Gaming the System

So Security Exchange Commission head Christopher Cox is now spouting out a mea culpa for not checking into serious allegations about Bernard Madoff’s decades-long Ponzi scheme. I love the headline from the Huffingpost: “Christopher Cox Blasts Own Department for Missing Madoff Scheme.” WTF? This is so much bull, I can’t believe it.

This whole debacle which, in some circles say is greater than Enron, is emblematic of our entire current governmental and financial states. Here’s how it goes:

An institution comes up with an illegal or mighty rule bending procedure to make huge profits, continue to do so for years, then when the house of cards falls, we get people in charge like Chairman Cox fecklessly admit that they dropped the ball. These wheeler dealers are repulsive. The God Almighty dollar is the driving force, those in charge turn a blind eye (most likely because they are getting a piece of the action) and the rest of the world be damned.

Of course, when everything starts to crumble, it’s the people that suffer…from personal lost monies and property to the using of their taxes to bail out these greedy bastards.

Let’s start a partial list. We’ll start with Enron. They sucked billions of dollars out of California utilizing a fake “power shortfall.” Then they juggle the books until the entire corporation crumbles, destroying the lives of thousands of their employees. According to the documentary “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” the thinking at the higher echelon was that if an idea sounded good, they tacked a huge profit on the next corporation’s statements just for the thought! Now I’m not by any means an economics expert, but even I know that this is absolutely ridiculous. Puhleeze! Meanwhile, warnings were given but ignored.

How about GM? Their mismanagement is pathetic. All the executives were making their millions, catering to the oil companies and destroying perfectly good electric cars that Americans wanted (You’ve got to love that Chrysler has now announced that they are going to produce electric cars). Of course, they want these same Americans to bail them out. Warnings were given but were ignored.

Now comes Madoff and his vicious game. Thousands of investors are suddenly without their money and charities are folding immediately because they’ve been wiped out by this criminal. Warnings were given but were ignored.

See, this is how it works. Everybody in play knows the game is rigged to make huge profits, but since everybody in play is making money they will politely ignore it. When the shit hits the fan, THEN everybody in play starts hand wringing…moaning a “woe is me, how could we have MISSED this? We’ll do better next time.” Yeah, right. “Better” meaning not getting caught.

The end result is that everybody in play walks away with millions from the scheme, vows to clean up this den of iniquity, then moves on to the next “game” that gives them billions (yes, with a “b”) of dollars, only to hand-wring again once the house of cards collapses.

And let’s not forget that the “Public Servants” in Washington, D.C. who allowed this to happen (read “winked” at the transgressions before the collapse) will move into that very financial sector after leaving the government, whereupon they will start making their millions. This will be in gratitude for their allowing the gaming of the system while they were in government.

Meanwhile, we, the public, will be ignored (i.e., no entitlements capital available), and have our money waiting in the wings as bailout for future gaming of the system so the new generation of economic “experts” from Ivy League colleges can get their millions from us. It’s a tragic Circle Game, ad infinitum.

Don't Look Back?

On “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” today, John McCain said in regard to Abu Grhaib and other torture issues that he “didn’t want to look back,” rather, look forward to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. What really gets me is how McCain delivered the line. As if anyone who would think otherwise is an idiot who doesn’t know the way of the world. This kind of stupid (or should I say “calculated”?) thinking is exactly what I wrote about in a previous post.

We cannot ignore the past. To make sure that this does not happen again requires us to hold those accountable for such egregious behavior that occurred in the past.

By investigating and bringing to justice those who instigated and allowed others to commit these horrible crimes is a great way to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Anyone in the future who even thinks about renewing this kind of crime against humanity needs to be fully aware that he or she will be held fully responsible. Prior to their renewing such actions, perhaps the future administrations will “look back” and see what the severe ramifications were for the permission of torture against our fellow human beings. And this looking back is how we “look forward to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” The old saw “those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it” has never been truer than now.

And, to digress, I love that “good ol’ boy, the guy you want to have a beer with” George Bush, who has a home in “good ol’ boy, the kind of town you want to have a beer in” Crawford, Texas during his administration is now dumping that image (no longer needed) and moving to a high end (read “filthy rich”) housing development in Dallas, Texas. I won’t even go into the fact that blacks were not allowed to live there up until 2000. Of course, SERVANTS were OK.

I truly hope that what goes around comes around and Bush (he doesn’t even deserve the respect of being called “Mr.”) and his administration are eventually called to account for what he has done to the thousands of dead and injured American soldiers and possibly over a million dead and injured Iraqis and Afghanis…all for his and his cronies’ benefit (read profits).

Land of the Free?

Land of the Free?
Then: I could go anywhere in this country and not be detained without a legitimate reason.
Now: I can be picked up and “disappeared” forever without any legal representation just because the President can.

Land of the Free?
Then: We tried and convicted certain Japanese individuals for waterboarding.
Now: We waterboard anyone we choose.

Land of the Free?
Then: I remember when going on a plane trip my family and friends would walk with me to the gate, wave goodbye and watch me enter the plane.
Now: I need a boarding pass to get within ¼ mile of the gate and no one else can get near it.

Land of the Free?
Then: I remember just walking to the boarding gate with my carryon and entering the plane.
Now: I need to take off my shoes, walk through a metal detector, dump my personal belongings into a bin, have my luggage scanned, have no bottles of liquid or gel greater than 3 ounces and have my breathing device swabbed and electronically “sniffed” for dangerous chemical residue.

Land of the Free?
Then: I could telephone friends and family and know that my private conservations were just that – private.
Now: The Foreign Intelligence Survey Act now allows the “Authorities” to listen in to any of my telephone conversations without any restraint and keep it in a database - permanently.

Land of the Free?
Then: I was safe in knowing that the military could not take control of anything within our borders.
Now: There is a 20,000 man brigade sitting idly by, waiting to take control of anything within these United States whenever the President feels like it.

Land of the Free?
Then: I could check out any books I want in the library and it was nobody’s business but my own.
Now: The “Authorities” can force the library to turn over the list of books I have checked without any reason whatsoever.

Land of the Free?
Then: I could walk into any church and worship without anyone spying on me.
Now: The “Authorities” may enter any church and spy on anyone one who is attending the service and the service itself.

Land of the Free?
Now: the last line of our National Anthem is “…o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Future: Last line should read: “…o’er the land of Homeland Security and the home of those in fear.”

Pulling the Plug on Electric Cars

Last night I watched “Who Killed the Electric Car?” This documentary clearly demonstrates that GM and the other car companies have absolutely no interest in anything but the bottom line and acquiescing to the oil companies. They actually had the audacity to say that they were building the big cars because that’s what the people wanted. Never mind that there was a waiting list for more of the electric cars that they were building. They were more interested in immediate bottom line profits than thinking ahead.

To watch GM and the other car companies today begging for money bailouts is disgusting. They had their chance and they blew it. I have absolutely no sympathy for these clowns. They were totally into absolute profit (bigger cars equal bigger profits) and, in addition, acquiesced to the oil companies and their agenda. Screw ‘em.

I won’t get into all that the film presented, which demonstrated the total amorality of these executives (I recommend to the reader of this post to view the film); however, based on their behavior, these bozos must go.

I, personally, want the entire industry to fold up its tents and begin from square one with entrepreneurs who have a grasp of what’s needed now and in the future. Unfortunately, myself being “economic theory” challenged, I don’t have a clue as to how serious of a total collapse of the industry would be to our country as a whole. That’s for those in the know to determine.

If we must keep these pathetic companies in place, I believe two events must occur before bailing the industry out. First, fire these bastards. The entire executive management teams should be gone - now, and then bring in new blood. Second, a strong plan that calls for the retooling of the plants to adapt to the 21st century. Design electrical vehicles (hey, maybe bring back that fantastic Electric Car that they crushed out in the Arizona desert – what a concept!) and work on practical solar applications as well.