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So Sorry...But Not THAT Sorry

Trey Smith

I've been catching up on my reading and I came across a November op/ed in the Wall Street Journal, Confessions of a Quantitative Easer, in which a former member of the Fed admits that quantitative easing is what some of us always thought it was: a humungous backdoor bailout of some of the wealthiest banks in the world! As is my wont, that's not what caught my eye.

Before returning to the Fed to lead the program, the author writes,

I had left the Fed out of frustration, having witnessed the institution deferring more and more to Wall Street. Independence is at the heart of any central bank's credibility, and I had come to believe that the Fed's independence was eroding.

Yes, he was soo frustrated with Wall Street's power that, when he left the Fed the first time, where did he go? To Wall Street, of course! He then returned to the Fed, before going back to Wall Street again. The proverbial revolving door!

It is hard to believe that he is troubled by the relationship between the Fed and Wall Street because he bounces back and forth between the two of them. Seems to me that his "apology" is lacking sincerity.

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The Bottom Line Stands Up and Roars

Trey Smith

The world's leading technology companies have united to demand sweeping changes to US surveillance laws, urging an international ban on bulk collection of data to help preserve the public's “trust in the internet”.

In their most concerted response yet to disclosures by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter and AOL will publish an open letter to Barack Obama and Congress on Monday, throwing their weight behind radical reforms already proposed by Washington politicians.

“The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favour of the state and away from the rights of the individual rights that are enshrined in our constitution,” urges the letter signed by the eight US-based internet giants. “This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It’s time for change.”

Several of the companies claim the revelations have shaken public faith in the internet and blamed spy agencies for the resulting threat to their business interests. “People won’t use technology they don’t trust,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel. “Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it.”
~ from NSA Surveillance: Tech Companies Demand Sweeping Changes to US Laws by Dan Roberts and Jemima Kiss ~

It seems rather ironic that corporations who regularly spy and collect hordes of data from their often unsuspecting users are demanding that the federal government not spy and collect hordes of data so much from the unsuspecting masses. There is an obvious reason why these tech giants have committed to this drastic action: money. If people don't trust the internet, they might not rely on it so much and this development could put a serious dent in the bottom line of these companies.

There is no way to gauge how serious these outfits are. Only a very naive person would not understand that, at the very least, this could be nothing more than a savvy pr move. Were it not for Edward Snowden, most of the revelations related to this open letter would have remained hidden from public view. The abuses would have been the same, but it's hard to imagine ANY of these corporations going to bat for the rights of citizens out of the apparent blue. My guess is that, as long as the bottom line was not impacted, these giants wouldn't give a wit about possible governmental abuses of power.

That said, beggars can't be choosers. If this open letter helps to create the political will to put some serious constraints on the NSA, then I welcome it. Just don't expect me to sing praises for the altruistic actions of Microsoft or Google.

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This Really Isn't "News"

Trey Smith

Conservative groups across the US are planning a coordinated assault against public sector rights and services in the key areas of education, healthcare, income tax, workers' compensation and the environment, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal.

The strategy for the state-level organisations, which describe themselves as "free-market think tanks", includes proposals from six different states for cuts in public sector pensions, campaigns to reduce the wages of government workers and eliminate income taxes, school voucher schemes to counter public education, opposition to Medicaid, and a campaign against regional efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

The policy goals are contained in a set of funding proposals obtained by the Guardian. The proposals were coordinated by the State Policy Network, an alliance of groups that act as incubators of conservative strategy at state level.

The documents contain 40 funding proposals from 34 states, providing a blueprint for the conservative agenda in 2014.
~ from State Conservative Groups Plan US-Wide Assault on Education, Health and Tax by Ed Pilkington and Suzanne Goldenberg ~

A lot of liberal and alternative media pundits are acting like this leaked information is big, B-I-G news, but is it really? Which of these policy initiatives is new? Which one hasn't been part of the conservative agenda in year's past?

Let's get real here, folks. This agenda doesn't look much different from the one pursued 10 or 20 years ago. Yes, some of the specific targets (issues) change with the generations, but the overall aim is the same. The elite want to eliminate the social safety net as much as possible and shift public monies into their own pockets. They also want tight controls placed on the unwashed masses, while, at the same time, they want to be freed from almost any degree of constraint.

I suppose the difference between now and twenty years ago is that this agenda is out in the open for all to see. In the olden days, the elite pursued such policy initiatives behind the scenes and the general public was none the wiser. These days, however, it's getting harder to keep one's activities under the radar...even for the elite. Someone always is ready to spill the beans.

Unfortunately, just because we know the parameters of their current blueprint, this doesn't mean we have much chance of stopping them. They hold most of the cards and they know it. In some ways, they probably don't care that we know what they are up to because we pose so little of a threat.

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Big Number Means Next Too Nothing

Trey Smith

The US government has urged that Bank of America Corp pay $863.6m in damages after a federal jury found it liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit.

In a filing late Friday in the US district court in Manhattan, the government also asked for penalties against Rebecca Mairone, a former mid-level executive at the bank's Countrywide unit who the jury also found liable, "commensurate with her ability to pay".

The government said the penalties were necessary to punish the bank and Mairone "and to send a clear and unambiguous message that mortgage fraud for profit will not be tolerated".

Bank of America and Mairone were each found liable for defrauding government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the sale of shoddy loans purchased from Countrywide in 2007 and 2008. The case centered on a mortgage lending process at Countrywide, which Bank of America bought in July 2008, known as the "High Speed Swim Lane," or alternatively "HSSL" or "Hustle". (my emphasis)
~ from US Seeks $864 Million From Bank of America After Mortgage Fraud Verdict via Reuters ~

Here we have yet another example of a big number that isn't nearly as big as it seems. According to Wikipedia, around the time that this fraud was committed, Bank of America (BoFA) controlled "20–25% of the home loan market." That is a staggering percentage and it means they were pulling in a staggering amount of money. We're not talking about millions of dollars either. Try over $100 billion per year.

Let's take a look at the proposed fine from another angle. In 2012 alone, BoFA had $83.33 billion in revenue. They held $236.95 billion in equity and had total assets of $2.209 trillion. As a percentage of these vast assets, $863.6 million represents 0.000425628. That's not even one-tenth of one percent!

As I have done before, let's bring down these high brow numbers to something most of us can get a handle on. If you or I was fined $1,000 for some offense and we only had to pay at the rate of 0.000425628, the actual fine would be...drum roll please...43 cents. Not even one measly dollar! Do you think this would dissuade you from committing a similar offense again?

The point here is that the real message the government is sending is the OPPOSITE of what they say. A fine of such a miniscule amount sends a clear and unambiguous message that mortgage fraud for profit WILL BE tolerated, if not encouraged. It is saying, as Cenk Uygur likes to say, "Have at it, Hoss!"

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What About Wall Street?

Trey Smith

The N.S.A. documents taken by Mr. Snowden and shared with The Times, numbering in the thousands and mostly dating from 2007 to 2012, are part of a collection of about 50,000 items that focus mainly on its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters or G.C.H.Q.

While far from comprehensive, the documents give a sense of the agency’s reach and abilities, from the Navy ships snapping up radio transmissions as they cruise off the coast of China, to the satellite dishes at Fort Meade in Maryland ingesting worldwide banking transactions, to the rooftops of 80 American embassies and consulates around the world from which the agency’s Special Collection Service aims its antennas. (emphasis added)
~ from No Morsel Too Minuscule for All-Consuming N.S.A. by Scott Shane ~

Every time you or I use a debit or credit card, chances are great that this information is scooped up by the NSA and stored in a database somewhere. Write a check, make a deposit or transfer money and the same thing happens. If the NSA has its hands on all these types of transactions, then this should include all the similar types of transaction made by the titans of Wall Street.

So how is it that the US government was caught flat-footed about foreclosuregate? How is it that the UK government was caught off guard by the London Whale and Libor Rate-Rigging scandal? How is it that ANY of the financial shenanigans of the past decade took place and yet there have been few, if any, prosecutions?

This situation offers yet another telltale sign that these ubiquitous spying schemes really have little to do with protection and security. In 2007-08, Wall Street committed what could be termed financial terrorism against the world economy. The NSA and GCHQ could have thwarted these attacks or, at least, brought to justice those responsible for it. But they did neither. They allowed the attacks to commence and those responsible have, by and large, not been held responsible in any meaningful way.

Think about this long and hard. Wall Street is in the business OF banking transactions. They leave digital tracks and trails all along the way. The NSA is vacuuming up these financial transactions and yet no one in the US government shows much of any interest in following the tracks or trails laid out. They could easily nail these suckers by producing secretly gathered ironclad evidence in black and white, but they have chosen not to.

That fact -- in and of itself -- should tell the discerning individual all you need to know about what is REALLY going on here.

They Are Stealing Our M. O.!

Trey Smith

Google and Yahoo, two of the world's biggest tech companies, reacted angrily to a report on Wednesday that the National Security Agency has secretly intercepted the main communication links that carry their users' data around the world.

Citing documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with officials, the Washington Post claimed the agency could collect information "at will" from among hundreds of millions of user accounts.

The documents suggest that the NSA, in partnership with its British counterpart GCHQ, is copying large amounts of data as it flows across fiber-optic cables that carry information between the worldwide data centers of the Silicon Valley giants. The intelligence activities of the NSA outside the US are subject to fewer legal constraints than its domestic actions.

The story is likely to put further strain on the already difficult relations between the tech firms and Washington. The internet giants are furious about the damage done to their reputation in the wake of Snowden's revelations.
~ from Google and Yahoo Furious Over Reports that NSA Secretly Intercepts Data Links by Dominic Rushe, Spencer Ackerman and James Ball ~

This is quite ironic, don't ya think? Here we have two corporations known for secretly gathering all sorts of data and information from their users and they're upset with the government for doing much the same!

You've Got To Own It

Trey Smith

Unlike so many other Americans, Della and I do not need to sign-up for health care at the government website. Both of us are already on Medicaid. So, we have not been impacted by its much reported website woes.

There is no question that healthcare.gov isn't working as well as it is supposed to. Even President Obama has admitted as much. What I find remarkable is the excuse trotted out by liberals: It is the fault of the private contractors hired to develop the site. Don't blame Team Obama -- it's not their fault!

But who hired these contractors and who is responsible for overseeing their work? Team Obama! And this result shouldn't be all that surprising anyway. Such results are typical when a government service is privatized. It tends to cost taxpayers more money and the results tend to be lacking.

Look at prisons across the nation. This governmental function was privatized on the arguments that it would save taxpayer dollars AND that prisons would be run more efficiently. But that's not what has happened at all! Private prisons predominantly cost taxpayers more. Not only are private prisons more expensive, but the services provided tend to be degraded. The mega corporations that run many of today's prisons are making a lot of public money, while treating their workers and the inmates like dirt.

In other words, some of the blame should fall on the shoulders of the contractors that developed the government's health care website. The major onus, however, falls on the Obama administration. They readily embraced privatization and so they've ended up receiving basically what they asked for: a major political headache with a hefty price tag!

The Silent Enemy

Trey Smith

We have previously discussed how Congress and the White House continues to spend hundreds of billions on foreign wars without pause but have failed to address an emerging global threat to humanity: antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. It is part of the lunacy that governs this nation. We spend wildly on wars while largely ignoring a threat that could endanger the entire population. Recently, Thomas Frieden, director of the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, put it in the starkest terms to try to get someone to pay attention. Indeed, Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, has warned that we are moving into a “post-antibiotic era.” That means “an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child’s scratched knee could once again kill.”

The CDC has been presenting data on the rise of bacteria resistance to carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotics that represent our final line of defense. CDC is reporting the appearance of the bacteria now in every state and what it describes as the realization of the “nightmare” scenario for the medical field. Frieden puts the estimate now at over 2 million Americans with infections each year that are resistant to antibiotics. Of those, at least 23,000 people die as a result. To get perspective, we have been waging wars for over ten years at a cost of over a trillion dollars after 3000 were killed by Islamic fanatics. Almost ten times that number are dying each year from this crisis and we are looking at an exponential increase. Yet, few members of Congress have even mentioned this threat or the need for a “war on resistant bacteria.” It just doesn’t get you the same popularity and votes as demanding more defense appropriations. While money has been gradually increased in recent years, it is still a fraction of our appropriations given to pork projects and war efforts.
~ from The End Of Modern Medicine: CDC Reports Millions Faced With Drug-Resistant Bacteria And Rising Death Toll As Washington Ignores The Emerging Crisis by Jonathan Turley ~

You want to know one of the primary reasons WHY there are antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria? It is because we overuse antibiotics! Instead of only using them when needed, the marketplace is flooded with them.

The meat industry is largely to blame. Cows, chickens and pigs that are destined to be served on American dinner tables are force-fed antibiotics. That keeps them healthy enough -- often in unsanitary conditions -- to pass inspection and to become the meat that you meat-eaters eat! Meat producers follow this strategy because (surprise, surprise) it cuts costs and increases profits.

Health advocates have been warning for years that this doomed strategy would lead us to where we find ourselves today, but the powers that be didn't care. As long as those short-term profits kept rolling in, our political leaders and the corporate meat industry was more than willing to turn a blind eye. And now, it doesn't matter if you are a meat-eater or not; this vexing problem can strike A-N-Y-O-N-E at any time. Even worse, there's not a whole helluva lot you can do about it!

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