On Spitzer, Christian Charity, Robber Barons
and Presidential Hopefuls
25/03/08; By Diane V. McLoughlin
What happened to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, frankly,
depresses the hell out of me. As a public representative bound to
uphold the law, obviously, paying for prostitutes is wrong if prostitution
is illegal. But the whole thing smells to high heaven.
Does anybody who's anybody give a damn about Spitzer's sexual
habits? As Larisa Alexandrova wrote on at-Largely:
'...to target and investigate someone in hopes of finding something
illegal is also illegal. I am not comfortable right now that Spitzer was
legally investigated, despite the allegations of what he was actually
caught doing and the fact that it was a criminal activity.
And I am certainly not comfortable with the hysteria over two consenting
adults having sex...'.
Ms. A makes other observations as well, citing leevank as a source
she consulted over at Daily Kos. That it appears that Spitzer was
being spied on, and that what was flagged was cash going out of
Spitzer's personal bank account. leevank:
'...that suggests a return to the bad old days where one of the major
activities of the FBI was gathering dirt on every politician in Washington
(not to mention civil rights leaders and others who had somehow run
afoul of J. Edgar Hoover), which was then used to intimidate them
politically. And that's much more disturbing to me than Elliot Spitzer's
tawdry, and apparently very expensive, personal life.'
If Americans could just finally place their hypocritical, judgmental and
puritanical ways firmly in the past and reject the crucifixion of public
figures because of sex and/or drugs the country would be a lot better
off. Let the opposition prove real corruption or malfeasance.
Spitzer's replacement, the engaging, Black and blind David A.
Paterson is one smart cookie. As soon as he was sworn in he
seemed to just lay it all out, publicly. No dirt to use against him
because he's already spilled the beans to the public: Tried cocaine
and marijuana as a young adult; affairs when his marriage was on
rocky terrain. One has little trouble imagining the giant thumb of the
silent majority to the puritanicals - so he's human. Get over it.
Anyway, as you can see, I'm cynical of the true machinations behind the
Spitzer political hit, and it appears that I am far from alone.
Greg Palast, journalist for the BBC's Guardian, in his article,
'Eliot's Mess', alleges that Spitzer's was a shady political hit by some of
the most powerful players in the country - over taxpayers' money.
As Palast explains, for the first time in history, the Fed has chosen to
lend a quarter of a trillion dollars of American taxpayer's money to bail
out selected banks from their own mortgage-backed junk bond mess.
To Palast, this is a clue: '...the feds actually filed a lawsuit to block
Spitzer's investigation of ugly racial mortgage steering. Bush's
banking buddies were especially steamed that Spitzer hammered
bank practices across the nation using New York State laws.'
That Palast alleges people were targets for scams based on race is
particularly shocking.
Palast wrote that, 'Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on
their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind
Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of
America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch
and Citigroup's Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit
centers.'
The coup de grace of Palast's thesis: '...that very same day the bail-out
was decided - what a coinkydink! - the man called, 'The Sheriff of Wall
Street' was cuffed. Spitzer was silenced.'
Are any of the above concerns valid? I wish I knew.
What isn't hard to figure is why Spitzer's wife might want to stand by
Eliot. In spite of it all. My guess: They are friends the way only
long-time caring couples devoted to family can be; that they dedicate
their lives to public service; that they shared a vision of working for the
greater good; something bigger beyond themselves - perhaps fearing
the ultimate enemy has breached the defenses: That ultimate enemy
domestic, the robber barons.
Because it seems to me that the robber barons have been holding
sway. They have been feverishly chiseling out the financial heart of
America to opulently enrich themselves; collectively driven insane from
too many years sniffing the fumes from burning money and burning out
America's economic engine.
Robber barons are too stupid to realize they will ultimately destroy the
very mechanisms that make them money. The mechanisms grind to a
halt without enough money to fuel them.
I fear it all goes together. The economy gradually was twisted to dark
purposes. It is based on the manufacture of bullets and bombs. The
robber barons have a lock on, and have co-opted, the democratic
process, stealing American federal elections.
It is not hard to locate evidence that robber barons are too stupid to
care, but I think the best evidence is the flagrant disregard for human
life in the refusal to implement health care for all America's citizens.
It is also one of the best instances of hypocrisy I can think of. George
W. Bush touts himself as deeply Christian yet lifts not a finger for health
care while pushing war.
We may well be at the advent of a completely unnecessary Third World
War - perhaps even leading to nuclear Armageddon. This may seem
an extreme statement until one contemplates the fact that the U.S. in
recent years has recalibrated its military policy on 'first-strike'; the U.S.
already contaminates countries like Iraq with depleted uranium they
choose to use in military weaponry - which - I would argue, is no
different than the 'dirty bombs' American politicians so fear being used
against American cities by terrorists.
There is the little incident of six nukes 'mistakenly' being loaded onto an
American B-52 bomber, flown from one air force base to another
(good discussion by David Lindorff at This Can't Be Happening)
Deeply suspicious.
Looking up the food chain to the current roster of American presidential
hopefuls (I have collected in my Film Index video of each candidate
who has so far declared) I am big on Independent candidate Ralph
Nader. Nader is a lawyer, he's fought corruption for many years, he's
qualified and he's tested.
But I am having second thoughts about Barack Obama, too. If the
corporate media knives have come out against Obama, which is what
it looks like to me, then Obama is worth a closer look.
What happened to Spitzer is but a hint, I suspect, of what lies beneath
the tattered fabric of America today. If her citizens could choose but
wisely in this crucial election cycle, and the elections are made to be
free and fair, I continue to hope for a more peaceful, brighter tomorrow.
home
and Presidential Hopefuls
25/03/08; By Diane V. McLoughlin
What happened to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, frankly,
depresses the hell out of me. As a public representative bound to
uphold the law, obviously, paying for prostitutes is wrong if prostitution
is illegal. But the whole thing smells to high heaven.
Does anybody who's anybody give a damn about Spitzer's sexual
habits? As Larisa Alexandrova wrote on at-Largely:
'...to target and investigate someone in hopes of finding something
illegal is also illegal. I am not comfortable right now that Spitzer was
legally investigated, despite the allegations of what he was actually
caught doing and the fact that it was a criminal activity.
And I am certainly not comfortable with the hysteria over two consenting
adults having sex...'.
Ms. A makes other observations as well, citing leevank as a source
she consulted over at Daily Kos. That it appears that Spitzer was
being spied on, and that what was flagged was cash going out of
Spitzer's personal bank account. leevank:
'...that suggests a return to the bad old days where one of the major
activities of the FBI was gathering dirt on every politician in Washington
(not to mention civil rights leaders and others who had somehow run
afoul of J. Edgar Hoover), which was then used to intimidate them
politically. And that's much more disturbing to me than Elliot Spitzer's
tawdry, and apparently very expensive, personal life.'
If Americans could just finally place their hypocritical, judgmental and
puritanical ways firmly in the past and reject the crucifixion of public
figures because of sex and/or drugs the country would be a lot better
off. Let the opposition prove real corruption or malfeasance.
Spitzer's replacement, the engaging, Black and blind David A.
Paterson is one smart cookie. As soon as he was sworn in he
seemed to just lay it all out, publicly. No dirt to use against him
because he's already spilled the beans to the public: Tried cocaine
and marijuana as a young adult; affairs when his marriage was on
rocky terrain. One has little trouble imagining the giant thumb of the
silent majority to the puritanicals - so he's human. Get over it.
Anyway, as you can see, I'm cynical of the true machinations behind the
Spitzer political hit, and it appears that I am far from alone.
Greg Palast, journalist for the BBC's Guardian, in his article,
'Eliot's Mess', alleges that Spitzer's was a shady political hit by some of
the most powerful players in the country - over taxpayers' money.
As Palast explains, for the first time in history, the Fed has chosen to
lend a quarter of a trillion dollars of American taxpayer's money to bail
out selected banks from their own mortgage-backed junk bond mess.
To Palast, this is a clue: '...the feds actually filed a lawsuit to block
Spitzer's investigation of ugly racial mortgage steering. Bush's
banking buddies were especially steamed that Spitzer hammered
bank practices across the nation using New York State laws.'
That Palast alleges people were targets for scams based on race is
particularly shocking.
Palast wrote that, 'Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on
their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind
Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of
America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch
and Citigroup's Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit
centers.'
The coup de grace of Palast's thesis: '...that very same day the bail-out
was decided - what a coinkydink! - the man called, 'The Sheriff of Wall
Street' was cuffed. Spitzer was silenced.'
Are any of the above concerns valid? I wish I knew.
What isn't hard to figure is why Spitzer's wife might want to stand by
Eliot. In spite of it all. My guess: They are friends the way only
long-time caring couples devoted to family can be; that they dedicate
their lives to public service; that they shared a vision of working for the
greater good; something bigger beyond themselves - perhaps fearing
the ultimate enemy has breached the defenses: That ultimate enemy
domestic, the robber barons.
Because it seems to me that the robber barons have been holding
sway. They have been feverishly chiseling out the financial heart of
America to opulently enrich themselves; collectively driven insane from
too many years sniffing the fumes from burning money and burning out
America's economic engine.
Robber barons are too stupid to realize they will ultimately destroy the
very mechanisms that make them money. The mechanisms grind to a
halt without enough money to fuel them.
I fear it all goes together. The economy gradually was twisted to dark
purposes. It is based on the manufacture of bullets and bombs. The
robber barons have a lock on, and have co-opted, the democratic
process, stealing American federal elections.
It is not hard to locate evidence that robber barons are too stupid to
care, but I think the best evidence is the flagrant disregard for human
life in the refusal to implement health care for all America's citizens.
It is also one of the best instances of hypocrisy I can think of. George
W. Bush touts himself as deeply Christian yet lifts not a finger for health
care while pushing war.
We may well be at the advent of a completely unnecessary Third World
War - perhaps even leading to nuclear Armageddon. This may seem
an extreme statement until one contemplates the fact that the U.S. in
recent years has recalibrated its military policy on 'first-strike'; the U.S.
already contaminates countries like Iraq with depleted uranium they
choose to use in military weaponry - which - I would argue, is no
different than the 'dirty bombs' American politicians so fear being used
against American cities by terrorists.
There is the little incident of six nukes 'mistakenly' being loaded onto an
American B-52 bomber, flown from one air force base to another
(good discussion by David Lindorff at This Can't Be Happening)
Deeply suspicious.
Looking up the food chain to the current roster of American presidential
hopefuls (I have collected in my Film Index video of each candidate
who has so far declared) I am big on Independent candidate Ralph
Nader. Nader is a lawyer, he's fought corruption for many years, he's
qualified and he's tested.
But I am having second thoughts about Barack Obama, too. If the
corporate media knives have come out against Obama, which is what
it looks like to me, then Obama is worth a closer look.
What happened to Spitzer is but a hint, I suspect, of what lies beneath
the tattered fabric of America today. If her citizens could choose but
wisely in this crucial election cycle, and the elections are made to be
free and fair, I continue to hope for a more peaceful, brighter tomorrow.
home
