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Veteran Regulator Calls Geithner a Failure

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Posted on Apr 6, 2009
pbs.org

William K. Black made a name for himself busting bad bankers and the lawmakers who loved them during the savings and loan scandal. His book, “The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One,” says it all. Here he tells Bill Moyers that the treasury secretary is a failed regulator engaged in the cover-up of a massive fraud.

Watch it here.

PBS:

WILLIAM K. BLACK: Geithner is charging, is covering up. Just like Paulson did before him. Geithner is publicly saying that it’s going to take $2 trillion — a trillion is a thousand billion — 2 trillion taxpayer dollars to deal with this problem. But they’re allowing all the banks to report that they’re not only solvent, but fully capitalized. Both statements can’t be true. It can’t be that they need $2 trillion, because they have massive losses, and that they’re fine.

These are all people who have failed. Paulson failed, Geithner failed. They were all promoted because they failed, not because—.

BILL MOYERS: What do you mean?

BLACK: Well, Geithner has, was one of our nation’s top regulators, during the entire subprime scandal, that I just described. He took absolutely no effective action. He gave no warning. He did nothing in response to the FBI warning that there was an epidemic of fraud. All this pig in the poke stuff happened under him. So, in his phrase about legacy assets. Well, he’s a failed legacy regulator.

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By samosamo, April 7 at 9:07 pm #

By tolstoy, April 7 at 6:29 pm

I knew there was a problem when obama was pretty well assured of becoming the dem nominee for president, did a lot of cozying up to corporate america, not to mention the izraeli lobby and others. That decided for me that I would not vote for obama and he is not making me feel bad about my vote for someone else. As a matter of fact, about the only thing I can claim as good is that mccain/palin did not get elected. Classic american lose/lose situation.

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By tolstoy, April 7 at 6:29 pm #

I see Black’s comments indicate about 90% of the CEO group weren’t paying attention, maybe because ‘when it’s raining gold you don’t open your umbrella,’ as you said. A devious 10 percent including Enron and Madoff types, probably worse, are the guiding lights. Black is right: you study accidents to avoid repeating; you don’t study to avoid exposing what you’re covering up.  My question is this: how could Obama go along with all this?  Why all these contradictions?

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By JimBob, April 7 at 12:36 pm #

Black like many is speaking to his own choir who may or may not buy his book.  Frankly I think there was more stupidity then larceny involved.  Read Cohan’s “House of Cards” about Bear Stearns.  There is plenty of somewhat legal larceny (if that is not a contradiction) but frankly it is far exceeded by outright stupidity.  This whole mess has many fathers and mothers aided and abetted by the inevitable whores.  But it really comes down to my dad’s great summation of why the ‘29 market kept going when everyone knew it was going to crash: “When it is raining gold, no one’s gonna be the first one to open his umbrella.”  The huge bonuses however stink.  I lay the blame at the feet of the board of directors and the shareholders who saw this in the annual reports and quietly acquiesced.  It reminds me of the “options” mess during the high tech bubble.  Nobody cared at the time because there was so much paper money being made.  However once the bubble burst and we looked around, there were quite a few multi millionaires still standing and it pissed everybody off.  That era has by and large ended…as I am quite sure the era of the huge Wall Street bonuses is coming to its inevitable end.
As I see it, the problem now is simply to fix the banking system so that credit once again flows through the economy.  Populist rage, though appealing, hinders the solution and can lead to feel good legislation that will only prolong and metastasize this cancer.  Frankly I trust Obama.  Let him govern.  If it doesn’t work I am quite sure we will have ample opportunity to sharpen our critical pencils and aim our diatribes at the new Republican administration and congressional majority.

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By boggs, April 7 at 12:10 pm #

I am a bleeding heart liberal and I am growing more and more suspicious of the Obama agenda.
Why would a proponent of change have James L Jones as an adviser and Geithner as well as a few other questionable talents left over from the Bush regime.
His staff does not personify change.
How is Susan Rice any different in policy then Condy Rice?

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By S.C, April 7 at 7:17 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

The scheme of the globalists is to destroy dollar and all the souvereignty of nations and make NWO the reality. That’s about it!

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By DWIGHTBAKER, April 7 at 2:17 am #

WHO LOOKS FOR SOLUTIONS WHO LOOKS FOR SWORDS

April 6, 2009

Destruction of the economy

Mr. Baker We The Peoples Advocacy

This is in response to your request for inputs.
See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal Reserve
For a good synopsis of what the Federal Reserve is. Which is worse? 1) Finding out you have a terminal case of cancer? or 2) Finding out your government is heavily infested with criminals?

One of the functions of the Federal Reserve System is to manage the nation’s money supply through monetary policy to achieve the sometimes-conflicting goals of
  * maximum employment
  * stable prices, including prevention of either inflation or deflation
  * moderate long-term interest rates

The flip flop from extreme inflation (creating bubbles) during Bush’s first term followed by extreme deflation (bursting bubbles) during Bush’s second term is the work of criminals. It resulted in massive unemployment and extreme price instability. 

Abolishing the Federal Reserve would just move the functions and corruption to different locations within or outside the U.S. government. The system needs to be cleaned up, not destroyed. 

Economic sabotage is a very serious criminal offense. The U.S. will have to be officially renamed “The United States of Malfeasance and Dereliction of Duty”.  It appears that the mess created by George Bush will never be cleaned up.

At least one and probably two new political parties are needed to meet the needs of the public instead of corrupt special interests.

Sincerely, Paul Jefferson

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By DWIGHTBAKER, April 6 at 8:21 pm #

SAMOSAMO

You are absolutely correct——-now how——-

We push all we got everywhere we can our words strident strong to the point telling ALL


WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND

THE RETURN OF LAW ENFORCMENT
TO OUR THE LAND.

THEN we write—-e-mail—- radio tv to him

Mr. President

We need you to increase the size of the Justice Department five fold right now—-we have criminals all over running rough shod over us and you are the man at this time that has the power and the duty owed to us to get to fixing our Federal Government.

We need you to arrange and chair as many as it takes
Strategic Planning and Development Stimulus Summits with all the many others in America that too have a voice and plan much like but deeper than the G 20 SUMMIT

Now Mr. President

We can hold on and take a few hits while you are doing those things as long as we are assured by your voice to the American people you will.

Your bud Dwight

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By samosamo, April 6 at 5:29 pm #

***********************************************
What would happen if after a plane crashes, we said, “Oh, we don’t want to look in the past. We want to be forward looking. Many people might have been, you know, we don’t want to pass blame. No. We have a nonpartisan, skilled inquiry. We spend lots of money on, get really bright people. And we find out, to the best of our ability, what caused every single major plane crash in America. And because of that, aviation has an extraordinarily good safety record. We ought to follow the same policies in the financial sphere. We have to find out what caused the disasters, or we will keep reliving them. And here, we’ve got a double tragedy. It isn’t just that we are failing to learn from the mistakes of the past. We’re failing to learn from the successes of the past.
***************************************************
This is what has really floored me in my hope that obama really meant change, change to fix a problem but all we got was ‘we have to move forward’ dooming us to remain in stasis for the ‘elite’ and repeating history. Bad decision on obama’s part. And I still hope obama comes to a realization of the real change he announced in the compaign without having to deal the anarchy or a strict police state.

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By california dreamer, April 6 at 4:46 pm #

Mr. Black’s comments have such a ring of truth that I have no doubt he is absolutely right about what he is saying.  Therefore, it is clear that a conspiracy has been formed by the powers that be to engage in a cover-up of the truth.  I do not know how they convinced Obama to abandon the principles put forth in his campaign of truth and transparency, but I guess he has been made to believe that a huge panic would occur if the American people realized that the banks were insolvent and the global economic system would collapse.  Perhaps it would.  But regardless we cannot allow this kind of financial blackmail to go forward.  In this age of the the internet and rapid interconnectivity and with so many suffering first hand the results of this financial fraud, I do believe that the people will raise their voices and the Congress and President will listen and this cover-up will be revealed.  Obviously the lessons of history have been forgotten.  Nixon resigned rather than be impeached for his part in a cover-up of a crime.

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By photoshock, April 6 at 2:04 pm #

Mr. President, in the following lines, I will explain what it is like to live on practically nothing, due to the failure of attorneys and governmental officials.
Mr. President, I have been disabled since my first surgery in 1989, at that time I applied for the Social Security Disability payments that I thought were due me because of the simple fact that I could not work at a real job anymore. During the application process, I was told by the worker that I was the wrong colour, ie., white, male, and that I would not receive the payments due me.
From that time until April of 2008, I fought for my rights under the Social Security Act, and finally received not SSDI, but Supplemental Security Income.
I now receive a paltry sum of money and a meager allowance of food stamps, to stay alive. Luxuries I do not have, neither can I afford the things that would make my life better and that most Americans take for granted.
In this time of financial collapse, with bankers receiving bonuses of untold amounts, isn’t it time that the people who worked all their lives for meager
incomes and substandard wages to receive something for their hard work and slave wages.
I am sure that if the bankers and Wall Street Thugs,
those who caused this financial crisis, were made to live like myself, there would be such a hue and cry from these people, that living wages and SSI recipients would receive higher amounts than they do now. For no one, can survive on the amounts that the government gives for people who cannot work but are willing to try.
I would love to receive an education, but cannot sit still long enough for the classroom style education, other than that, I believe that I could go to school online, but that requires lots of money, which money I do not receive.
Please Mr. President do not forget the people who are
stuck in a hole and who cannot get out of it.

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By DWIGHTBAKER, April 6 at 10:25 am #

TRUTHDIG YOU ARE THE VOICE AND THE WAY TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT NOT US——-SO GET WITH IT TODAY

PUT THIS ON THE RADIO TOO

BOUNTY HUNTERS OR OTHERS NEEDED TO CATCH THE GREEDY

Who in the press, politicians, judges, and the main steam big giants of power in intellect, accounting, economist, or whom ever—- that uses the TERM MISSING MONEY has a clue where it is?  World financial folks use that term too a lot. Now who wants to call them and take them to task and ask a good question, WHERE IS THE MONEY?

They might just say there has been a LOSS $54TRILLION OR MORE then one might think———they know less than many bank robbers. 

When a bank robber takes away the banks money—-the banks declare a loss.  But the bank robber knows what he did with it and where he hid it.

So if no one knows where that $54TRILLION ends up, then I again would say——- those folks are less smart than a bank robber.

Now I think we can all agree it was not sent to the moon or Mars or to the bottom of the ocean in a nuclear sub.  But where is it? 

So what we need to do is hire us some BOUNTY HUNTERS and turn them loose to get to doing what they do best—-making a living off other folks misery.

HECK FIRE—- GUNS FOR HIRE pay them BAD BOYS 15cents on the dollar of what they found.  Black Water might need to make some more bucks.  Or the mafia bosses might think that is a good deal and get in on it too. 

BUT who can trust any of that bunch to do what is right?

So maybe the best bet is to bring in some of our real good soldiers like the AIR BORNE RANGERS——GREEN BERETS——-NAVY SEALS and deputized them to go out and about looking for all that $54TRILLION IN CASH.

Got to be somewhere. But right now NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW???????

DWIGHT BAKER Chairman for the Grass Roots Actions needed to form our own truth filled lobby in Washington DC. We the Peoples Advocacy WTPA.
Info contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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By DWIGHTBAKER, April 6 at 10:22 am #

FAILURES FOR SURE———-EXPOSING THESE HIDEOUS FOES—-FOR US

WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO———-TO KNOW WHO FOLKS REALLY ARE?

I think we are a little if not a lot insane to go around with our heads in the clouds never reading much——- but funny books or the stock market news——or watching a little or maybe a lot of the now televized VIEWS that is meant to turn all our real attention to moronic half baked stuff making no senese or reason.


And the inference is to make us fearfull of something just expected.  OH NO———IS THAT DUMB OR DUMBER OR DUMBERTERNER? You be the judge. 

Well for those who care and have concern who is for and who is not for our best interest and who is or who does not have our best interest at heart———

Here is just one list of those that run with the group called the BILDERBERGS. 

Google and find out. 

That might be fun——-run down to the bottom to find out what the BILDERBERGS real agenda is about——clue look for the term re-animalized man. OH NO COULD THAT BE A CONSPIRACY THEORY?????

George W. Ball[6] (1954-1992), former U.S. diplomat

John Edwards[7][8]

Gerald Ford[9]

Bill Clinton[10] (1991), former US President, 1993 - 2001

Jon Corzine (1995 - 1997[4], 1999, 2003, 2004), former US Senator, current Governor of New Jersey

Richard N. Haass (1991, 2003, 2004[11]), president, Council on Foreign Relations

Lee H. Hamilton (1997[4]), former US Congressman

Christian Herter[12] (1961, 1963, 1964, 1966), former Secretary of State

Joseph E. Johnson[13] (1954), former President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Henry Kissinger[11] (1957, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977-2003, 2004, 2005-2008), Secretary of State, 1973 - 1977

Sam Nunn (1996, 1997[4]), former US Senator

Rick Perry[14] (2007), Current Governor of Texas

Kathleen Sebelius[15], Kansas governor and nominee for the the Health and Human Services secretary post

Timothy Geithner[16], Treasury Secretary

Lawrence Summers[17], Director of the National Economic Council

Paul Volcker[18], Chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board


A public service announcement by
DWIGHT BAKER We the Peoples Advocacy. WTPA
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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By DWIGHTBAKER, April 6 at 10:20 am #

A FAILURE FOR SURE
CONGRESS——SENATE——ADMINISTRATION—-JUSTICE   WAKE UP

WE GOT SOME LITTLE FOXES IN OUR HEN HOUSE BEWARE———-

WE THE PEOPLE NEED A

Strategic Planning and Development Stimulus Summit

NOW

Monday, April 06, 2009
To the Honorable President Barack Obama
Of the Untied States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

OPEN LETTER—- To whom it must concern

Mr. President,

I am but one voice in America today that has your interest at heart. My words are fashioned best as I can. So what I propose or say is never meant to bring any one or any thing into being called intent to deride or chide. 

Thanks for all the good work you are doing, and in keeping with your status as our President.  We have prayed that you would not back down or cower to anyone.
Many of WE THE PEOPLE are proud to be Americans and we are NOT inane of political science and the actions needed to protect and insure our equity in justice. And because of that we respect your work and for those high and lofty goals to be the centerpiece of your Administration. With you as our solicitous vanguard we do have HOPE once more. In you taking the lead with your strong and strident voice and will in words and deeds to overcome all the many things, people and matters facing our solvency and sovereignty in our rich and abundant America.

One of the most vocal matters that is discussed daily in the televised media and printed News has been –—- when and where is the real CHANGE going to come from as promised.  Many good a moral folks and I too have been your devoted staunch and strong allies for each step you have taken. And seems now a new chilly wind from a bad direction has begun to blow.  In my perception that is because many of your very close cabinet appointees and confidants have a proven track record that is not very good and that comes from their affiliations with groups and societies that have un-sound and un-reasonable long-term goals that have severe lacks of care and concern for our rights to life in our rich and abundant America that we have clung to in our communities and Constitution.

The following list was furnished by WIKI about those active today in your administration that has been apart of the Bilderberg Group.

Mr. President we elected you to set the stage for change and with those listed on your staff now—- how can you do that? Obviously you have your work cut out for you to reform our government to integrity… and genuinely caring and working with the highest good of all in mind. You have a tall task you have taken on and we salute you and back you anyway we can.

Their connectivity to others around the world that have a different strategy about the way we should go——I think it is NOT as a sovereign solvent nation with our own self interest at the core of all we do——if their plans are implemented that will simply lead us to change not but for more of the same.  And to bypass that end game some things that you could do in the way things go for us——- would be:

Richard N. Haass (1991, 2003, 2004[11]), president, Council on Foreign Relations
Christian Herter[12] (1961, 1963, 1964, 1966), former Secretary of State
Sam Nunn (1996, 1997[4]), former US Senator
Kathleen Sebelius[15], Kansas governor and nominee for the the Health and Human Services secretary post
Timothy Geithner[16], Treasury Secretary
Lawrence Summers[17], Director of the National Economic Council
Paul Volcker[18], Chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board

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By DWIGHTBAKER, April 6 at 10:19 am #

A FAILURE FOR SURE

CONGRESS——SENATE——ADMINISTRATION—-JUSTICE   WAKE UP #2


1.  The best measure as our President Commander and Chief to do now so that you would have many more ideas put on the table to think about would be——To hold one if not more Strategic Planning and Development Stimulus Summits—- with or without any of your staff and cabinet members or close confidants in the loop now——then arrange for many other good Americans that are noteworthy with credentials in scholarship and proven track records in name honor and recognition to attend and allow them to have your ear for at least three consecutive days.  That you might hear many others opinions and suggestion why and how to move forward then that might bring another perspective of what needs to be done now.

2.  Each passing day in America is filled with insidious, hideous and tenuous stuff as was the days when the BUSH BUNCH GANG was in power doing their THANGS.  And because of that—- things must change now you know that wholeheartedly, so please don’t wait——to make the Strategic Planning and Development Stimulus Summit one of the matters most important on your agenda.

3.  Now my suspicions are like many—- if a Strategic Planning and Development Stimulus Summit or one of like kind——- is not done soon by you——then your men might with their faulted and failed plans prevail.

4.  The Bilderberg Group agendas are very clear they are out to protect the accumulation of wealth held by the old line and some new Barons [or benefactors of the spoils of war] to do what is best for them in exclusionary measures no matter what is best for the people affected. Because in their grand scheme of doing things all their goals are about exclusion for all reasons.

One thing for sure all of us agree you have guts to want the job of being our President to lead us out of the espionage and sabotage done by some corrupting our Nation that has been going on for a long time.  And one thing you can count on us for doing——is watching your back day and night, best as we can. 

What ever you need us to do just tell us.  Give us BIG JOBS to do——there is a lot of folks that will work for free to help us get back on our feet——WHY—- They like me love this our home America——- think about holding a SUMMIT with the many others that have a good heartbeat from the grass roots of the American folks right now.

As in all good things——change comes little by little and we should not rush any longer to put out fires that might be needed to burn down the old failed ways of doing business as usual——- that has us in the fix we are in.

Best regards

Dwight Baker
Co –Founder of the Bondservants of Christ Jesus Ministries
Chairman of the Voices of We the Peoples Lobby now [Advocacy or WTPA] grass roots actions
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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