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Ratigan Presents Financial Fraud For Dummies (Literally)

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Dylan Ratigan and the Story Pirates have dumbed down the biggest generational theft in US history to the level where a Sesame Street fan can get it... Or is that a master ES trader with laser precision liquidity withdrawal reflexes? Anyway, it is somewhat sad to witness the transition of America from at least a passably respectable nation to one in which it is made plainly obvious to children, that to succeed in life one must cheat, lie and steal with the best of the the bankers.

 

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Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:53 | 300931 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

Education has always been a subversive activity... but that's breaking new ground.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:35 | 301003 MileMarker17
MileMarker17's picture

You may as well watch this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScgFIKXKFkc&feature=player_embedded

 

To see what our education system has done to the youth of America.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:48 | 300932 casino capitalism
casino capitalism's picture

I am a huge fan of Dylan.  He knows what the issues are extremely well.  Sadly, he also knows that many people (including politicians) don't have a clue what is going on.  So he has to try to compete with reality t.v. for their attention (which means dumbing down to puppets which, frankly, is at about the same intellectual level as most reality t.v.).

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:44 | 301013 erik
erik's picture

I second that.  I am grateful that Dylan is highlighting these issues and continues to do so.

The general populace just does not understand the consequences that are coming as a result of the financial irresponsibility.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 20:37 | 301109 Alienated Serf
Alienated Serf's picture

I third it.  Plus, I like puppets.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 23:25 | 301362 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

+1

 

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 00:05 | 301408 Al Huxley
Al Huxley's picture

The general population doesn't understand, or care to understand because

- they've been disenfranchised, and disillusioned by the massive corruption in the system

- regardless of the corruption that dumps obscene wealth upon the few, the majority still live comfortably enough that seriously rocking the boat isn't worth their while.

- The new media provide an unprecedented channel for distribution of propaganda that's fully exploited by the elite to keep the masses entertained and docile.

 

Change will come if/when things get bad enough that the average American has less to lose from fighting the system than from accepting it.  Right now, defaulting on the mortgage has no consequence to most other than freeing up a couple of thousand $/month to extend the consumption habit.  In that situation, its not surprising that most wouldn't want to fight the system.

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 00:26 | 301427 dark pools of soros
dark pools of soros's picture

its just like all this freakin deregulation.. common folk dont care about fake competition in the name of privatisation - they just want a simple electric bill, etc so they can spend time trying to LIVE a normal life..

but we got the snake oil peddlers who don't sleep and will constantly tinker and fuck with anyone not playing the game as hard as they are

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 02:10 | 301487 Tethys
Tethys's picture

+100

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 10:34 | 301952 Hephasteus
Hephasteus's picture

The best liars and supporters and enablers are ignorant ones.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:50 | 300935 No One
No One's picture

is it fraud when it is legal?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:06 | 300965 anony
anony's picture

As the puppet said, "If chewing gum is illegal, then change the law to make it legal.  If fraud is illegal, then change the law to make getting caught in a fraud legal". That way fraud is still 'illegal' but getting caught at it, isn't.

Get it?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:52 | 300939 Gold...Bitches
Gold...Bitches's picture

sigh.  sad, but true.  unfortunately this will still be over the heads of too many people here in the US.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:54 | 300944 JohnKing
JohnKing's picture

How do I reach these keedz?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:03 | 301158 Village Idiot
Village Idiot's picture

Loved that episode.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:20 | 301285 brushfire
brushfire's picture

HAHAHAHA. is that a "stand and deliver" reference?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:52 | 301331 Village Idiot
Village Idiot's picture

I thought it was a parody of a Stand and Deliver scene recreated through the extraordinary acting skills of Eric Cartman of South Park fame?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:55 | 300945 DirtySouth
DirtySouth's picture

Is there anyone on the web who can explain this 'theft' without: sounding like a sensationalist, or pretending the 'generation' did not indebt themselves to hell?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:15 | 300974 anony
anony's picture

Depends on how you define theft.  You define it, then we'll see if it can be explained. Until terms are defined, explicitly, everything else is just heated conversation.

e.g. Is Hank Paulson, giving AIG hundreds of billions of dollars to make Goldamn Sucks, Lord Blankein, and the Chinese Banks not only whole, but even more money than they are owed, "theft'? 

Well since it's partially my money he is giving them, without my permission or forgiveness, I'd have to say an emphatic fuckin' yes! it's stealing from me and my great grandchildren, and while you don't want it sound sensationalist, I'd like to cut his fucking head off for doing it.  Or at least whack his pee-pee.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:35 | 301295 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

Is there anyone on the web who can explain this 'theft' without: sounding like a sensationalist, or pretending the 'generation' did not indebt themselves to hell?

Sure.  Send me 40% of all you earn every year, plus 8.25% of everything you buy, 15-28% of all your investment income, 50% of your estate when you die, and burn 3% of the cash you have left over each year on the alter of inflation, then I will get back to you with your requested explanation.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 18:55 | 300946 tdstrike
tdstrike's picture

I now feel educated and am waiting by the phone for the

cute lil cnbc associate producer to call and book me for

my 5 minutes on power lunch.

 

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:01 | 300955 Thisson
Thisson's picture

lol that was fantastic!

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:02 | 300956 Segestan
Segestan's picture

cheap sensationalist propaganda,  using the most innocent minds of all as tools of revolution. Like kids would really need this sort of crap education. This is an adult problem and will require adult answers, leave the children out of it. This guy is an unethical rat.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:11 | 300973 Crab Cake
Crab Cake's picture

I disagree.  I see plenty of kids with AKs in foreign countries, and we have more guns than they do.  Kids can make a difference...

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:32 | 300995 Segestan
Segestan's picture

OK ....then go send you're children into battle.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:11 | 301171 Crab Cake
Crab Cake's picture

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Generations of my family have stood shoulder to shoulder with their countrymen and fought for what they believed in, for the independence of the country that they claimed an ownership stake in, and for their family's ongoing livelihood and freedom.  I will not hesitate to do the same, and nor will my children. 

"I would rather die standing than live on my knees!" - Emiliano Zapata

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:19 | 301198 arnoldsimage
arnoldsimage's picture

they should have fought for the truth, which means they fought for the banking oligarchs and military industrial complex.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:20 | 301200 arnoldsimage
arnoldsimage's picture

they should have fought for the truth, which means they fought for the banking oligarchs and military industrial complex.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:59 | 301261 Segestan
Segestan's picture

Jesus wasn't a child. Jesus never used children to make examples. Use another excuse besides the scriptures.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:09 | 301267 Crab Cake
Crab Cake's picture

We're all someone's child.  You say, "This is an adult problem and will require adult answers, leave the children out of it."  Sorry buddy, the kids are part of this.  Whether they inherit the mess as bystanders, or fight alongside (ideologically or physically).  I'm not saying that I ethically or morally agree with kids fighting a hot war, but I am saying that there is no way to "leave the children out of it."  We're all in this mess together old, young, middle aged; whatever.  Like it or not, that's the way it is.  You can hide in a hole all you like, but sooner or later events and realities will find you, and your children.  Good luck to you and yours, because we are all going to need it.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:33 | 301280 hedgeless_horseman
hedgeless_horseman's picture

Jesus wasn't a child. Jesus never used children to make examples. Use another excuse besides the scriptures.

The God of Jews, Christians, and Muslims used the near sacrifice of a child, Isaac, ( or his half-brother, Ishmael, according to some Muslims) by his father, Abraham, to show that loyalty, faithfullness, and sacrifice are more important than self.


Chapter 22 of Genesis: “Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I

am.” And he said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights which I will point out to you.”

 

So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burn offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the ass. The boy and I will go up there; we will worship and we will return to you.”

 

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the fire-stone and the knife; and the two walked off together. Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he answered, “Yes, my son.” and he said , “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “God will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.

They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the alter, on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. Then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: “Abraham! Abraham!” and he answered, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, you favored one, from Me.”

http://people.brandeis.edu/~burt/abraham.pdf

 

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 00:48 | 301439 chindit13
chindit13's picture

I hope we could limit our resorting to superstition on Zerohedge, as that is a slippery slope.  Pretty soon we'll have people believing in stuff like an economic recovery.

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 11:29 | 302089 WaterWings
WaterWings's picture

With plastic keys to get into heaven.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:06 | 301162 Village Idiot
Village Idiot's picture

Most children don't undersatnd mortality. So theoretically they would make better soldiers.  Smaller target too.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:26 | 300986 Rainman
Rainman's picture

 Barack Hussein Obama.......mmmmm--mmmm--mmmm

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 20:04 | 301041 BDig
BDig's picture

I thought the video was brilliant.  Dylan realizes that the apathy of the American people could just as easily be stupidity.  Well if you can't speak on an intellectual level, give the information in a way that even sheeple can understand.  Don't fault the kids if they are smart enough to get it even if their parents aren't.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 20:23 | 301073 Segestan
Segestan's picture

Cheap excuse. Who ever said it was the childrens fault? Views like you'res are best left to pollute you're own children and stay away from others.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 20:56 | 301148 RichardENixon
RichardENixon's picture

It's "your own" imbecile. The video was probably over your head. Or as you would put it "you're" head.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:25 | 301208 Segestan
Segestan's picture

Another idiot

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:45 | 301239 Al Gorerhythm
Al Gorerhythm's picture

Segestan, this is their problem. It's been bequeathed to them. We may as well educate them about the immoral activities of the people they are going to have represent (cough cough) them. It does have to be done in a moral way tho'. We can't hold the high moral ground if we are seen to be taking advantage of someone's innocence, when we bemoan the loss of morals by bankers and representatives in their dealing with innocent investors and constituents.

I am a retired high school teacher who still does a bit of substitute work on a daily basis. When there isn't any work prepared for me by the teachers whom I'm relieving for the day, I bring out an Austrian Economics lesson based on the video "Money as Debt" by Paul Grignon. 

Kids grasp the concept of honest, commodity-backed money immediately. They know the simple world of right and wrong because they operate cognitively in a black and white dimension. They get really upset and indignant, when they learn that paper IOUs have replaced honest money.

My family and friends, whom I have been trying to re-educate, as adults, find it extremely hard to grasp the simple concept that; money creation, when unshackled from the constraints imposed upon it in the form of a redeemable reserve, is simply a credit note or IOU. 

Because they have grown accustomed to exchanging printed paper notes for goods and services, they are blind to their ($) underlying deceit. Having received them as payment for labor expended, the paper has become recognized as money, paper money that carries some form of implied value, tied to their labor. They can't see the deception of receiving a fiat based paper note in comparison to an asset backed credit note.

Kids get it straight up. Adults, having a lifetime of false beliefs inculcated into their psyche, are too threatened to let go.

It is right to start with the kids. Perhaps not in this way, as you decry because they are not being taught anything, they are being shown a dishonest ploy. I've never been one to accept the exploitation of children, especially when adults expose them to adult concepts, particularly as seen in the movie industry, where the use of martial language (as used in this clip) and adult concepts are frequently thrust upon them.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:19 | 301282 merehuman
merehuman's picture

20 somethings and older still look at cartoons and play video games.

The fed probably considers us children who should not know these things

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 00:01 | 301404 Seer
Seer's picture

And where is it being stated that it's the children who are supposed to fix it?

The POINT is for everyone to LEARN about what is happening/has happened.  The next generations need to be smarter about spotting crap before it's splattered all over them.

Hiding how things work from children results in bad things.  Kids today don't even know where their tap water comes from (other than "from the faucet").

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:03 | 300958 HarryWanger
HarryWanger's picture

Pretty much been this way since this country was founded. None of this is new. One day there will be hell to pay as you can't found a country based on these core principles and continue the ponzi scheme nature of it. Worked for a couple hundred plus years but at some point it won't.

Til then, I think the markets continue their rally. We're on the best run since coming off the July '09 low. To match it, we merely have to hit SPX 1222-1225. Once that happens a quick 4% pull back, then back off to the races.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:55 | 301028 Pure Evil
Pure Evil's picture

From what I read the public education system was developed after WWI and was a direct result of the lack of education of the vast majority of the military recruits inducted to fight in the war. Since most of the recruits came from rural farms where an education was a luxury the military found a large percentage of their recruits were, how do you say it without sounding crass, just dumb.

My mother claims, since she grew up during that era, that public education was created to teach the new immigrants and their children the English language and teach them about civics and the American government.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:06 | 301166 RichardENixon
RichardENixon's picture

Luke dude, go back to Marketwatch and post on their message boards, I remember seeing you on there before I got kicked off for telling the truth too often.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:07 | 301268 JohnG
JohnG's picture

Hah!

 

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:49 | 301017 theworldisnotenough
theworldisnotenough's picture

There is alot of truth in this skit. It could have done without the buzzword "deregulation" though.

 

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 19:56 | 301029 Pure Evil
Pure Evil's picture

Am I the only one, or did the drawing of Warren Buffet in the background of the video look like a prissy old church lady?

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 00:29 | 301429 Seer
Seer's picture

Provide your picture and we'll be able to tell whether you look like a prissy old church lady :-)

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 06:26 | 301567 tip e. canoe
tip e. canoe's picture

i was just thinking the same thing...the 'great' American capitalists as aging queens with overdone rouge to hide their wrinkles.  now that's seriously subversive.  deep hattip to the artist.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 20:19 | 301069 Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper's picture

brilliant

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 21:41 | 301236 Rick Blaine
Rick Blaine's picture

All of the comments are distracting me...and this thing is hard enough to understand as it is.

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 22:22 | 301291 merehuman
merehuman's picture

where is my crayon?

Wed, 04/14/2010 - 23:28 | 301363 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

I hope the children will not be psychologically damaged by their participation in this expose of fraudulent behavior.

LOL

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 07:12 | 301597 digalert
digalert's picture

I knew there was a reason I didn't watch PMSNBC.

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 09:08 | 301731 TraderV
TraderV's picture

Ratigan would have more credibility if he:

a) stopped shouting in his interviews

b) lost his often present sidekick Elliot Spitzer who for some reason has this reputation as being a 'sheriff of wall st', but didn't actually do anything of significance.

- Read David Einhorns book and it doesn't exactly present a glowing account of the NY attorney generals office.

 

 

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 10:13 | 301894 Myshkin
Myshkin's picture

+1

Thu, 04/15/2010 - 13:29 | 302347 covered
covered's picture

So are the kids calling for infation or deflation? V or W? And no, Dennis Kneale, you don't count.

Sun, 04/18/2010 - 12:44 | 306685 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

Now this, this is good.  The kids sucked, but overall, this is good.

I am Chumbawamba.

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