAY,
10 BANKS , 20 BANKS ???
WHAT IS YOUR BID ??????
you know what's really cool? LOOK how many letters ZH people have actually written to their reps!
that is really encouraging.
useless, perhaps, but encouraging.
i've also got my own stack of form-letter replies saying much the same (not enough irony to post). i expect to use them as wall-paper in my prison cell/internment camp
i.knoknot
Contacting your so called leected officials does NOTHING unless you are a big donor.
Before the IWR vote many people called Clintons office. The calls were 100 to 1 against voting for the authorization.
We know how that turned out.
++
don't get me wrong, i'm quite aware of the reality/futility of the situation. it's just that the amount of energy that it takes the average person to actually *act* upon their opinions is exponentially higher than it is to simply "change channels" and hope it'll all go away.
ZH is a pretty broad sample, and it looks like a large percentage of folks have made that leap - implying that the barrier to action is already broken.
maybe because of the futility that you cite, based on the meaningless form-responses, they may end up even more dejected, but personally, i find it most encouraging - sharp people who act as well as advise.
good folks ain't jes sittin' 'round no mo'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HmJX11_AQE
Monday, nothing
Tuesday, nothing
Wednesday and Thursday nothing
Friday, for a change
a little more nothing
Saturday once more nothing
Sunday nothing
Monday nothing
Tuesday and Wednesday nothing
Thursday, for a change
a little more nothing
Friday once more nothing
Montik gornisht,
Dinstik Gornisht
Midwoch an Donnerstik gornisht
Fritik, far a noveneh gornisht pikveleh
Shabas nach a mool gornisht
Lunes nada
Martes nada
Miercoles y Jueves nada
Viernes, por cambia
un poco mas nada
Sabado otra vez nada
January nothing
February nothing
March and April nothing
May and June
a lot more nothing
July nothing
'29 nothing
'32 nothing
'39, '45 nothing
1965 a whole lot of nothing
1966 nothing
reading nothing
writing nothing
even arithmetic nothing
geography, philosophy, history, nothing
social anthropology a lot of nothing
oh, Village Voice nothing
New Yorker nothing
Sing Out and Folkways nothing
Harry Smith and Allen Ginsberg
nothing, nothing, nothing
poetry nothing
music nothing
painting and dancing nothing
The world's great books
a great set of nothing
Audy and Foudy nothing
fucking nothing
sucking nothing
flesh and sex nothing
Church and Times Square
all a lot of nothing
nothing, nothing, nothing
Stevenson nothing
Humphrey nothing
Averell Harriman nothing
John Stuart Mill nil, nil
Franklin Delano nothing
Karlos Marx nothing
Engels nothing
Bakunin and Kropotkin nothing
Leon Trotsky lots of nothing
Stalin less than nothing
nothing nothing nothing nothing
lots and lots of nothing
nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing
lots of it
nothing!
Not a God damn thing
I've worked in the corresponence arm of a US Senate office. When you send a letter in, it does get read. It usually gets read by an intern, however, who will send a form letter response. In the office where I worked, though, anything sent in on corporate letterhead was immediately forwarded up the chain beyond the interns and had the chance to get a more personal response, written by a paid staffer. Very few, if any, general correspondence actually make it to the Senator.
But, when I write in to my Senators I do it in crayon, preferrably on pages from old Playboy magazines, with a lot of drooling, pizza stains, and hefty references to UFO conspiracies, the Gnomes of Zurich, fluoridation, biblical endtimes, and so forth. That's cause I'm not aiming to have my stuff read by the Senators, who are tools, but instead I seek something more far more glorious: to make get my letter posted up on the Whacko Hall of Fame that every such office has hanging on the wall.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I'l go home and have a beer and go for a long bike ride, and while I am on my bike cruising slowly I will think about what I am going to write. And I'll come up with a fictional corporate letterhead under which I can write it.
Corporate or law firm letterhead is the best.
That will get it forwarded up.
Also, use an expensive looking envelope. Crisp, high-quality paper. Use an excellent template.
The phrase "Federal Reserve" generally gets a letter junked, of course. It's a little remarkable that these letters are even receiving forms, these days.
You see, when veterans get back from wars, they tend to be REALLY PISSED OFF. They spend huge amounts of time reading, plotting revenge, and writing angry letters to congressmen.
Most conspiracy theorists, as far as I can tell, are veterans and other ex-government officials who know a small portion of how the government works.
Letterhead: From the law offices of Hugh G. Rection, esq.
ROTFL
so you have an "in" then. hmmmm. clever xando, very clever.
my mind is aflush with the possibilities here...
This lame excuse for US Senator deserves your special attention:
Dear Mr. :
Thank you for contacting me to express support for legislation to increase transparency at the Federal Reserve. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
The Senate is currently debating Wall Street reform legislation (S. 3217). On May 11, 2010, I supported an amendment to this bill offered by Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) that would significantly increase transparency at the Federal Reserve and require an audit of its emergency lending activities. Specifically, it would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an audit of the Federal Reserve within one year of the bill's enactment. However, it would not allow the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve's interest rate decisions or normal lending activities through the "discount window." Additionally, it would require the Federal Reserve to disclose the names of financial institutions and foreign banks that received emergency financial assistance dating back to the start of this economic downturn. This amendment passed the Senate by a vote of 96-0.
As you may know, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) offered a similar amendment that would have required an audit of all Federal Reserve activities, except for unreleased transcripts from meetings of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. I joined 61 of my Senate colleagues in opposing this amendment because such disclosure could have harmful impacts. For example, exposing the Federal Reserve's normal lending functions could lead to a run on a bank perceived to be in poor health. Additionally, such disclosure could prevent the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors from making interest rate decisions free of outside influence.
I agree that the trillions of dollars lent out by the Federal Reserve to stabilize the economy should be accounted for. The amendment offered by Senator Sanders would bring transparency to these activities, which is where I believe it is most needed.
The House-passed version of Wall Street reform legislation includes a provision that is similar to the amendment offered by Senator Vitter. The House and Senate will likely reconcile the differences between their respective versions of this legislation in a conference committee in the coming months. Please know that I will keep your concerns in mind as I monitor these negotiations as they relate to the Federal Reserve.
Once again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will continue to share your views with me. If I can be of any further assistance, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
Our letters of concern are read by interns. There it is....
+1
"Whacko Hall of Fame"
that's a seriously subversive idea X. think i'm going to break out the crayolas this weekend.
http://line6.com/community/servlet/JiveServlet/showImage/2-77620-7396/sn...
Holy Fuck!
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
Las Vegas land prices: 80% off peakhttp://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/may/21/foreclosures-land-pushing-pr...
That drove down the land price to $182,441 per acre in the first quarter, the lowest since $172,500 per acre in the first quarter of 2003, Gordon said. Since the peak of the market in 2007’s fourth quarter of $939,400 per acre for land not on the Strip, prices have fallen 80.6 percent, Gordon said.
Hey all.... Anyone else want to eat crow about Treasury futures?
*yawn*
Hola from NOLa!
Where have you been, phaesed? Haven't seen you around in a while.
Working in New Orleans for shits and giggles. Also I'm trying to finally get the motivation to quit pussy footin around and write an expose on the reality of this area of the Gulf Coast.
Love to hear from you. Maybe make it a contributor piece,
"If senators can not think and verify independently, they should be replaced immediately with people who are capable and qualified to make critical decisions about this country without Wall Street's influence."
They'd never get through the plutocracy's vetting process. You can only vote for those already approved.
Google! Gia Moron! Supposed spokes woman for goon sucks!!
The New York Times's Devastating Goldman Piece : CJR May 20, 2010 ... Even if there is a slim chance, and I am NOT betting on it, that there is in fact a female, named Gia Moron as spokesperson for Goldman ...www.cjr.org/the_audit/the_new_york_timess_devastatin.php Follow the yellow brick road! Fall asleep in the poppy patch! Emerald City an illusion and OZ a fraud behind the curtain!! DIMMS dumb ignorant mental midget sheeple! zero hedge readers have much more common sense than all US citizens put together; swallowing the dead head fed goons pig men rotting carrion pork in the smoke house to taste in conjunction with wall street!! Pig Farmers!!! Traitors!!
"Rep. Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.) has uncovered a conspiracy between conservative talk-radio hosts and the gold companies that advertise on their shows. According to Weiner, the conservative talkers scare their listeners into believing that the government under Pres. Barack Obama is headed for insolvency, and that the U.S. dollar is headed for a period of intense instability. This makes the listeners want to invest in gold, which is what the advertisers are selling.
Weiner is only about five months late to this party." Trolling for weiner facts! Who gives a chit about weiner facts other than gia moron?
"One way to look at this is as a typical liberal nanny-state intervention. Busybody Democrat with too much free time wants to tell you what to buy — news at eleven. But there is a darker possibility here, one foreshadowed by government bans on short-selling and denunciations of those seeking insurance policies against widespread sovereign defaults as greedy "wolf packs" bent on destroying the global economy. Weiner's report is a tinny echo of these broader crackdowns, an attempt to delegitimize dissent by painting it as something motivated by profits instead of patriotism. Glenn Beck and others are trying to sound, for the nation's small-dollar savers (what few we have left), the same alarm bell that the nation's large-dollar money managers have evidently heard loud and clear. That's not against the law — yet." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127030167
If you're not out of dead head fed goon paper ponzi gia moron assets? You may look forward to having a date with an illusion!! Whole freakin financial system built on thin air promises of no substance from liars!! Down goes the big red flag and illusion with it!!
Some hilarious comments above! Thanks.
None of this is new, that is Congress peeps & bureaucrats acting selfishly, myopically, stupidly. Been happening since Washington's Administration. Check out Hamilton's Curse by Thomas Dilorenzo.
or for a quick fix... http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/09/history-of-fraud.asp
The Admin. used fear tactics to push Ben B through. Same as Bush did with his agenda. I was so much hoping that things would be different.
This is a great example of what the blogs/Zero Hedge have accomplished. Everything is vetted. Well done.
You know what they say, it is the "A" students on Wallstreet who are running rings around the "C" students working for government agencies or are members of congress.
My money is on the "A" students.
May 4, 2010
Dear Ms./Mr. blindman ( go have a cupcake ) ... i altered this introductory salutation, but the rest is true to the record.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about increasing transparency at the Federal Reserve. Throughout the financial crisis of last fall and the ongoing economic slowdown, the Federal Reserve has lent substantial sums of money to help prevent a further economic meltdown using emergency powers established by Congress after the Great Depression. Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked to promote honest and open government. Last fall, I opposed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) because of its lack of transparency and oversight provisions. As a result, I share your belief that the extraordinary actions taken by the Federal Reserve merit additional scrutiny from Congress and will work to enhance transparency and oversight as part of the financial regulatory reform package currently being drafted.
Currently, the only component of the Federal Reserve which is not regularly investigated by the Government Accountability Office is its monetary policy function. This exemption was established to address concerns that Congress could use these investigations to pressure the Federal Reserve into taking actions that could drive inflation, causing dramatic increases in the costs of basic goods and services and undermining the Fed's primary objective of monetary stability.
I believe it is critically important that we continue to empower the Federal Reserve to prevent inflation while at the same time providing for a full audit of the Federal Reserve system. As Congress begins to examine how to restructure our financial system, I believe that we must include reforms to provide greater transparency at the Federal Reserve while continuing to prevent inflation and ensure economic stability. I will be working with my colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee to ensure that any financial reform package includes these key principles.
Thank you again for writing to express your concerns and I hope that you keep in touch with my office regarding future legislation and concerns you may have. For more information on this and other important issues, please visit my website at http://gillibrand.senate.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter. .
Sincerely yours,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator
.
keywords: inflation, (nothing about deflation), (nothing about money/debt creation and
reserves or lack thereof), (nothing about real fraud), implication/suggestion, (of congressional pressure
which might lead to inflation). might. what? (nothing about wall street buying the government with
future, never to be collected, taxes.) and more..
ps . schumer didn't even respond, to his credit? hahahhhahahhahaha.......
I guess you could blame the public for electing these people. But then they should have the right to assume that the person they elect will be non corrupt and have the interests of the public at heart.
Isn't it funny now that maybe nobody expects their rep to be honest and act for their best interests? They elect people they suspect will be corrupt or corrupted but know they have no choice as most candidates get owned.
This Barbara A. Mikulski United States Senator is just as pathetic and owned as most of them, if not dumber than the average by putting in writing what others wouldn't say.
Listen, the investment banks and Fed are no different than an organised crime syndicate, in fact that is exactly what they might be. They own the regulators, they own the system, they can engage in any activity they like, they can blatantly steal, cheat and set up their marks - which can be a client or the whole country. And they thus syphon wealth out of the economy into their own pockets.
They are even more frightening than the 'ordinary' organised crime gang.
Does the Fed know what it is doing and for whose benefit? Do we need to ask that now, or is it obvious?
All systems are a racket. The organisation of everything is for the same purpose.
survival through sacrifice, but what survives and
what is sacrificed? here i think we have in view the
a fundamental dynamic of most/all current social organization, and
the key to it's mercurial and unconscious fraudulent
"heartless mind". and not only what survives but what is born
of this deal of survival through sacrifice. that thing
that is born is what is unconscious yet lives....
in us all. mind, little m, or so was thought. and forgotten.
in this world, all things being equal, all one needs is just....
advantage, a bit more leverage. this is the power of organization
and interest. a racket.
.
but what is sacrificed? and then there is music and rests and
the idea that less is more and that "organization" will emerge,
perhaps only recognizable as such after the fact, if the players
can/are listening. vs music that is composed according to
organizational principles unique/maybe to the individual composer.
.
and then there is ecology and neurology so i guess consciousness
itself is the ultimate racket. lately, it seems like it!
Q
.
Linda Keenan and Janine R. Wedel
Posted: May 13, 2010 07:50 AM Shadow Elite: Think BP's The Bad Guy? Think Bigger, Way Bigger . "...And what's the effect of these boards,"independent" panels, and advisory councils anyway? They might give BP a way to have power brokers on board without the appearance of actual lobbying. And they also might help make BP look like the model corporate citizen, when the record suggests significant lapses. Newsweek reports that BP took some of their high-powered advisory board members on a helicopter ride out to the Gulf of Mexico to "demonstrate safeguards". Christie Whitman told the magazine: "we got a sense they were really committed to ensuring they got it right.." Having such a repertoire of appearances -- and the ambiguity surrounding these players' activities -- lends cover. This way of doing business is a hallmark of the shadow elite.
This playing with appearances augments an ongoing strategy by BP to rebrand itself as "Beyond Petroleum". For more than a decade, they have been promoting bold marketing campaigns, eco-friendly-seeming logos, and co-opting, critics say, environmental language. It worked -- Mother Jones cites a 2007 survey that found that people thought BP was "more green" than any other oil company. But even though they have indeed plowed money into solar energy, activists say they can't greenwash away their spotty safety record and aggressive exploration efforts.
A few government officials or investigators did try to demand truth -- and consequences from BP. One EPA official a few years back threatened to "debar" BP from government contracts if it didn't submit to tougher regulation. The problem: Newsweek says BP is a top Pentagon fuel supplier for Mideast military operations. This is yet another result of the gutting of government power: the increasing, and quite possibly dangerous reliance on multinational businesses for mission-critical government functions.
Various industries consolidated over the 80's and 90's, and that's left a handful of enormous companies contracting in countless corners of the government, crucial corners. As Newsweek puts it, BP was "the oil-company equivalent of "too big to fail". "
...
.
Dammit!! Quit knocking Barbara. We like her in Maryland because she is not a crook and that's hard to find around here. She may be getting a little long in the tooth, but she was a good community organizer and congresscritter, though there might be a little of the Peter Principle at work here.
Us Balmoreins stick together.
Those of the Fox persuasion will be happy to know that she was a classmate of Nancy Pelosi, ne. D'Alesandro, at Notre Dame Prep.
Ps, I may be an idiot, but at least I have sense enough not to waste time writing to congress. Why do you think they have a "budgeting" process designed to overspend because the only way to pass a bill is to give out enough goodies to get enough legislators to vote for it? Because they need to build up as much government debt as possible, since it is the basis of our currency. Blaming, or expecting better of the poor dumb idiots in there is like blaming cows for the fence. If they broke out, they would just be put back in and the fence fixed. The ones who make a habit of it just go to the butcher.
too much truth i fear.
it's such a bummer to be defending the least of evils. sure, i love integrity and am glad she has it. but she still voted the wrong way, and we all still lose - and the best we can come up with is 'well at least he/she isn't a crook...'
(brodix, i'm not knocking you here... it's the reality of the situation.)
i don't have any constructive place to go from there...
A senate full of well- intentioned nitwits isnt sufficient to wrest control from a corrupt, bankster enabling federal reserve.
This is stunning. Thanks, Tyler, for reporting this.
Another numb nuts apologetic "public servant", pathetic as most of them.
+1
You forgot to add STUPID
lies lies, lots of fucking lies goes on, here anymore†
cheeky, you are a humanist or heck anti statist, didn't know that.
didn't know that word.
i have a dictionary r e a l l y r e a l l y close by, so i can learn.
still, go fuck yourself†
well, just in case you didn't hear me.
kiss†
testing testing†
Well, she left one thing out - unicorns shitting Gold bars.
i always thought they shat skittles. i guess i need to clear a few acres for unicorns.
They'll only shit gold bars if you feed them the straw of scarecrows who watch over the concentrated short positions at comex. And you only get fine gold if they relenetlessly butseks the army of straw man arguement anti-gold lobby who regularly infest the pages of zerohedge. It's a circle of life things.
It's a poor argument that relies on taking the piss out of somebody's appearance or just outright insulting them.
By the way, it's NOT 'core tennant', it's 'core TENET'. There are differences between 'break' and 'brake', 'moot' and 'mute', 'their', they're' and 'there', 'it's' and its', 'your' and you're', etc. At least check before posting - I do.
I continue to read ZH because of the timeliness and depth of its postings, but I am getting a bit fed up with a lot of the comments posted that don't appear to have anything useful to say. We then become a bunch of zealots who don't consider other arguments or points of view.
DavidC
F U C K U davidC
just kidding.
it's a weekend†
every few days there must be some male bonding here, else real visceral fear will take hold. . . porn is the great uniter, it's a shorthand most men comprehend, straight from the reptilian brain. . .
personally, I'm grateful when these interludes crop up, it re-minds me who the authors are here, who they attract, who they value. . . which allows me to utilise my discretion, apply my own value system to the verbiage. . . I love a lot of what is written here, have a great deal of respect for "tyler" and others ATL, but it's hardly surprising that the overwhelming majority of those who choose to post BTL are men. . .
as to the spelling, etc. - all that matters is teh maths, eh. . . spelling is fer pussies, amirite?
+10 I liked what you had to say.
me too...along the lines of the erich fromm cheeky recommended last week.
either of you read 'the alphabet & the goddess"?
aye, leonard shlain is one of those authors with a unique perspective, such that you know you've read something original, not churned-for-profits. . . also enjoyed his "sex, time and power". . . it's interesting to me that both he and terence mckenna (another unique thinker & author) died of brain cancers. . . thanks tip.
i didn't know Shlain had died. wow, interesting, they both dealt with the brain. life is a mysterious beast. have to read his other book. look forward to future postings from you c.aura...
thank you MsCreant, genuinely.
I've been reading here for months, opened an account. . . then just sat with my opinions because they felt discordant with the tone(s). . . this past week I spent more time on zerohedge than anywhere else, because the "world economy" is an important perspective to be aware of. . . it's not my own, and I don't "trade" - but we all breathe the same polluted air. . . just as I was about to post one of those "I love you guys!" to another thread, this thread popped up, and it just threw cold water in my face. . . not for the first time, of course - we all cycle back round to our realities, eh. . .
again, thank you - I have much respect for your posts here.
It is interesting. I think folks are wound too tight and out of fear, some judgement emerges that isn't productive (some sociopaths on the other hand, we waste our breath trying to have compassion for them, they will just turn it on us).
When we notice, we have to be careful not to be judgmental our selves. At least this is my battle. I don't always hold on to that. I remember, and forget. Kind of like "cycling back around to our realities."
Not all my posts come from a good place, but thanks. :-) Keep posting if you are so moved. I like your voice.
The March 2009 lows won't hold.
Updated DOW daily and weekly charts:
http://stockmarket618.wordpress.com
http://www.zerohedge.com/forum/latest-market-outlook-1