Treasury and the Fed made BoA "an offer they couldn't refuse"

[PeriscopeDepth]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...47844220090205

These people (Fed and Treasury officials) are the biggest threat this country has seen Southern secession. Organized crime is more or less in charge of our banking system as far as I can tell.

They have perpetuated the largest theft in global history through the bailout legislation. They have caused the mess that we are in (unless you doubt their mathematical competence and believe the "perfect economic storm" BS), and for some reason we trust them to fix it because of their "financial expertise". They are also either incredibly corrupt or incredibly incompetent [Madoff's $50 billion fraud was officially reported no less than what, 5 times with no action being taken? Paulson headed Goldman Sachs and personally lobbied Congress for the removal of leverage limits in financial institutions. Geitner (and a significant portion of government, unless Obama just happens to be picking the guys that are cheating on their taxes) has "ethical issues" to say the very least.]

I know I said I'd do my best to stay out of political threads, but I just can't understand why these people weren't jailed yesterday. If this keeps up, Americans are going to lose all faith in their government as a body that acts to protect them and think of government rather than an institution that is an outright accomplice to stealing from them at the expense of a very small percent of the population.

PD

[magic452]

Vote for change.
The more things change , the more they stay the same.
It seems like as soon as you reach Washington you must check in your common sense.

I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months you wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the hell the rest of them ever got here.
Harry S. Truman


Magic452

[Platapus]

Perhaps we are experiencing the start of the end of the American Empire?

All the past empires/world powers have had their downfalls at the end of their lifespan, why not us?

I can still recommend Barbara Tuchman's "Distant Mirror" as an excellent history book to read.

[UnderseaLcpl]

The biggest threat since Southern secession? Hell, I almost wish the South had won (damn that slavery obsession). They fought for State's rights and we'd be in a lot better shape right now had Lincoln acceded to their demands.
In any case, I would argue that the biggest threat this nation has ever faced was F.D.R.s attempt to pack the supreme court, along with his slew of unconstitutional "New Deal" programs. This nation has never come so close to losing its' freedom as it did then. IMO, the creation of a central bank isn't far behind on that list.

Obama's administration is a history-making one indeed. And since we have not learned, we are doomed to repeat history.

[surf_ten]

Somehow I get the feeling we are not going to go down alone.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by surf_ten

Somehow I get the feeling we are not going to go down alone.

Given that the world's currency and many commodity values are based upon the dollar, I'd say that you are correct. If only our currency was actually backed by something so we wouldn't experience a complete freefall

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Perhaps we are experiencing the start of the end of the American Empire?

All the past empires/world powers have had their downfalls at the end of their lifespan, why not us?

I can still recommend Barbara Tuchman's "Distant Mirror" as an excellent history book to read.

That is a great book!

Yeah, I can handle the end of the American Empire (except, what empire?). I'm prepared to don native Texan dress and entertain the Chinese tourists. Make plenty of yen with my turkey calls and gunslinging exhibition.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

That is a great book!

Yeah, I can handle the end of the American Empire (except, what empire?)

Well we are an empire, in every sense of the word. The U.S. retains political control over a lot of territory that we do not own, and we have a stranglehold on the world economy. We also have decisive strategic control over every corner of the globe.
By our prosperity, we have become an empire, even though we do not have imperialist ambitions.

And, just like every empire, we will be destroyed from within before we are destroyed from without. It has already begun. The trend towards socialism, societal stratification, interventionism, and public debt has already begun. It is virtually impossible to stop. We will follow in the steps of every empire ever created because we failed to learn. Liberty made this nation great, but there are many who are working hard to erode that ideal(in the name of social progress, ironically), bit by bit. And they will succeed. Take a lesson from history.

I, for one, will not stand for this. Give me liberty, or give me death!

[Aramike]

Well we are an empire, in every sense of the word.

I have to disagree, man. Looking at the definitions of the word itself, in very few senses could the US be considered an empire. Indeed, we are the prevailing political force of these times, but the world hardly plays along.

Just look at our obscene trade deficits - China's making a killing off of us while having markets almost completely shut down to our goods. Heck, we are practically occupying one of the most oil-rich nations in the world and we're paying dearly for every drop that comes out of it. Imperialistic nations don't give such quarter.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Aramike

I have to disagree, man. Looking at the definitions of the word itself, in very few senses could the US be considered an empire. Indeed, we are the prevailing political force of these times, but the world hardly plays along.

Just look at our obscene trade deficits - China's making a killing off of us while having markets almost completely shut down to our goods. Heck, we are practically occupying one of the most oil-rich nations in the world and we're paying dearly for every drop that comes out of it. Imperialistic nations don't give such quarter.

I also disagree. Our conduct after World War II in not exercising our rights of dominion over Germany and Japan shows that we are not and do not desire to be an empire. The European economy is bigger than the US economy and we only think we are the prevailing political force of the world because we live here. In actuality our power to influence world events is very limited.

As far as "change" goes, I'm a conservative. I don't like the direction we're going: thinking all solutions come from government. But just as we, because we live in the US, think that the US is the prevailing political power, the legislators and executive think, because they are in government, that all solutions must come from there. It appears more and more that Obama studied Roosevelt, not Jimmy Carter as I feared, but even Roosevelt made mistakes that deepened and lengthened the depression.

Only World War II brought us out. And that is the true danger of worldwide economic strife. Somebody somewhere will erect straw men and start killing real men, women and children. The rest will be forced to react against, but as republics always do, it will be too late to avoid wholesale massacre, because liberals tend to live and let live as long as they can. (For instance, Jimmy Carter never met a dictator that he didn't like.) Then they strike out with unbridled ferocity and with near unanimous public support, including the support of the conservatives. By foolishly paying attention only to the former behavior, mistaking it for weakness (even conservatives mistake it for weakness), the real empire builders, building real empires by force and enslavement, the only means actual empires are built, make their fatal mistakes.

Calling the US an empire can only be done by redefining all the characteristics of empire.

[UnderseaLcpl]

I stand corrected. The U.S. is only an empire in the vaguest sense. Doesn't mean we can't learn from their failures, though.

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

That is a great book!

Yeah, I can handle the end of the American Empire (except, what empire?). I'm prepared to don native Texan dress and entertain the Chinese tourists. Make plenty of yen with my turkey calls and gunslinging exhibition.

PD