Dennis Kucinich: The Banks’ Massive Theft

[marmar]

from The Progressive:



The Banks’ Massive Theft
By Dennis Kucinich, July 11, 2009


Why we desperately need monetary reform

Congress was taken for a ride, and the American people’s wealth went with it.

So now you have a system of checks and balances. The Treasury writes all the checks, and Congress doesn’t know what the balance is.

Trillions of dollars are being taken both from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, which is printing money, which you, the American taxpayer, have to back up.

We need to begin to have a serious discussion of monetary reform because what’s been allowed to happen is that banks have been permitted to create money out of nothing, and they have not held sufficient reserves against their investments that could go sour. This caused the collapse of a financial system that’s being shored up with U.S. tax dollars and with trillions of dollars printed by the Fed as backup.

This is a moment in American history that should not escape us. This is a massive theft that goes far beyond anything that’s ever occurred in the history of this country. What’s happening is they’re using government to accelerate the wealth upward and they’re using the Treasury to grab the resources of the public and to enable the banks to get extraordinary amounts of resources and they’re still not loaning money to let people save their homes.

We desperately need monetary reform.


http://www.progressive.org/kucinich071109.html

[marmar]

1. Wow.....Someone apparently saw the name "Dennis Kucinich" and immediately gave it an unrec.....

Good golly Miss Molly.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Unbelievable, eh?

[madrchsod]

5. really....oh well ...there`s a asshole in every crowd

[glitch]

9. Nevermind, they are as outnumbered here as they are IRL. :) nt

[DesertRat]

13. Well, I just countered their unrec

k&r

[jimshoes]

33. Someone has been doing that on nearly every post

since the feature began. Just because they can and without even looking at the contents of the post apparently. So yes, some people are just assholes.

[LWolf]

40. Someone announced his intention to do just that,

the day the unrec feature was turned on.

He's an ass.

[Grinchie]

57. Dennis has incredibly powerful forces that are very afraid of him

If the evidence presented on Bill Moyers recently regarding the coordinated effort and resources used to diminish Michael Moore and his movie "Sicko", don't you think that there are whole industries that are employing the same tactics against Dennis Kucinich, including the DLC that has managed to weasle it's way back into the Administration as efffectively as it did in the First Clinto administration?

The DLC is as Heartless as the Republican machine, and they are very similar in their use to trying to destroy their political enemies.

Paid bloggers are a real industry.

I'm with Dennis. He's got my support in 2012, if they don't murder him by then.

[chill_wind]

3. K & R. It cannot be driven home hard enough.

"We desperately need monetary reform."

And let me just add, for that to happen, we desperately serious campaign finance reform.

[inna]

4. this is worth repeating.

This is a massive theft that goes far beyond anything that’s ever occurred in the history of this country. What’s happening is they’re using government to accelerate the wealth upward and they’re using the Treasury to grab the resources of the public and to enable the banks to get extraordinary amounts of resources and they’re still not loaning money to let people save their homes.

[NightWatcher]

6. if we ever really looked into reform, we'd see that the system is completely corrupt and fixed

then the whole house of cards would come crashing down.

[malletgirl02]

7. "Robbing a bank is no crime compared owning one."

Quote from the Musical Happy end by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_End_(musical)

In the Musical it describes many of the same things we have been currently going through. History repeating indeed. I here is an except from the show. I should find the lyrics I had to transcribe them from a recording, so these aren't exact.

Hosanna Rockefeller

"Then let me say it for. Our two groups same enemy all along. time to forget our little quarrels, and stand together. blasting open a safe is nothing. We got to blast open the big gang the keeps the safe locked. So, slip on your brass knuckles and learn where to hit.Robbing a bank is no crime compared owning one. The world belongs to all of us. Lets march together and make it our own.

Praise to the Fords and Rockefellers

Hosanna Hosanna

The buyers and the sellers

Hosanna Hosanna

All power to the great

Hosanna

give them the city and the state

Hosanna

Bless them with bodyguards and tellers

Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna

May God bless Rockefeller May God bless Henry Ford. May God bless JP Morgan too and his great treasure horde. May God bless sex appeal when wealthy men get bored. God keep their faith and profits high and low the poor may starve and died. Make sure no court on earth will trial try rich O Lard

Shower thy mercy on the wealthy

Hosanna Hosanna

To keep them healthy

Hosanna Hosanna

Let all who are blessed

Those who all worldly goods possess

Grant the contented happiness

Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna

May God bless Rockefeller may God bless Henry Ford. Big Oil and coal and steel send them their just reward.

Help and protect the ruling classes

Till hatred of them passes

Lord smile on those who smile

Grant them the wealth to live in style

Pardon their crimes against the masses

Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna

May God bless Rockefeller may God bless Henry Ford. Big Oil and coal and steel send them their just reward. May God bless sex appeal when wealthy me get bored.

Rule the earth the way they rule the sky almighty lord."

[spin]

8. K&R, Dennis Kucinich is THE MAN! (n/t)

[suzie]

37. He's certainly a good talker.

Gosh, what I alway want in a politician. Zero interest in legislation that might actually benefit someone.

Just today, while fixing lunch I looked at the back of a can to see how much sodium is contained within it. Which makes me a little glad that there are legislators who can initiate and pass the legislation that makes such things happen.

But I wouldn't want DK to bother himself with anything that might benefit the average citizen.

[go west young man]

44. That is sarcasm I hope.

As he is shedding light on the greatest Ponzi scheme and theft ever perpetrated on the American people. Of course his doing that would never benefit anyone, right? At this point Dennis should be held up and praised by all dems. He was right about Iraq and it came to pass he was correct. If he and the other antiwar dems were listened to then he would have directly effected every taxpayer as trillions of their dollars would not have flowed into a bottomless pit in the desert and the country may not be in the economic mess we are now in. Alas though to you Dennis is useless.

[suzie]

51. My senator was against Iraq and spent his time trying to get other Senators

to vote against it. He also saw that the NIE was declassified so that others could read it, while Dennis was off ranting to his adoring claque.

And, unlike Dennis, Senator Graham is an enormously popular vote-getter, who was also running in 2003 and was probably electable. But a Senator Graham doesn't have appeal to the DK claque that values self-righteousness above electability.

But I understand that DK supporters would never have gone for a Senator Graham. My gosh, the man was well-liked by other senators and well-respected and popular enough to be elected to several statewide offices. Horrors!

[Zorra]

55. "Kucinich, who led the effort to mobilize more than 120 members...

“There is no credible evidence that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction.”

“There is no connection between Iraq and the events of 9/11.”

Kucinich, who led the effort to mobilize more than 120 members of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose the 2002 resolution, has pointed out recently that other members of the House and the Senate, some of whom are running for President, were privy to the same intelligence and information that he was. They, however, voted to approve the authorization. Subsequently, some have apologized, saying they made a mistake. Others have said they were “deceived” or “misled” by President Bush.

I find this particularly telling:

Kucinich concluded, “Sound judgment is more valid than political posturing. Principled consistency is a more valid measure of qualifications than hyped-popularity. And rational clarity in confronting life-and-death issues is a better measure of leadership than after-the-fact excuses, apologies, or carefully scripted non-apologies.”

http://blog.light-of-reason.com/archive/pre-iraq-war-documents-reveal-analysis-accurately-predicted-subsequent-events/

[suzie]

61. Well Kucinich should know a lot about political posturing, since that's his specialty.

Legislating, not so much.

But that doesn't explain why DK supporters trash other Democrats who ran in 2003 and don't seem to notice that there was an electable one that they just couldn't stomach because he's actually well-liked. And sorry, I've seen them both in person. Bob Graham is well-liked because he's just genuinely nice to wide varieties of people.

Dennis Kucinich is considered not electable because he's equally as hateful in public as he is on TV.

[ProudDad]

62. You might wish to ask his constituents in Ohio

how "unelectable" he is...

Where were you in 2000?

[suzie]

65. He's been elected to statewide office in Ohio?

What about 2000? I was here in Florida, where the now Kucinich voters were too pure to vote for Al Gore.

[Zorra]

50. That's corporate talking point #1 regarding Rep. Kucinich.

Thanks, but we don't drink kool-aid here.

[suzie]

52. I know, when you have no response, label it "DLC" or "corporate talking point."

[Zorra]

54. That's corporate talking point #2. n/t

[slipslidingaway]

10. rec # 30 nt

[slipslidingaway]

11. Brad Sherman Vs Tim Geithner July 10, 2009

"Sherman Tries to get a straight answer out of Mr.Geithner regarding if derivatives being sold today will be subject to bailouts tomorrow."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=335388&mesg_id=335388

Direct link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvt1uzLv15o

[chill_wind]

14. OMG. I just watched that just now. What a *#% piece of work

he is. (Timmy)

[slipslidingaway]

31. Yup, Sherman changed the question a few times....could not even

say that his message to Wall Street was that the free ride has ended.

:(

[humanahumana]

21. his "non" answer clearly demonstrates whose side the admin is on... the financial elite.

we might as well face it... the banks own the 'joint' (congress)

[slipslidingaway]

32. Welcome to DU - it was pretty clear when the economic team was

assembled, this just reinforces that fact.

[truedelphi]

36. Anyone who is feeling a passionate and overwhelming hatred for

The man in this video who is refusing to answer a rather simple question finds it very hard to continue supporting this Administration.

People on this board will get it in around three years, when the shit hits the fan. (It would be hitting the fan a lot sooner, but twelve trillion bucks spent for Wall St interests will keep Wall St and economy afloat for a few years, I imagine.)

It is no longer important who has a (D) or (R) after their name - what is going to matter in the end is whether they have a (C) for corporation tagging after their name.

[slipslidingaway]

43. I agree, the money that has been printed will keep things

going for awhile, I think some of the real problems will begin when we have to start paying back the SS Trust fund and financing all the new Medicare enrollees.

:shrug:

In some other reading last night they are not too keen on the Fed being audited...HR 1207 now up to 260 cosponsors.

[truedelphi]

67. I'm reading that TPTB are going to make sure

That the Federal Reserve is never audited. That audit would make it much harder for the Trade Agreements made at those nefarious G8, G20 and WTO celebrations to come into being.

Those Agreements should not even be LEGAL, as wording in our Country's earliest legislation prohibits the meeting of our President or his officials with foreign dignataries for purpose of making legislation. And come to think of it - even if that prohibition was not written out (Standing as law since 1796) the President is NOT supposed to make law - nor are any of his appointed people allowed to make law. It is something called "Checks and balances."

But why should we bother our pretty heads about any of this. We quit being a nation of laws way back under Nixon.

[bigwillq]

12. Kucinich is awesome!

:bounce:

[bvar22]

15. K&R for one of the few REAL Democrats left in Washington.

"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[G_j]

16. K&R

[pinniped]

17. There was/is also massive theft occurring with those multi-billion dollar....

Afghanistan/Iraq war contracts. Then there is the issue of those missing pallets containing millions and millions of dollars in cash that the viceroy ordered from the reserve, which were subsequently dispersed to his cronies.

I think these stories should have aired before the thefts occurred.

Since everything is reported after the fact these days, there's not shit that can be done.

But this is not something a sternly worded letter or congressional grilling can't solve.

[ControlledDemolition]

18. 'The Fed' has been a racket from its inception! n/t

[yorgatron]

19. K&R

[Greyhound]

20. We've been telling people this for years, many just don't want hear it.

A hearty :kick: & R

[Mari333]

22. doh. k and r

[bobo4u]

23. Congress was taken for a ride???

C'mon now. Are we suppose to believe that America's true robber barons (congress) are now "victims" of the banking collapse? These, the same folk that overturned the Glass Steagall act that would have prevented the whole mess in the first place? The guys that gave Hank Paulson a blank check over the american tax payer's objections?

I smells a rat. Or, maybe I should say, a mouse.

Is Kucinich now trying to save his own ass before the torches and pitch forks are deployed?

Got a laugh at this one. Yep. Poor gullible congress. Who's kidding who?

[kentuck]

26. I may be wrong but....

it was almost entirely to a person, a Republican Congress that voted to overturn Glass Steagall. And it was a Democratic President, Bill Clinton, that signed it, at the urging of Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin and others...?

[Vidar]

24. K&R for Dennis.

[pleah]

25. K&R

[scarletwoman]

27. Another k&r for Dennis and for truth. (nt)

[bobthedrummer]

28. K&R

[winyanstaz]

29. Again..thank you Dennis Kucinich....

America owes you so much thanks...we can never repay all the work you have done and tried to do to help the people of America.
You are a true Patriot and your name shall go down in history as a great American.

[Echo In Light]

30. Little wonder corporate America trains the public mind to perceive DK as "unelectable!"

K&R

[suzie]

38. Do you really believe that, or is it just something to slam

all other Democratic candidates with?

Because the public of the United States hates a self-righteous scold--and yes, that makes scolds like DK basically unelectable.

[liberation]

41. Psssst.... Pssssst.... your projection is showing.

FYI,

[Echo In Light]

45. No. He's tagged "unelectable" by the vested interests that profit from what DK stands against

And the public, long accustomed to taking their cues from corporate America, obeys accordingly. America is far more authoritarian than what its populace likes to acknowledge...which is an astonishing phenomenon unto itself. The greater opposition one has to that reality is in direct relationship to their cultural indoctrination, which, although slightly more liberal re social issues, remains staunchly authoritarian re the phony National $ecurity State ruse, and its numerous corporate/state machinations...that DK often speaks out against.

[ProudDad]

63. And that's why he never gets re-elected...

ooops, never mind...

:sarcasm:

[suzie]

66. That's why he's run for statewide office so many times?

[valerief]

34. Kucinich is a real representative of the people. They're far and few between. nt

[Kingofalldems]

35. IBTDKBSU

In Before The Dennis Kucinich Bashers Show Up

[ProudDad]

64. Too late. They've already been here (n/t)

[LWolf]

39. K & R for the best Democrat standing. nt

[HOLOS]

42. Dennis--Clear and Simple and Too True!! Thank You!!

[SnowCritter]

46. Banks are run by people

let's not forget that. Let's not blame the banks - that's missing the point. People caused these problems. Usually rich, greedy, entitled-to-everything-I-can-steal-and-screw-you types who wouldn't know an honest day's work if it came up and kicked them in the bollocks. People lobbied for deregulation; people passed the bills; people formulated and executed the policies.

:rant:

:puke:

[Echo In Light]

47. People in powerful, affluent positions share ideological perspective/convergent interests

Those aims are overarching...it's not as though people act within a random, social vacuum.

[Wednesdays]

48. K&R

:kick:

[katty]

49. K&R

[Zorra]

53. DK has an amazing gift for getting right to the heart of an issue:

"they’re using government to accelerate the wealth upward and they’re using the Treasury to grab the resources of the public and to enable the banks to get extraordinary amounts of resources"

The corporate financial monster that lives on Wall St. figured out how to use us and grow fatter on our sacrifices.

When it is big enough, it will enslave and eat us, like the Morlocks did in H. G.Wells' book "The Time Machine".

Unless, like DK says, we somehow stop them.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

56. Dennis is a loudmouthed, trouble-making, radical. Too bad there aren't more like him. K&R

[conscious evolution]

58. K&R

[PurgedVoter]

59. K&R !!!!!!

The K-man rules!

[Fire Walk With Me]

60. Kick and Reccomend for Kucinich on the theft of the Treasury.

[bobthedrummer]

68. I remember when Dennis Kucinich was the choice of all the Democratic candidates here in polls that

totaled over 1,000 votes, like the one below from 10-26-07
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3649440

This is the member of Congress that actually introduced impeachment proceedings against Richard Bruce Cheney-he was spot on there too.