We’re told that we’re a polarized society, right? And, sure, there are differences between the Left and the Right over reproductive rights, school prayer, gun control, government regulation, and now, immigration.
That’s the way the ruling classes have manipulated people for more than two thousand years: divide and rule. The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door."
Ralph Nader, Crashing the Party, 2007
"Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.”
Robert F. Kennedy
"To achieve fat financial-sector profits, the housing and mortgage markets might as well have been merged with Las Vegas. The principal inventors, hustlers , borrowers and culprits were the nation's 15-20 largest and best known financial institutions - including the ones that keep making headlines by demanding more bail-out money from Washington and giving huge bonuses. These same institutions got much of the early bail-out money and as of December 2008 they accounted for over half of the bad assets written off.
The reason these needed so much money is that they government had let them merge, speculate, expand and experiment on dimensions beyond all logic. That is why the complicit politicians and regulators have to talk about $100 billion here and $1 trillion there even while they pretend that it's all under control and that the run-amok financial sector remains sound.
But for the moment, let me underscore: the average American knows little of the dimensions of the financial sector aggrandizement and misbehavior involved. Until this is remedied, there probably will not be enough informed, focused indignation to achieve far-reaching reform in the teeth of financial sector money and influence. Equivocation will triumph. This will not displease politicians and regulators leery of offending their contributors and backers."
Kevin Phillips, The Disaster Stage of US Financialization, April 7, 2009
Some days I just don't feel that adding any words is necessary for those who have been paying the least amount of attention to what has been going on.
And as for those that can't or more likely refuse to see it yet, they probably won't, until it gets them.
Have a pleasant evening.
