Mistrust in government: 'Perfect storm'

They're all racists.

22 percent of Americans trust the government....well, we all know who those people are.

In other news, Kacynskis was laid to rest today while commander in volcanic ash went golfing.
Oh, and many airports were open for business in Poland today...but, so were the courses...fore!

Paulo

Mistrust..., you said a mouth full!. Why the President is the least
trustful, and the biggest "liar", to boot.
I would not trust him as far as I could throw the White House.

Looks like there's not a a favorable ranking in the survey for any group.

I'm SHOCKED that the number is that high!! Are they polling preschoolers who don't understand the question?

Hey, " Free to be silly and post nonsense ", not all of them are racists!! You should have known that !!!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.

A p roblem is the newspapers are going to pot with little people columnists distracting from the "buzzwords" in the Geithner-led legislation, for example.

Swamp Visitor

No problem..Trust will be re-established when the govt reveals the transcripts of the 9/11 doomed flights, black boxes. I'm sure we'll hear something any day now.

78 percent of the country hates Guvamint Sachs. They're all racist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNPjTJpAq3o&feature=player_embedded

People are upset and they have every right to be so but they do have to remember that this clowns were elected.
The main question everyone should ask themselves is whether they analyzed the people they voted for and of course, did they take time out from their bust schedule to actually cast a well informed ballot.
If you don't vote, don't gripe.

And the other 20% think the poll question meant Denzel Washington

Really who does fully trust our government? There is just a huge history of cover up's and conspiracy's. It's sad to because we never find out the truth.

The government and the media has done a great job of making people who investigate conspiracy's or wrong doing public outcasts. Labeling them conspiracy nut's.

Just once I'd love to see a president run on the platform of "If I'm elected president the American people will all know exactly what I will know". Hell blow the lid of CIA conspiracies, Alien stuff, who shot JFK, etc...

I'd vote for that person regardless of their party. I'd just like to know the truth for once.

Who Said That?

A 3 question quickie, multiple guess quiz to evaluate the reader’s grasp of current events:

1. “The second way government assistance programs contribute to long-term unemployment is by providing an incentive, and the means, not to work. Each unemployed person has a ‘reservation wage’—the minimum wage he or she insists on getting before accepting a job. Unemployment insurance and other social assistance programs increase [the] reservation wage, causing an unemployed person to remain unemployed longer:” (http://bit.ly/axiHCb)

Who said that? a) Karl Marx b) Bill Clinton c) Rush Limbaugh d) Larry Summers

The answer is . . . Larry Summers, the Obama White House economic advisor. Summers thereby punched gaping holes in the US Senate plan to extend unemployment benefits to 99 weeks. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1635)

At the same time, a growing minority of the public also has come to view the federal government as a major threat to their personal freedom - 30 percent express that view, up from 18 percent in a 2003 ABC News/Washington Post survey.
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And that “growing” minority is damn right. FDR’s power grab helped farmers and the very poorest of Americans. Mustapha’s power grab is more egalitarian. It is designed to help No One.

Favorable ratings for the Democratic Party have fallen by 21 points - from 59 to 38 percent - over the past year and now stand at their lowest point in Pew Research surveys.

Favorable ratings for the
Republican Party, which increased from 40 percent in August to 46 percent in February, have fallen back to 37 percent in the Pew survey.
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I cannot guarantee how effective Republicans will be when they do regain power, but even the densest person on planet Earth should recognize that there is NO ONE in the democrat party that is ever going to work towards reducing the weight and over-bearance of this Federal government. Who can fully comprehend legislation made up of 2275 pages of “shall” and “shall not” legalese with gobblelygook subparts 1910k(g)sec(1044.m)paragraph(alphadawg;3)? What kind of pervert thinks that this is good governance?

Bailouts, bustouts, corporate and ghetto welfare, taxation, bankruptcy, sex crimes, and corruption are some of the issues Americans hate to see in Congress. Why do these people ram this garbage down our throats?

This is no surprise. The government can't be trusted when it will not listen to the voice of the people. I would like to see the government cut back on its spending. It needs to move away from socialism and back towards capitalism.

As with other corporations and the media, it is up to the free market to keep them in check.

At last, something Democrats, Republicans and Independants can all agree on.

I guess that also means we don't trust the lobbyists who are extensions of all those folks in the tea party.

Government is a special interest group and is for the sake of argument with their own agenda first, then helping their own special interest groups and the scraps go o all the rest. That is the way it has evolved from the start.

We all are in deep Do Do!

@ John April 19, 2010 6:51 AM you wrote:

I guess that also means we don't trust the lobbyists who are extensions of all those folks in the tea party.

*******************

Your post tells me you don't get it. We are tired of all the government and each party. Your post also shows that you clearly don't understand that the so called lobbyist bride each side equally, including the current CINC, who was the top 1 or 2 wall street money collector in 08. Are you from Illinois? Which party controls the government here top to bottom? You go ahead and keep voting, if u even vote, for the same.

Let's see - Tribune and other left wing journalists had 14 months to read and re-read the recently passed health care bill, and not one of those geniuses noticed that there was a huge loop-holes in Medicare prescription coverage, nor that Congress seems to have voided its own health care plan and that of all of its staff.

This also means that the MAJORITY OF THOSE WHO VOTED FOR OBAMA NO LONGER EVEN TRUST OBAMA.

But that is lost on the Tribune and other news organizations.

Bush and Company shreds the Constitution. Spies on American citizens. Lies about WMDs and gets us into a needless war that's bankrupting the country. Secures passage of the biggest tax break for the rich ever and tells the rest of us it'll be good us as well. And only now does a large majority distrust the government. We're a country of idiots. Plain and simple. Idiots

Now can we have a Truth Commission?

Dems were too forgiving in victory. The Replican base line tactic has ALWAYS been to prove by whatever means available that "GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WORK"....

They proved that 1995-07. Non-enforcement of the anti fraud laws.... Of course after 9-11 all those "resources" in FBI etc. had to be "redirected" against "terrr". Result? Some pathetic wannabes , unemployed slacker kid in Lackawana NY who bought airline tickets to attend "jihad boot camp". Or those Haitians down in Miami, where Alberto could not keep a straight face in announcing "cracking the case of the century".

Both House and Senate were permitted to turn into food fights..

Mean time, Holder could not get his act together to take any action against Goldman or Morgan Stanley or Citi or....

The SEC finally stepped in last week and took some long overdue action against Goldman. Where's the criminal indictment? O, I forgot: Holder is too busy trying to figure out where to stash Gitmo detainees and where to venue some show trial....

Meanwhile last week Geithner was asked on the air how he was enjoying the "Geithner rally" in the stock market. He smiled rather weakly....

Yes, there may be a bit of a "rally" in the stock market but somehow I don't think that will translate to any Dem votes in November.
Quite the contrary. The better Wall St. does, the more obvious it will become that Summers/Geithner/Bernanke are non-resident members of Club Wall St.

Meanwhile, only journalists have really shed light on what really happened. E.g., The Big Short, Frontline, House of Cards, Markopolos..

Pretty soon the journalists are going to turn the gun turrets around and open fire on Pelosi, Summers, Reid etc.

You don't trust government, then the next time you need the police, don't call them. If you don't trust your government, start purchasing your own armament. If you don't trust your own government, start having your meat inspected by a private inspector, one that the meat company will recommend. If you don't like your government, don't cash the disability checks, or social security checks. Of course, there are aspects of government, that we don't like, but you don't whine about it, you try to fix it. That is what President Obama and Vice-President Biden have been trying to do, since they won the presidential elections and took Office in January of 2009. A major roadblock was dropped in their way, by the previous, incompetent administration, before they were even inaugurated. They didn't miss a beat, though, taking on the hardest issue, America has had tied around her neck, for 100 years, the Healthcare money-monster. So, while dealing with a collapsing economy, fostered by the Bush&Cheney malfeasant administrations, they didn't shy away from America's other pressing issues. That is leadership, of the highest order and America appreciates admirable action, which is what President Obama and Vice-President Biden have been delivering to the American nation, since they took office !! All I will say to that, is Yes and please continue your best efforts, President Obama and Vice-President Biden, America is not out of the Bushes, just yet !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.

It's really funny, my ma and grandmother who were lower working class would have been one of those who in 1958 would have trusted the government.. Born and raised in Chicago,my family was generational Democrats.. Imagine my shock when last week while visiting and have a political discussion my mother 78 now looked me right in the eye and said she no longer trusted her government and even lessor the Democrats.. Words I NEVER thought she'd say.. I belong to the local Tea Party I have meet more EX Democrats than Republicans (myself included) while I don't agree with everything the Republicans do I find I can live with their idea's 100% easier than this so called CHANGE.. I have already talked to my kids and they too agree.. the NEW government will have their feet held to the fire from now on.. BTW the distrust started before 2008 it started when they tried to push the last AMNESTY through and all the Dems IGNORED what the PEOPLE wanted, with the first bailout (under Bush voted for by all the Dems), healthcare bill those that were Democrats and against it see the writing on the wall the DEMS are NOT about to listen to the people or the majority ..

Though I was no fan of McCain at all, I saw BHO as the worst choice in my lifetime to be the POTUS, especially after his "clinging to guns and religion" and Larry the plumber "spread the wealth" comments. At the time of his election, I told my disparing friends that the one silver lining about his presidency would be the dramatic acceleration of the creeping socialism by the federal government, so dramatic that the citizenry would be able to clearly see how destructive and corrupt our federal institutions have become. The chickens have indeed come home to roost. The answer is less government, a ton less. The Democrats have always been the party of big government. Under Reagan and Gingrich, the Republicans were the party of less government. However, under Bush II, Lott and Delay, they showed that they too could be corrupted. So, regardless of who is in office, we must take away all the toys from our elected children in office. Federalism baby.

Parts of this article are silly. Government does a lot more now than in the 1950s, when the government was still running off a high from a massive war victory. Now, government has its hands in so many aspects of our lives that it's impossible *not* to see the half-assed job it does. And a year and a half since the election, Obama's supposed commitment to lower unemployment has been revealed as a sham. He's more interested in spending our money and giving government more control over our lives than he is with ensuring that we all have jobs and a growing economy. He's been a complete and utter failure. The press would be trumpeting the obvious truth of that assessment if they hadn't been in the tank for him.

Government is not the "solution." Government is the problem. -- Ronald Reagan

No problem..Trust will be re-established when the govt reveals the transcripts of the 9/11 doomed flights, black boxes. I'm sure we'll hear something any day now.

Posted by: gposner | April 19, 2010 12:07 AM

Mr. gposner, the transcripts of those flights have been released. Now, regarding the black boxes, you see the four planes hijacked and crashed, crashed in very hotific ways. No black boxes because even the black boxes could not survive those crashes. United 193, which crashed in Pa., was in very little iddy biddy pieces. Three planes crashed into buildings at about as fast as they can move. Again, the planes were transformed into little iddy biddy pieces. And, finally, once the planes were hijacked, the terrorists were not carrying on conversations with the control towers.

Ahhhh, the deranged, delusional, psychotic world of the Loony Left! Common sense and intelligent thought never get in the way!

But yet, I'd bet that at least 80% of those 80% have no problem with things like warrantless wiretapping or extraordinary rendition. The same people who think that the government can't properly deliver a letter think that the government should be entrusted with deciding who has or doesn't have rights. Go figger.

Patriotism is not what it used to be. Ironically, The radical right wants to return to some mystical happier time. Perhaps they should revisit what patriotism meant during WWII. ...

http://thefiresidepost.com/2010/04/16/patriotism-in-wwii-versus-today-tea-party-patriotism/

I guess that also means we don't trust the lobbyists who are extensions of all those folks in the tea party.

Posted by: John | April 19, 2010 6:51 AM

***********************************

John, you are in a dead heat tie wtih little Donny Fitz for the "Brain Dead" prize!

It's the special interest groups and lobbyists that OWN Barry and his band of fear mongering cohorts, not any "Tea Party" participants. Whose political campaign funds are these evil lobbyists and special interest groups pouring thier money into? Not any with the "Tea Party".

By the way little Donny - what is the Murder - Death - Kill count in Barry's war this week? You seem to be getting way behind on reporting your "troop kill count" numbers these days!

I was shocked to read BO's comments at a high dollar ($35K/couple) fundraising event the same evening as nation wide tea party rallies..."Amusing", "should thank me".

For some reason altho not strictly analogous a scene from Gladiator came to mind where after Maximus (Crowe) and his fellow gladiators have killed their opponents, Maximus throws a shield into the crowd saying "are you not amused?...are you not entertained?"...his voice dripping with contempt.

That's what I feel...contempt.

This is funny stuff!! To compare what is happening today to 50 years ago is crazy! Nothing is the same. The only similarities is the language used. But since we like comparisons so much...look at the bush presidency! Unprecented government expansion and a GOP spending spree! This guy (Obama) is light years ahead bush! Taxes haven't been raised...yet! However, the only ones to thank are the ones in congress. 6 years of total republican domination and look at what they did for us...
Ladies and gentlemen...the POTUS does not have the power to single handedly make the necessary changes, it has to happen in conjunction with congress. And Congress refuses to move, while collecting a paycheck! The senate is sitting on over 120 bills that could help a lot of people. The senators sponsor a bill, send it through the usual channels, vote it into law and send it to the Pres to sign. Over half are republican bills, yet when they go to the floor for a vote the republicans kill their own bills.....
Over simplified I know but still accurate. The senate should be limited to two terms and the house to four terms. And do away with lobbiest...problems solved!!!

On this, the 15th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, wise words from the NYT op-ed by Bill Clinton, who was President at the time:

"Criticism is part of the lifeblood of democracy. No one is right all the time. But we should remember that there is a big difference between criticizing a policy or a politician and demonizing the government that guarantees our freedoms and the public servants who enforce our laws.

We are again dealing with difficulties in a contentious, partisan time. We are more connected than ever before, more able to spread our ideas and beliefs, our anger and fears. As we exercise the right to advocate our views, and as we animate our supporters, we must all assume responsibility for our words and actions before they enter a vast echo chamber and reach those both serious and delirious, connected and unhinged.

Civic virtue can include harsh criticism, protest, even civil disobedience. But not violence or its advocacy. That is the bright line that protects our freedom. It has held for a long time, since President George Washington called out 13,000 troops in response to the Whiskey Rebellion.

Fifteen years ago, the line was crossed in Oklahoma City. In the current climate, with so many threats against the president, members of Congress and other public servants, we owe it to the victims of Oklahoma City, and those who survived and responded so bravely, not to cross it again."

Geeez, from the news reports, you'd think only the wackadoo Tea Party protesters didn't trust the Federal government....

To Don Fitzgerald - a few responses to your comments, submitted respectfully for your consideration.

Police - a legitimate and valuable government service ("insure domestic tranquility"), but it is by and large not provided by the FEDERAL government.

Armament - 2nd amendment, made all the more vital by the creeping encroachment by Washington on individual liberty.

Meat inspection - Agree that this is a legitimate FEDERAL government activity, with the caveat that federal bureaucrats have a significant propensity to expand, even ignore, their authorizing legislation (see EPA, Carbon Dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act).

Blame Bush - I'm getting tired of this non-sequitur. The catalyst for the current recession was the mortgage meltdown and EVERYBODY in Washington had a hand in this (my favorite example being Barney Frank's "roll the dice" comment when he and many other democrats blocked improved regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would have blocked excessive and sloppy mortgage lending).

Health Care Reform - This has very little to do with reform and a lot to do with a power grab by Democrats who seek a cradle-to-grave entitlement state (i.e. socialism) with a majority of the citizenry dependent upon government hand-outs and reliably supportive of the Democrats in every election. This was passed against the majority opposition of the American people.

Obama and Biden "leadership" - Sorry, this is rejoicing at the Emperor's new clothes.

No need for people to get themselves into a tizzy. Everything's going to be just fine.

You loony leftists might want to ask yourselves, if the democrats are soooo...for working people and are gonna punish Wall St. WHY DID THEY JUMP TO BAIL OUT? Because democrats were and still are doing the old CYA routine.

Here's the vote from the first failed attempt to pass a bailout bill:

Among Democrats, 140 supported the bill and 95 voted against. Republicans, 65 in favor and 133 against.

Now the democrats are going to "fix" it again. We need to stop these crooks before they raid the country again and try and sell it as necessary. We had a Savings and Loan meltdown and bailout in the 1980s. Did they "fix it then? No they created the biggest financial disaster in history and will bankrupt the country unless we through them out of office.

Government for the government and by the government is what we currently have.

Unitl the people elect people not affiliated with the current corrupt system of governemnt their will only be corruption.

We're the richest nation in the history of the planet and the government in it's current form has failed us - BIG TIME.

And Obama is exactly the worst thing that could have happened to this country. I am not proud of either Obama.

But I am still proud and willing to bust my ass and die for what the constitution intended to give every American citizen freedom and justice.

The Krugman column on "Looters in [Gucci] Loafers" is a must read in connection with this article.

I remember the S & L debacle of the Reagan era quite well. It was obvious to me at the time that the Replicans were being permitted to loot the US Treasury by means of gaining control of S & L's, making "liar loans" to themselves, their cousins, nephews and aunts, and friends, and then defaulting, leaving federal deposit insurance to pay off the depositors they had defrauded.

It was as obvious as the nose on your face.

Equally obvious was the fact that VIRTUALLY NO ONE was prosecuted for the fraud.

The same pattern is being repeated here but on a much, much greater scale.

The frauds of the S & L debacle were crude and obvious in comparison to those facilitated by the issuers of mortgage backed securities and related "instruments" fabricated by the crooks on Wall St. this time around.

Also, no "insurance net" like deposit insurance existed as a cover for the fraud---until of course Goldman Sachs former CEO , Treas. Sec. Paulson, created a panic in the Congress and....

Well, that part of the history is remembered pretty well at the moment.

If you look at the disclosure statements of outfits like Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Citi, JPMorgan, you will be amazed at the very small amounts of their political contributions (at least, those that are disclosed):

A few hundred thousand dollars, here and there....

The return to them?

Continued freedom to plunder.

Ornery, Thanks for making my day. Your proposal for a "Truth Commission" had me ROTFLMAO. Thanks again.

PS. Add Larry Klayman's book "Whores" to your list.

Wonder what the percentage is for IL alone?
More like 95%.

Thank God Obama got elected because he is a breath of need fresh air! Nice to have some intelligence in the WH for a change.

I don't trust government either...but it is the Senate more than anything that I distrust. It is place where good ideas go to die.

Lets use this opportunity to enact publically-financed elections and call elections no more than 6 months ahead of time. Limit the effect of big money and pandering that is needed to get re-elected.

Earth to Shamrock, it's pretty easy to tell that YOU'RE a nut job because you can't even spell.

The plural of nut job is "nut jobs" NOT "nut job's".

"Nut job's" means ownership, possessive.

"Conspiracy's" isn't even a word. You mean to write "conspiracies."

Get a damn clue.

Thank God Obama got elected because he is a breath of need fresh air! Nice to have some intelligence in the WH for a change.

I don't trust government either...but it is the Senate more than anything that I distrust. It is place where good ideas go to die.

Lets use this opportunity to enact publically-financed elections and call elections no more than 6 months ahead of time. Limit the effect of big money and pandering that is needed to get re-elected.

Posted by: ange1 | April 19, 2010 11:05 AM

***********************************

It is easy to see why ange1 has the "Thank God Obama got elected" opinion that she has.

Only a half in the bag, brain dead, sheeple could turn the first glorious opinion into a call for enacting "publicly financed" elections!

This was one of Barry's first lies told during the campaign. Barry said he would, then he refused to follow the "Public Finance" part of the presidential campaign ange1 and now you praise him? for his intellignence?

Just goes to show that the remaining "hangers on" of the Obamabots aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.

Ange1 meet Donny Fitz, the war mongering crybaby who thinks Barry hasn't been bought and paid for by the very evil Corporations he cries about constantly.

I suppose you demand those US troops to be brought home NOW ? Maybe you can give us the Murder - Death - Kill count on US troops in Barry's war this week? Donny is silent on that topic these days.

I only trust people who tie bags of tea to them and walk around with civil war attire on while propping up big signs that make no sense. Those are some trustworthy folks.

Yes, and trust in the government was at an all-time high when it was telling us there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So, if public trust is any gauge of how well we're doing, everything's going quite swimmingly. I don't think the American populace really has a finger on the pulse of the nation right now. Outrage over health care has more to do with a disgust over government control than any real understanding about the state of health care or the economy.

"So, while dealing with a collapsing economy, fostered by the Bush&Cheney malfeasant administrations"

So after nationalizing the banks, insurance companies, borrowing trillions from the Chinese, nationalizing the student loan program, and taking over the Health industry despite 2 out of 3 people against it....all you got is, Bush??

I can’t believe Republicans/Conservatives are demanding respect from the LEFT. So that’s IT huh… the likes of (corporate owned) Mbitch McConnell, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Bob McDonnell, etc. are the ONLY answers these Conservatives wackos can come up with?

Why Republicans want to celebrate the Confederacy is beyond me. they’ve already got a lost cause… their own Party, lol. Honestly, every decade or so, more Progressive Americans have to put the crazy rednecks in their place.

REALITY NOW! What leadership, character or morals have Republicans displayed in the past?

NO solutions, NO rational stance, clear agendas or common sense policy… JUST Sarah Palin/Glenn Beck groupies parroting talking points!
(I heard rumors someone in the Palin entourage is smuggling meth/coke on the tour charter flights)

Have you ever LISTENED to the average right-wing fanatic? It’s like every Conservative in America is auditioning for a spot on the FOX News channel. (News Corp owned by Saudi Royals)

COME ON, are you right-wing wackos #*~/‘n INSANE? Am I missing something here? Didn’t Conservatives just have 8 YEARS of Bush/Cheney and Republican controlled Congress (1994-2006) to put their warped ideology into practice? AND IT ALMOST DESTROYED THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH!

Waste, fraud, abuse, scandal, sexual deviancy, corruption, lies, incompetence, job outsourcing, off-shore tax evasion, reckless economics, welfare for the rich, war profiteering, Constitutional violations AND a Corporate Crime Wave of epic proportions…. The WORST looting of a nation’s wealth and resources in the history of MANKIND!

Where was the Tea Party anger THEN? #*~/ ignorant hypocrites.

But you want Democrats/Progressives to believe if only Conservatism had one more chance it can work? The very definition of insanity, isn’t IT? Over and over AGAIN! Just separate yourselves from Bush/Cheney… bull$#!~ MISINFORMED people into believing they’re part of a NEW Conservative Movement.

In OTHER WORDS Republican Party talking points are based on the ignorance of their constituents. They revise history and LIE because they CAN… because morons who vote for Republicans DON’T KNOW THEIR OWN HISTORY! This ain’t NO Tea Party… this is a CLASS WAR!
Do I miss George W. Bush? #*~/ NO!

The American PEOPLE would be NUTS to put their faith, trust, vote and government in the hands of Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and those numbkulls making up the Tea Party cult?

REAL Great Americans WANT TO EMBRACE ETHICS, RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Something this sick, twisted Neo-Con generation FAILED miserably at. Republicans in Congress since 1984 have been no better than highly paid HO’s for the wealthy and powerful. Republican Party, please GO AWAY and let the adults fix the HUGE MESS left over from the Bush/Cheney DISASTER…

JEEZ and crackers… I wish the Pharmaceutical Industry could find a cure for the severe superiority complexes, odd paranoia and religious delusions most of the Right-wing is suffering through.
consciousmc.blogspot.com
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“… did you see the video of the TRAITORS Ailes, O’Reilly, Hannity, Beck and the rest of FOX news puppets lining up t0 kiss the right shoulder of the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talai? I got ill during the Saudi sword dance celebrating how they got the American, ignorant, right-wing fanatics to VOTE AGAINST THEIR OWN BEST INTERESTS!

…It’s even more sickening than all the hand holding/kissing Bush Jr. used to do at the ranch in Crawford TX. George W. Bush always resembled a smitten school girl ever time he was in the presence of Saudi Royals… SPQR

Only 80%? Seems low.

22%, I'm surprised it is that high.

Congress makes the laws the banks and banking system have to go by. The SEC and all federal regulators and congress turned their heads to the corruption, voluntarily, when it was called on to regulate, thereby voluntarily causing the collapse. Now we want them to again, regulate? Insane!

Ohg Rea Tone, why stop the wayback machine at WWII when you can go all the way back to the Revolutionary War to find out what patriotism used to be like in this country?

**********
Posted by: Greg McClain | April 19, 2010 10:27 AM
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Greg,

Facts with Style! Liberals always have some kind of dumb analogy that has to be dismantled. T H A N X !!!

Ohg Rea Tone @ 10:00 a.m.,

I DO fail to see the TEA Movement-WWII patriotism connection that you keep trying to make. For starters, it would NOT be clear to me whose side the Left would be on if we were, hypothetically, engaged in WWII.

Just for my understanding, would the Left be aligned with the Allied Powers, or would the Left be more comfortable with the Axis Socialists and Imperialists?

For the sake of this question let’s say that it is already August 1940 and France has already surrendered. I know that what France does is REAL important to the Left, but let’s say that France is not a factor here one way or the other. They are already out. Whose side would you and your friends on the Left be aligned with? I could guess, but I could easily guess wrong.

Hey " rick g ", your cheating !! Your using the Republican-Libertarian-T.Bagger fact book!! You will not find any worthwhile facts there!! Its all distortions, lies and of course, more lies !! Your a real riot, " rick g " !! Keep posting, we need the laughs !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.

* * * * *
“Equally obvious was the fact that VIRTUALLY NO ONE was prosecuted for the fraud.”
* * * * *
Posted by: ornery | April 19, 2010 10:50 AM
.
Are you kidding? From October 1, 1988 to March 31, 1997, the DOJ brought 1,259 indictments charging 1,955 defendants with crimes relating to the “S & L debacle.” The Justice Department obtained the convictions of 1,690 of those defendants, achieving a conviction rate of 93.2%. Of those convicted, 1,149 were sentenced to serve time in the slammer. I would hardly call that “virtually no one” being prosecuted. Having been involved in defending one of those prosecutions, I can tell you that the feds combed the books of any failed S & L and prosecuted just about anything that looked like a shady loan.

John D: Ahhhh, the deranged, delusional, psychotic world of the Loony RIGHT!

Those Black Boxes are designed to survive those kind of horrific crashes, and worse. Just ask any aviation professional. The only time they didn't was on 911.

But lets not mince fences here, This whole debate IS partisan. Republicans/Social-(ist) Conservatives/Corporatists CAN do NO Wrong. Where were all you conservajerk Tea Baggers when Bush was running up our debt with his un-paid for wars and his un-paid for tax breaks for only the wealthiest Americans.

The only function you people want for Government: Kill "brown non-Christians", eliminate GBLT people, bomb abortion clinics.

Am I wrong?

Soooo if the GOP takes back their 'power', that would make more people trust the government? Seriously?

The only function you people want for Government: Kill "brown non-Christians", eliminate GBLT people, bomb abortion clinics.

Am I wrong?

Posted by: Vera | April 20, 2010 2:29 PM
--------------------

Vera, respectfully, you are wrong. This seems quite unpleasant. I have no desire to do any of that. What / Who are GBLT people?

“Who are GBLT people?”
.
Posted by: Django - N Exile In/Around the 30th Parallel | April 20, 2010 7:08 PM
.
Well, they live in Sausalito and drink Shiraz; they’re famous for their own martial arts maneuver; and, as the acronym indicates, they like Garlic, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches.

JW, don't you believe it.

At least 90 % of the crooks got away with it in the S & L debacle.

How many issuers and underwriters of mortgage backed "securities" and related "instruments" have been indicted to date?

How many do you suppose ultimately will be brought to justice?

Well, they live in Sausalito and drink Shiraz; they’re famous for their own martial arts maneuver; and, as the acronym indicates, they like Garlic, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches.

Posted by: John W. | April 21, 2010 1:00 AM
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Hey thanx, John W.

Man, I was just C-L-U-E-L-E-S-S. It’s the feeling that democrats must have, when / should, they ever have a need to try and extrapolate some kind of interpretation from the Constitution of the United States. Actually, these days, I think that they are more into just ignoring it altogether rather than bothering with any kind of subtext interpretation. That would be easier.

See, John W., this is why we need CA. Please don’t go insolvent. Well, operationally insolvent. My LA cousin, Jimmy, a SF Giants fan, tends to the misconception that TX folks are hard-wired into a different time continuum. Jimmy is a nice guy, but Jimmy could substitute the word “inferior” for the word “different”. We have books, schools, libraries, newspapers, all of the technological advancements, we just don’t have that cutting edge flair for naming thingz, even when it is only a 4-letter acronym, of sorts.

Now that I know who the GBLT people are, Vera, baby, you are still wrong. I have no desire to kill them. Killing the GBLT people would not be any component part of the political ideology that a National Review kind of Wingnut, such as myself, would ever be predisposed towards. I’m thinking GBLT right now. I may want to slip up on one for lunch. Thanx again, John W.

Do the GBLT people know who they are? One thing the left hates is a group without a label. Way to promote equality.

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Posted by: ornery | April 21, 2010 2:01 AM
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I got my statistics on the S & L prosecutions from the government. Where did you get your 90% figure as to those who got away with it? What you are telling me, then, is that more than 150,000 people got away with fraud? Considering the vigor with which I witnessed the government go after S & L frauds, I serious doubt it.
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And just so you remember, we were talking about the “S & L debacle” which was a phenomenon of the 80s. Thus, I don’t know why you are bringing up the current financial crisis, or the question of how many people have been, or will be, prosecuted for the sub-prime debacle. This is a different ball of wax. The S & L debacle was caused by the use of fraudulent loans to pillage mom and pop S & Ls. That’s not exactly what happened this time around.
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As a member of the defense bar, I am not privy to the names or number of people who are facing any prosecution. You need to ask Eric Holder those questions (if he knows).

"Only 22 percent of all Americans surveyed say they trust the government in Washington almost always or most of the time -- among the lowest measures in half a century - according to a new Pew Research Center survey released tonight."

Wait a minute. This isn't making sense.

Are you trying to tell me there was a time when MORE than 22% of the people actually trusted the government?

If so -- WHY?????? WHEN??????? Who WERE these idiots?

Certainly wasn't among the Founding Fathers -- they all cautioned against letting government go unwatched and unchecked.

At NO point I can remember did I trust the government. Not under a Republican, not under a Democrat.

Wait -- that's not absolutely true. When George W. Bush said there was proof that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and if we didn't invade them, they'd attack US, I had to sort of grudgingly trust that he knew what he was talking about. Kind of shows where trusting government will lead.

Of course, there's a difference between not trusting the government and acting like we're in the middle of a 1950's "the Martians have landed!!" movie. If trusting the government is stupid, THAT's even stupider.