For The Times They Are A-Changin'

'Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence.

The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask, why not?

History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside.'

John F. Kennedy


'Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything.

Cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things.'

Stephen Colbert


'All successful revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door.'

John Kenneth Galbraith


'This generation has a rendezvous with destiny.'

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

For good or ill, after a long period of abuse and a testing of the extremities of power and the people's willingness to accept them, the only inevitability is change.  Always.

History is not a given, it is not given to us. It is what we are, what we have been given, and what we make of it.

Obama Quietly Firing the CFTC's Gary Gensler For Pressuring Banks on Swaps

It appears that President Obama is bidding adieu to CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler, purportedly for being 'too aggressive' with the Banks over their antics in the markets, with special emphasis on swaps and derivatives activity offshore.

I wonder who put the word in President Barry's ear?  It is best to tread lightly around those treasured havens for financial piracy.

I discount any speculation that this is in reaction to a major breaking scandal on the metals exchanges. That would be too good.

The replacement is reported to be a Amanda Renteria, the former chief of staff to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan. Renteria was the first Latina chief of staff in the Senate.

She is the daughter of Mexican immigrant workers, studied at Harvard Business School, and spent most of her career in public service. However, after graduating she worked briefly at Goldman Sachs & Co.

She might turn out to be a highly effective regulator despite her lack of practical experience in financial regulation.  That would be a nice change of pace for a generally docile and Big Finance compliant administration.  Let's see what she has to say.  But I am not hopeful given the Obama crew's abysmal track record in financial reform and 'change you can believe in.'

Here is a link to Renteria's bio.

Here is the story as it was carried by The Huffington Post.

Common Dreams
Obama Cans Regulator Who Crossed Wall Street

Ouster is a gain for big bankers advocating lax oversight

Sarah Lazare, staff writer

The Obama Administration is quietly firing Commodity Futures Trading Commission head Gary Gensler, who ran afoul of big banks by pushing for greater government oversight.

The ouster comes in the midst of controversy over a proposed CFTF rule, strongly supported by Gensler, that would extend U.S. regulation to swaps--a kind of derivative exhange--involving firms founded or doing business in the United States. This means that foreign banks and hedge funds would face the same regulations as U.S. ones when trading in swaps with U.S. parties....