First of the Bohicans

urbansurvival.com ^ | 2008.09.17 | George Ure

[B-Chan]

The real tribe that matters, when it comes to fiat (notional) money is, as we all know, the PowersThatBe.

I seem to call that Hank Greenberg, who largely built AIG (and who claimed in a TV interview Tuesday that AIG was a "national treasure") was a ranking bigwig in the Council on Foreign Relations - you know, that group which is pushing for a North American trading block and the agenda of www.spp.gov - which has never been voted on in CONgress?

Am I the only one that recalls that Greenberg served as Chairman of the CFR's Task Force on Terrorist Financing?

Why do I mention this? Only to inject a little perspective into the discussion. Because media slobbers to print jingoisms, an indigenous person on his own land, protecting his own family from Western/corporate takeover of the natural resources under his foot is called (depending on who's doing the writing) either a 'freedom fighter' or a 'terrorist.'

But, here's the thing: While you and I would likely agree that someone strapping a bomb onto their body and stepping aboard a loaded bus - full of innocents - is a terrorist, when the world's biggest insurance company straps so much questionable and explosive derivative paper on itself and threatens to blow itself up and destroy the whole global financial system, isn't that terrorism, too?

Seems to me that under (Forrest) Gumpian Economics "Terrorists is as terrorists does."

It occurred to me, about 2-sips of coffee into this morning's whisker harvest, that we lack the clear view of finance evidenced by America's past Congressional leadership.

One of my all-time favorites was Senator Everett Dirksen to whom the quote "If you owe the bank $10,000, you have a problem. But, if you owe the bank $1,000,000, the bank has a problem..." rings eerily true in today's circumstance. We just don't have anyone who seems to be able to articulate the obvious. If we did, I'd be less driven to write this column.

I don't know about you, but I'm just plain old pissed that our elected (from a limited gene pool of talent, for sure) officials are using my tax money (printed for the bankster cabal at the misnamed "Federal" Reserve) and yours if you filed, to bail out an insurance company. What the hell copy of the Constitution are these pretenders back there looking at - if at all?

What about Congress role in creating money - who farmed it out to the crooks from Jekyll Island? And that led to the income tax, but let's not go down that road today...

Of course, creeping socialism (socialize the debts, privatize the wealth) is not a popular topic, but then again, who you gonna believe: The Wall Street hype and bullsh*t about "This is too big to fail" or your own lying eyes that reveal we've been had by these, the first of the Bohicans?

I asked my 10-digits left of the decimal point fixed income source about it last night and he reminded me that the AIG bailout is more than the Bush administration has spent on aid to mothers with dependent children during both terms in office. Yup - shows you who's got the bread and who's got things buttered, doesn't it?

Be extra careful doing your toe-touches this morning.

When I asked him "So when did the idea that interest is correlated to risk leave the financial system?" "Oh, about 15 years ago..."

Damn, I hate it when smart people tell me what's going on. He then explained that all the players regardless of nominal religious denomination, really all belong to the Fixed Income Church of the Holy Basis Point. And, as we're seeing now, the Church of the Holy Basis Point is going to Save AIG. Baptize 'em in taxpayer money, Hallelujah brothers and sisters.

You might want to read Nouriel Roubini's column this morning: "The transformation of the USA into the USSRA (United Socialist State Republic of America) continues at full speed with the nationalization of AIG".

Republican Socialists - who would have thought?

[B-Chan]

Food for thought. More (including links) at source.

Opinions expressed in materials linked by me on FR do not necessarily represent my own opinions.

[BGHater]

Good ol’ George. I enjoy his commentary on C2C when he’s a guest.