Risk-free Capitalism -- Grand Theft Country

Sam Seder, who had a pointed and funny talk show on Air America and can be found on the web, came up with "Grand Theft Country" to describe what was going on during the Bush-Cheney years. Unfortunately, the moniker still sticks even though the country has "flipped" complete control to the Democrats.

Our new Risk-free Capitalism is really theft

Risk-free capitalism is the precedent created with Bush-Paulson's TARP program, paid for by the taxpayers. Many of these taxpayers got hit twice, losing a significant percentage of their 401k's in what I consider just part of the greatest corruption and scandal in the history of the country, Grand Theft Country.

We should have let these companies fail. They took the money and left us holding the bag.

Money doesn't disappear. The money everyone lost in the latest "Goldman-Sach's bubble" (see Matt Taibi's Rolling Stone article called the Great American Bubble Machine) went into someone's pocket. Some of it is going into Congress's pockets to keep the greed machine going.

Why hasn't anyone asked how the financial giants are able to pay themselves such handsome bonuses? Over the last eight years, pay in the financial sector grew at twice the rate of the rest of Americans pay.

More Bonuses.

Today it was reported in the Washington Post, the big banks will pay themselves nearly 25% more than they did last year. Without shame, at a time the nation is experiencing the worst unemployment in decades and the country is experiencing its greatest indebtedness in its history because it bailed out these very banks, these people are taking more.

How was Hank Paulson able to pay himself a half billion dollars in the few years he was CEO of Goldman-Sachs? Whose money went into his pocket? How is it he then goes on board the Bush team to create TARP and without nary a nod to Congress indebts the country to bailout his company and others that went bankrupt because they were all involved in a fraud on investors and overpaying themselves?

Now, it's another Wall Street insider giving away our money, and more bonuses to those who helped create this failed economy through the corporate ownership of Congress and the White House.

This country has lost its way. It has abandoned so many of its principles it is almost unrecognizable to me. People thought they were voting for change, but the leader elected to replace the last is letting the people continue to "Hope for Change" while he continues every policy and practice of the last administration.

I fear we are no longer a country of, by and for the people. The people are now piddly assets and debtors to the Ownership Society.

I smell a cover up, but why not the press?

Supposedly, the program Vice President Dick Cheney wanted to keep secret from Congress involved establishing an assassination squad to take out al Qaeda leaders. Even though since 1989, we have established in law that there is no prohibition from taking out even “leaders of state” in a time of war, and these folks are terrorist leaders, not leaders of state.

Also, the current administration has no problem with killing suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the senior al Qaeda leadership are supposedly sitting in caves planning to bring western civilization to an end. Why wouldn't sending in paramilitary units in the Bush-Cheney administration make sense?

What we're getting doesn't smell right. The press is offering us un-named former CIA sources saying stuff like: “People look at killing terrorists with drones differently than they do with an assassin's bullet... Well, the al Qaeda leadership is all over the world, in different countries, and how do to you effectively coordinate this covert activity with their governments? What if our operatives get caught?” "It sounds practical, but when you look at it, it isn't."

Excuse me?

These excuses are terribly thin. Let's look at this in the context of what we already know.

Other countries are already involved in our covert activities, and in some cases neither our government nor the CIA informed their governments. Extraordinary Rendition was practiced by the CIA, which involved kidnapping innocent people in Italy, Germany, Canada. It supposedly has also netted some not so nice people. In addition, the CIA sent them off to secret Black Prisons located in other foreign countries. In some cases we know the countries were aware of the existence of existence of these prisons, but we still don't know the full story.

BTW: These secret prisons are still in operation, as a key al Qaeda source, who was tortured months before the White Legal Counsel and the Department of Justice rewrote the definition of torture to make it “legal,” died under suspicious circumstances in a Libyan prison a couple of months ago. He was the sole source used by the Bush-Cheney White House to “fix the intelligence to the policy” through his testimony there was a link between al Qaeda and Iraq. One of several falsehoods perpetrated by this administration to invade a harmless country.

CIA operatives have been caught. There is an extraordinary rendition case moving very slowly in the Italian courts involving several CIA operatives.

The record of the Bush-Cheney White House informing Congressional Committees within the law is already shady. An example is the problem of when and how it informed Congress that torture was being used in interrogations. Torture is a war crime. This was a secret kept until images started showing up, and as noted much is still secret. There is movement toward an investigation, but it is being stymied. See today's Washington Post.

CIA has already been accused misinforming members of Congress. An investigation is considered because there are apparently differences in the stories the CIA told the members of the “Gang of Eight” regarding its enhanced interrogation techniques. This is likely because members were either individually briefed or with only a couple of other members present. Under such circumstances the chances of the “Gang of Eight” having gotten a complete record are almost nil. This is hardly fulfilling the obligation of keeping the Intelligence Committees fully informed of covert activities. They still aren't informed. We haven't been informed.

Common Sense. It doesn't make sense that an assassination program wasn't operational. As Senator Bond in today's papers said, a targeted assassination program is exactly what we'd expect our CIA to be involved in. The key targets are supposedly in countries that have our permission to target and kill suspected Taliban, no less al Qaeda leadership, so again, what's the secret that had to be kept from Congress?

The question it really boils down to is why would Vice President Dick Cheney tell the CIA it didn't want Congress to know about a common sense program that would be legal, unlike other programs undertaken by the CIA in secret and with at least partial, if not full knowledge of the Gang of Eight, and with or without the consent the other countries?

There can be only a one plausible explanation, this isn't the program that is being kept secret. This is a cover up. Right now, the press is playing along. They are carrying the same story with the same weak sound bites. I wonder what entertainment news is going to make us, Congress and the DoJ forget all about this?

Clown exits, comedian enters, veep bombs

It's been quite a week. A clown exits the political stage, former comedian and satirist takes the oath... finally, and Vice President Joe Biden shows the administration's hand isn't so different from the last administration's.

Palin runs out on job for the good of Alaska

I'm on the same page as E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post. Sarah Palin's political career is over. She says it's for the good of Alaska and she's right. She wasn't fit for office, and she certainly wasn't fit to be Vice President, although I'm beginning to wonder about Biden.

Despite all the spin, the fact is who wants a leader who quits before the job is done. Adversity or not, no one wants a quitter. It's not like the responsibility of being governor was thrust upon her. She ran for office. She took an oath. She quit before her term was up.

After she's finished with her book, you'll see her on TV again. I was surprised she also left CNN. Wouldn't the wingnuts much rather look at Sarah Palin than "one too many nights in the poker parlor" William Bennett? Bill once had something to say, but since being on message is so important the GOP, they all share the same teleprompter. Sarah will be back, but not running.

Al Franken takes office for the good of Minnesota and our Country

The not-very-confident self-help character played by Al Franken on Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smalley made this part of his Daily Affirmation, "I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me." It certainly fits Senator Al Franken, who finally took office after winning the Minnesota seat from Norm Coleman. However, the last phrase of should probably be modified to "enough people like me."

I met Al Franken at a fundraiser in our neighborhood when he entered the race. I asked him if he was going to fight. He knew what I meant, and said yes. He later said as much when spoke of that other great fighter for Minnesota and the people, Paul Wellstone. By the way, besides being very smart and caring, he and Wellstone also were very good wrestlers. If Al can take them down on the Senate floor like Paul could, Minnesota and the country will have another champion of the people.

Joe the V.P. gives Israel unilateral strike authority echoing the neocons

The most disturbing news this week was Vice President Biden "apparently" giving Israel the green light to bomb Iran's nuclear sites if it feels threatened. President Obama said yesterday that it wouldn't be in line with America's policy. We wouldn't want to see anything that could percipitate war throughout the entire Middle East. (I guess he feels we're doing enough already.)

Unfortunately, our supposed legal scholar of a President didn't want to take the opportunity to renounce President Bush's unilaterally invading another country when there was no real or apparent threat of danger. Yet, another Bush-Cheney violation of international law is allowed to remain as precedent. Yet again, another disappoint upon so many others from an administration not even six months old.

Up until this week, I at least thought Obama would hold for the environment, but Cap and Trade shoots that in the foot, too. More financial trading and not much for the environment... the lawyers and Wall St. win this one.