Jon Stewart shows why we need to listen to D. Kucinich and Ron Paul

[dagwud]

I'm not computer savvy enough to post the video directly so I'll try this.  As Stewart says the U.S. government is the world's worst loan shark.

Jon Stewart

Basically the Federal Reserve loaned Wall Street banks $7.7 trillion.   Not sure if you can call it a loan since the interest rate was 0.01%.   Instead of loaning out this money much of it was then used to purchase Treasury notes paying the banks 3% which made the banks an estimated $13 billion profit.  That $7.7 trillion is more then half of the country's gross domestic product and more then twice the annual budget for the entire federal government.

The more shocking news is that the Federal Reserve kept this all secret from the Treasury while they were developing and implementing plans for the TARP program.  The Federal Reserve also kept this secret from Congress while Congress was debating and creating the Dodd - Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

This is something OWS should be sinking their teeth into.

[bruce MN]

When you  get hepped up about something dag it's like groundhog day. You'll be back to equivocating and telling one side they are just as bad as the other in a heatbeat. If OWS would go nuts over this, you'd be requesting that they moderate.

This sort of stuff, not specifically this, but the entiire complex of fraud and crony capitalism and the government allowing the banksters to run amok among us is what OWS is primarily about. That's what makes it so tragic when Newt and Limbaugh and Coulter and the rest can get all of the conservative little people who are going to be affected by the fraud and corruption to parrot the smelly communist hippy thing.

[Papa Wheelie]

The attorney general of Massachusetts has filed suit over these action. She grew tired of waiting for the federal Department of Justice to begin the process.

Fresh air and sunshine cure most ills but both parties are wanting to keep shoveling the manure into the dank, darkness and keep treating the people like mushrooms.

[r3020]

How could it have been used to buy 7.7 trillion of govenment debt? The the national debt go up 7.7 trillion in that time? Where's that debt at today?

[kraft-t]

That's a big 10-4! Does anyone still use that term or is it antiquated?

[bruce MN]

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/12/01/inside-the-coakley-foreclosure-fraud-lawsuit/

[dagwud]

Bruce, I have seen countless reporting on OWS and countless interviews with some of the people involved in the OWS movement and I have yet to see anything mentioned specifically on this matter.   Maybe I'm just not watching the rights news programs or reading the right news papers or web sites.   I just think if the OWS would get this message out there they could get a lot more traction and win many more people over to their side.  I think many of what I call average Americans would be shocked and astounded to learn more on this matter and think signs showing $7.7 Trillion would draw some attention.  I also think it would help put more pressure on the Dept. of Justice to get of their a$$ and do something other then look the other way. 

I don't think the majority of Americans take the time to read up on such issues unlike many on this site.   However I do think many folks do read newspapers and news magazines at times or occasionally catch the nightly news.   If they could see OWS hammering away on this point I think it could help make more folks aware of what I call reckless behavior by the federal reserve.  Ask your neighbors and see how many of them are aware of this and especially younger adults.  The main message I think most folks keep getting from reporting on the OWS is that they are upset with richest 1% and the growing disparity between the very rich and the rest of us and not what our government has done or failed to do.

Papa, I applaud the few state AG's like Massachusetts Coakley and Delaware's Biden for doing what the Dept. of Justice should be doing.   Not sure if it is possible but I would love to see several states suing the Dept of Justice for not doing their job and protecting American consumers.

[johnaa]

  I find it rather astounding that a man of your intelligence and maturity would expect newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and major media outlets in this nation to inform the public rather than spread the BS of their owners and advertisers and the coercive political organizations. 

   Look at how long it took them to acknowledge the existance of RP and how the attempted to paint him as a kook.

  Recall the early days of the anti Viet Nam movement, the MSM projected images into the minds of their victims of confused unwashed commie.etc. scum, and many people still hold that image in their minds, which makes it easy to feed that picture to people today about the OWS uprising.   The so-called one percent plutocrats own the MSM and  learning the Truth from them about the OWS will not begin to happen for years, just as in the instance of VN, the CIA/British overthrow of the elected democratic government of Iran in 1953, what percent of the people understand the reality of that crime today??  

[bruce MN]

Coakley and Biden and the AGs in California an dnevada are doing a great job. The best of tehm is Schniederman in N.Y., righ tin the banksters back yard. Had a good mentor in Eliot Spitzer.

You might thave misunderstood me. I was throwing this specific story in with the genral issue fo corruption and government aiding and, abetting an dlokking the other way.

And as you say, not many people read or look deeply into things all that much and those mildly intersted get their news from the mainstream networks who aren't going to report this stuff in any way other than sound bites and snippets. If it is critical of the business or financial community they consider it to be inherently controversial and there is a history of the oligarchy and their minions unloading on them mercilessly for merely reporting stories only miildly scandalous. And FOX won't report it at all.

Yeah, it would be nice if they'd give the dissidents time. Ain't gonna happen. Bad for business.  Fearmongers and foretellers of fascism and tyranny warn of state media. We've pretty much got it now.

[bruce MN]

The broadcast networks are either complcit or fearful lap dogs.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-medias-blackout-of-the-national-defense-authorization-act-is-sham...

They are the reaosn people ultimalely turn to O'Reilly and Ed Shultz and put themselves through that.. Once you realize that you are getting filtered and diluted info, it's hard to watch the 4 free broadcast networks.