COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Why is Jim Johnson and Barney Frank Not in Jail?

Congress railroaded and imprisoned Jim Traficant for fixing his driveway, but the really connected and protected thieves in and out of Government go on and steal from the US people by the hundreds of billions of dollars. The same thieves get the US involved in wars and foreign entanglements costing further hundreds of billions and young Americans killed and wounded. Jim Johnson and Barney Frank are just the tip of the spear of the Fannie Mae crisis, but the Fannie Mae crisis is just one of many scandals that are ruing the US.

I looked for the exact charges against Traficant and found this video of a recent talk by Traficant. Believe him or deny Traficant but Traficant says some interesting things that have a ring of truth and make you think. There are 13 parts to this but if half of it is true, we have bigger problems than I thought.
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OP-ED COLUMNIST
Who Is James Johnson?
By DAVID BROOKS NY TIMES
Published: June 16, 2011


Most political scandals involve people who are not really enmeshed in the Washington establishment — people like Representative Anthony Weiner or Representative William Jefferson. Most scandals involve spectacularly bad behavior — like posting pictures of your private parts on the Web or hiding $90,000 in cash in your freezer.

But the most devastating scandal in recent history involved dozens of the most respected members of the Washington establishment. Their behavior was not out of the ordinary by any means.

For that reason, the Fannie Mae scandal is the most important political scandal since Watergate. It helped sink the American economy. It has cost taxpayers about $153 billion, so far. It indicts patterns of behavior that are considered normal and respectable in Washington.

The Fannie Mae scandal has gotten relatively little media attention because many of the participants are still powerful, admired and well connected. But Gretchen Morgenson, a Times colleague, and the financial analyst Joshua Rosner have rectified that, writing “Reckless Endangerment,” a brave book that exposes the affair in clear and gripping form.

The story centers around James Johnson, a Democratic sage with a raft of prestigious connections. Appointed as chief executive of Fannie Mae in 1991, Johnson started an aggressive effort to expand homeownership.

Back then, Fannie Mae could raise money at low interest rates because the federal government implicitly guaranteed its debt. In 1995, according to the Congressional Budget Office, this implied guarantee netted the agency $7 billion. Instead of using that money to help buyers, Johnson and other executives kept $2.1 billion for themselves and their shareholders. They used it to further the cause — expanding their clout, their salaries and their bonuses. They did the things that every special-interest group does to advance its interests.

Fannie Mae co-opted relevant activist groups, handing out money to Acorn, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other groups that it might need on its side.

Fannie ginned up Astroturf lobbying campaigns. In 2000, for example, a bill was introduced that threatened Fannie’s special status. The Coalition for Homeownership was formed and letters poured into Congressional offices opposing the bill. Many signatories of the letter had no idea their names had been used.

Fannie lavished campaign contributions on members of Congress. Time and again experts would go before some Congressional committee to warn that Fannie was lowering borrowing standards and posing an enormous risk to taxpayers. Phalanxes of congressmen would be mobilized to bludgeon the experts and kill unfriendly legislation.

Fannie executives ginned up academic studies. They created a foundation that spent tens of millions in advertising. They spent enormous amounts of time and money capturing the regulators who were supposed to police them.

Morgenson and Rosner write with barely suppressed rage, as if great crimes are being committed. But there are no crimes. This is how Washington works. Only two of the characters in this tale come off as egregiously immoral. Johnson made $100 million while supposedly helping the poor. Representative Barney Frank, whose partner at the time worked for Fannie, was arrogantly dismissive when anybody raised doubts about the stability of the whole arrangement.

Most of the people were simply doing what reputable figures do in service to a supposedly good cause. Johnson roped in some of the most respected establishment names: Bill Daley, Tom Donilon, Joseph Stiglitz, Dianne Feinstein, Kit Bond, Franklin Raines, Larry Summers, Robert Zoellick, Ken Starr and so on.

Of course, it all came undone. Underneath, Fannie was a cancer that helped spread risky behavior and low standards across the housing industry. We all know what happened next.

The scandal has sent the message that the leadership class is fundamentally self-dealing. Leaders on the center-right and center-left are always trying to create public-private partnerships to spark socially productive activity. But the biggest public-private partnership to date led to shameless self-enrichment and disastrous results.

It has sent the message that we have hit the moment of demosclerosis. Washington is home to a vertiginous tangle of industry associations, activist groups, think tanks and communications shops. These forces have overwhelmed the government that was originally conceived by the founders.

The final message is that members of the leadership class have done nothing to police themselves. The Wall Street-Industry-Regulator-Lobbyist tangle is even more deeply enmeshed.

People may not like Michele Bachmann, but when they finish “Reckless Endangerment” they will understand why there is a market for politicians like her. They’ll realize that if the existing leadership class doesn’t redefine “normal” behavior, some pungent and colorful movement will sweep in and do it for them.

49 comments:

  1. The most dangerous man in America, a speaker of the truth., but no worry, he will never get heard.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The theme of this post is the thorough corruption of the US Congress and the costs to the American Public. Video Number 12 addresses the banking system and how it relates to foreclosures and the results of Fannie Mae. In viewing the other tapes, I learned that Jim Traficant is not the clown portrayed in the media. He will be destroyed by the media. He will be destroyed and hushed up by the likes of AIPAC.

    Jim Traficant is speaking the truth and has to be silenced.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Why ARE they not in.....

    good grief

    By the way, the Lord God has taken my heaviness away.....

    Bless e-mails an' horse shoes...

    dwr

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cause he be out freebie?

    dwr

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  5. Death of the Duopoly

    Being binary is bad for business, so when will politics cure its bipolar disorder?

    ReplyDelete
  6. ... left Al Qaeda paralyzed, with its leaders either dead or pinned down in the frontier area near Afghanistan. Of 30 prominent members of the terrorist organization in the region identified by intelligence agencies as targets, 20 have been killed in the last year and a half, they said, reducing the threat they pose.

    Talk of Speeding Afghan Pullback

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  7. The warpath that Mr Biden is said to have championed has been a success. Targeting the aQ leadership, playing "Whack a Terrorist", has proven to have been a success.

    Beyond the gains made by the killing of the individual terrorists, the campaign has made the US public more aware of Pakistani duplicity with regards the War on Terror.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Getting us out of these wars is as important as keeping us out of the next.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You know what it is. We're mad at ourselves.

    There were guys all over the internet warning us, and giving the numbers; and we ignored them.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bomb the village to save the village. How absurdis this? Obama claims it is not a war and even if it is, it is a NATO operation.

    ...On Saturday, NATO said that after looking into reports that an airstrike hit opposition forces in the Brega region on Thursday, "NATO can now confirm that the vehicles hit were part of an opposition patrol".

    "This incident occurred in an area of conflict between (Moamer) Kadhafi forces and opposition forces," a statement added.

    "We regret any possible loss of life or injuries caused by this unfortunate incident," NATO said.

    The statement said a column of military vehicles including tanks was observed in an area where Libyan strongman Kadhafi's forces had recently been operating.

    "In a particularly complex and fluid battle scenario, it was assessed these vehicles were a threat to civilians and they were subsequently engaged by NATO aircraft."…

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  11. See how these people work? Say one bad thing about Israel and instantly you're labelled an anti-semite. Traficant was the best representative ever for the people of Youngstown Ohio.

    The real scandal is AIPAC and Traficant said what others know and fear to say, "Israel has a powerful stranglehold on the American government," controlling members of the House and Senate and involving the U.S. in wars in which it has little or no interest. That is about as un-American as it gets.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Deuce said...
    The theme of this post is the thorough corruption of the US Congress and the costs to the American Public. Video Number 12 addresses the banking system and how it relates to foreclosures and the results of Fannie Mae. In viewing the other tapes, I learned that Jim Traficant is not the clown portrayed in the media. He will be destroyed by the media. He will be destroyed and hushed up by the likes of AIPAC.




    As a full member of AIPAC I can tell you that you have not a clue how AIPAC works.

    You might spend some time at an AIPAC convention or two before shooting your mouth off...

    I doubt you will.

    But for the record, AIPAC has no control of Congress, however CONGRESS supports AIPAC's positions because the American PEOPLE support AIPAC's positions.

    If you want to know about AIPAC's positions maybe you show examine those rather make false charges about "the jewish lobby" how it control's congress.

    ReplyDelete
  13. When Jane Harman wanted the Chairmansip of a powerful committee she went to AIPAC to request their help with Pelosi. No, they're not powerful.

    I just watched all 13 videos. I, also, did not realize what a powerful speaker the man is.

    It's a wonder they haven't killed him. Yet.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Now, for some Good News:

    Cost of Solar Panels, soon, to hit $1.00 per Watt.

    Installed Solar to hit $2.00/watt.

    I'd bet we'll be looking at $1.50/watt, installed, and less within a couple of years. 's a big deal, oh yeah.

    ReplyDelete
  15. .

    Witnesses Point to NATO Strike on Tripoli

    TRIPOLI — NATO acknowledged Sunday that an errant missile had destroyed a civilian home in the Libyan capital in the early morning, saying it may have killed civilians. It was the alliance’s first such admission in the three-month-long campaign of air strikes against the military forces of Col. Muammar el Qaddafi.

    Reporters taken to the site and a nearby hospital saw at least five corpses, including those of a baby and a child. Libyan officials said at least four more civilians were killed.

    The episode was NATO’s second admission of mistaken strike in two days. On Saturday, it acknowledged inadvertently hitting a rebel convoy of tanks and military vehicles moving around the front near the eastern oil port of Brega...


    The collateral damage is getting younger in Libya.

    .

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  16. I don't believe I've ever been as confused about the motivations for a military action as I am about the ones for Libya.

    I keep expecting some sort of information to come out that would, at least, partially, explain it. But, so far, nada.

    's just strange.

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  17. Charlie Wilson, when asked what his constituency thought about his Afghanistan anti-Soviet operations, said,"Constituency? My Constituency is 4 Jewish fellas in NY."

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  18. .

    WHEN THE Department of Education last week released the results of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress — “the Nation’s Report Card’’ — the bottom line was depressingly predictable: Not even a quarter of American students is proficient in US history, and the percentage declines as students grow older. Only 20 percent of 6th graders, 17 percent of 8th graders, and 12 percent of high school seniors demonstrate a solid grasp on their nation’s history. In fact, American kids are weaker in history than in any of the other subjects tested by the NAEP — math, reading, science, writing, civics, geography, and economics.

    How weak are they? The test for fourth-graders asked why Abraham Lincoln was an important figure in US history, and a majority of the students didn’t know. Among eighth-graders, not even one-third could correctly identify an advantage that American patriots had over the British during the Revolutionary War. And when asked which of four countries — the Soviet Union, Japan, China, and Vietnam — was North Korea’s ally in fighting US troops during the Korean War, nearly 80 percent of 12th-graders selected the wrong answer...


    Nope. Don't Know Much About History.

    .

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  19. American citizens have every right to lobby congress

    American citizen can advocate for many caused

    America citizens can petition thier government

    Unless they are Jews or support israel?????

    ReplyDelete
  20. Aipac's lobbyists are private American citizens, they have every right to contact, engage, network and build relationships with thier elected representatives.

    To suggest the because these USA citizens are successful at engaging elected persons of the USA is somehow in-American is in it's own way un-American

    Most Aipac members lobby and support thier direct representative

    Aipac as an organization does not endorse either party nor any specific candidate

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  21. Last time I checked (in America) on had to be convicted of a crime before being declared guilty or a spy

    If anyone took the time to learn about the federal misconduct by the justice dept when it came to the witch hunt avaunt Aipac would understand how and why the justice dept dropped allcharges against Aipac analysts

    James trafficant is a jackass & a convicted felon , after watching him lie,steal and distort many things he was finally convicted and sent to prison

    Many of his cut of cloth are bitter pricks, his comments prove that

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  22. Anonymous said...
    See how these people work? Say one bad thing about Israel and instantly you're labelled an anti-semite. Traficant was the best representative ever for the people of Youngstown Ohio.



    Spoken like the fucktard you are...

    "these" people?

    "say ONE bad thing about israel'?

    nonsense....

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  23. That is exactly the way you operate, WIO.

    ReplyDelete
  24. A young Arab asks his father, "What is that weird hat you are wearing?"

    The father said, "Why, it's a 'chechia' because in the desert it protects our heads from the sun."

    "And what is this type of clothing that you are wearing?" asked the young man.

    "It's a 'djbellah' because in the desert it is very hot and it protects the body." said the father.

    The son asked, "And what about those ugly shoes on your feet?

    His father replied, "These are 'babouches", which keep us from burning our feet in the desert."

    "So tell me then," added the boy.

    "Yes, my son, said the father?"


    "Why are you living in Canada and still wearing all this shit?"

    ReplyDelete
  25. Rufus II said...
    That is exactly the way you operate, WIO.



    Absolute bullshit..

    Rat has made several thousand anti-jewish, anti israel and anti-zionism remarks, so I call him an anti-semite.

    You on the otherhand?

    have only made several dozen anti-jewish, anti-israel and anti-zionist remarks and I have called you an anti-semite as well...

    I reserve that for multiple jackholes.

    You have proven yourself to be a soul-less person who singles out Israel for one set of standards.

    that is the definition of an antisemite.

    that is the way I operate....

    but ONE LITTLE STATEMENT?

    absolute nonsense...

    utter lies...

    total bullshit...

    put that in your pipe and smoke it...

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  26. "I think the first question we have is who represents Mullah Omar," Gates said. "Who really represents the Taliban?

    ...

    We don't want to end up having a conversation at some point with somebody who is basically a free-lancer."

    Gates said the U.S. long has said that "a political outcome is the way most of these wars end. The question is when and if they're ready to talk seriously about meeting the redlines that President Karzai, and that the coalition have laid down, including totally disavowing al-Qaida."


    Deal With Taliban

    ReplyDelete
  27. Actually, Gates is wrong.

    These wars ALL end with the Foreign power going home, and the locals winning.

    Started in 1776, and has been a constant, since.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I also watched all thirteen videos of Traficant. It is not possible to watch them and not believe him and respect his courage. Given the choice of believing a lobbying group that has a focus on directing American political opinion regarding a foreign power or believing Traficant to be sincere, I come down on the side of Traficant.

    Why the hysteria over AIPAC? They are open and honest in what they do. They play within the law but they are manipulators and propagandists. They are the hired guns for Israeli interests. That is what lobbyists do. Israeli interests and American interests are not the same. If they were, Israel would not need a lobbyist.

    Traficant looked out for the interests of his constituency and for American interests over any and all foreign interests. That is plain to see and I admire his courage.

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  29. I'll just second that, Deuce.

    I don't agree with him on every little thing; but I wish we had a lot more like him in Congress.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I cam upon the video by chance. Without knowing much about Traficant except the clownish impression portrayed in the media, I knew little about the man.

    It was obvious to me at the time that Traficant was railroaded and obviously made some enemies. It is nearly impossible to withstand the power of the federal government as they are unholy and vicious and dedicated to keeping their power. Patriotism and respect for the government are not congruent. Patriotism to the government is simply another tool for manipulation and coercion used by them to achieve their secular ideological ends.

    Listening to Traficant, I heard more truth than fabrication. There is no artifice to the man. You may not like the truth as he sees it, but his views are closer to truth than not.

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  31. I just watched Rand Paul in front of Frank Luntz's focus group. He's pretty damned sensible. At least in a short session.

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  32. Claire McKaskill got'em arguing, but, I thought, she, also, made some sense.

    Demint came off as a clown.

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  33. Three days of fighting there in the border town of Nalut has killed 15 people and injured many others, said Brigadier Gomaa Ibrahim, a spokesman of for the rebel military council in the Nafusa Mountains.

    ...

    Despite daily clashes in places, the rebels say they control about half of the mountain range.

    In new defections from Gadhafi's military, 35 army officers led by Brig. Gen. Fouad al-Adrisi announced in a video message that they had joined the rebel ranks. The video was posted on a Facebook page for the uprising.


    9 Civilians Dead

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  34. Kyl was on earlier. He just looked like an old man who wanted to go home and have a cocktail.

    ReplyDelete
  35. deuce: Why the hysteria over AIPAC? They are open and honest in what they do. They play within the law but they are manipulators and propagandists. They are the hired guns for Israeli interests. That is what lobbyists do. Israeli interests and American interests are not the same. If they were, Israel would not need a lobbyist.


    You are so fucking ignorant....

    The "lobbyists" of AIPAC are US citizens, 8,000 of them.

    Not a ONE paid by AIPAC, in fact, WE PAY AIPAC as US citizens, and no it's NOT deductible.

    There is a professional staff that works for AIPAC, they do not do the lobbying.

    WE THE CITIZENS OF THE USA DO THE LOBBYING.

    WE DO THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

    Get it thru your thick skull, AIPAC's lobbying arm are ALL NON PAID US CITIZENS.

    WE are NOT PAID LOBBYISTS.

    You do not have a fucking clue about AIPAC

    You do not KNOW the ISSUES we lobby about

    You are so full of crap....

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  36. Tone Loc, the actor and rapper famed for late 1980s hits "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina," was arrested following an alleged physical altercation with his child's mother, it was reported today.

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  37. One night, after several beers, a Jewish friend looked at me, and said, "We Own the United States. We Run the United States."

    I don't know if he was right, or not; but, I know he thought he was right.

    I've looked at the situation a little differently ever since.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Rufus II said...
    One night, after several beers, a Jewish friend looked at me, and said, "We Own the United States. We Run the United States."



    Real Jews dont drink beer.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Yeah Jews own the USA...

    That's how come we stopped the awacs sale to arabia

    That's how we made the USA move it's embassy to Jerusalem

    That's how we got Pollard freed from jail 15 years ago

    That's how we got such a great land settlement in Israel (1/900 of the middle east)

    That's how we got America to attack and destroy IRAN 15 years ago

    That's how we got full rights of citizenship and membership in the very best country clubs and got it illegal to have deed restrictions against us 100 years ago...

    Yep we OWN the USA...

    What a load of shit..

    you're a nitwit...

    ReplyDelete
  40. You're calling me a nitwit for what my beer-drinking (and, he drank a ton of the stuff,) Jewish buddy said. Gotcha.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Of course, our scariest problem, right now, is that most Republican Senators, and Many Democrat Senators are owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Oil Cartel - Exxon, Chevron, Saudi Arabia, et al.

    Compared to that bunch, AIPAC looks like a association of kindergarteners.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Rufus II said...
    You're calling me a nitwit for what my beer-drinking (and, he drank a ton of the stuff,) Jewish buddy said. Gotcha.


    no I am calling you a nitwit for listening to anyone that says the Jews OWN the USA.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Rufus II said...
    Of course, our scariest problem, right now, is that most Republican Senators, and Many Democrat Senators are owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Oil Cartel - Exxon, Chevron, Saudi Arabia, et al.

    Compared to that bunch, AIPAC looks like a association of kindergarteners.



    That's the 1st intelligent thing you have said in months

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  44. You missed the whole point, genius. I didn't say I listened to him. I only said that I was sure he believed what he was saying. You don't read very well for a Jewish fella.

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  45. I get it. AIPAC is just another version of The American Legion. Just hyphenate the American part. Sorry I did not notice.

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  46. rufus: I don't know if he was right, or not; but, I know he thought he was right.

    I've looked at the situation a little differently ever since.





    say it again sam...



    "I've looked at the situation a little differently ever since."

    ReplyDelete