Another Senate Charade – Matt Taibbi

(RollingStone) – This note comes courtesy of my friend David Sirota out in Colorado. This is a classic example of how the Senate works. If the public understood better how rigged this game is, and how few issues are actually left to an honest vote in the legislature, I’m pretty sure the pitchfork factor would be twice even what it is now.

The short version of this story: Bernie Sanders had put forth a proposal in the Senate to put a 15 percent cap on credit-card interest. Who isn’t in favor of this kind of legislation? The only difference between credit card companies and loan sharks at this point is that you can choose to not patronize a loan shark. As an adult professional in this country one has to have a credit card – it’s impossible to rent a car, buy a hotel room, shop online or do countless other things without one.

But all the credit card companies use the same insane formulae based on FICO scores to charge exorbitant interest rates for anyone who slips up – and they don’t exactly make it easy to not slip up. (I’m doing research on this subject so anyone who has a particularly egregious story about being ripped off by credit card companies, please write in). Almost everyone has horror stories about consumer credit and my guess is that if put to a national referendum, something like the Sanders 15% cap would pass pretty easily.

Video: Keiser Report №32: Markets! Finance! Scandal!

(RussiaToday) – Today, Max Keiser and co-host Stacy Herbert look at the scandals of Prozac pilots and Chinese drywall; Timothy Sniveling Scamster Geithner, asking “what choice did the President have?”, and finally, Jamie Dimon, the most dangerous man in America, complaining about the demonization of mega-banks. Max also talks to Rolling Stone journalist, Matt Taibbi, about “Looting Main Street.”

Video: How Goldman Sachs runs the government!

When it comes to Goldman Sachs there is no free Market.  This video is a visualization of Matt Taibbi‘s “The Great American Bubble Machine”  – It has been cut down slightly to fit the 10 minute time constraints.

Video: Front Groups – The Hidden Persuaders – Left-Libertarian

If youre interested in learning more, check out the websites below. They have excellent resources and news on the latest PR, front group, and think tank offensives. Front groups do not stay around for long. They pop up like mushrooms, do their job, and then disappear. They do this so the public and media dont catch on.

Video: Edward Bernays and the Art of Public Manipulation – Left-Libertarian

You might like my videos if you like: Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Ralph Nader, Sheldon Rampton, John Stauber, Matt Taibbi, Michael Albert, Bakunin, Proudhon, Amy Goodman, John Pilger, Mike Gravel, Naomi Klein.

Wall Street’s Naked Swindle – Rolling Stone

A scheme to flood the market with counterfeit stocks helped kill Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers — and the feds have yet to bust the culprits

MSM: As Goldman Sachs posts huge profits from the economic crisis, the question is – Did it cause the problems in the first place?

(DailyMail) – No name is more ubiquitous in the pantheon of global finance than that of Goldman Sachs. At a time when world commerce and banking has been brought to a shuddering halt by greed, excess and foolishness, this investment bank provoked astonishment and disgust this week by handing out record bonuses.

Rolling Stone writer called ‘anti-Semitic’ for simply following the money

Popular Rolling Stone contributor, writer and blogger Matt Taibbi claims that he was sent e-mails which attacked him and accused him of anti-Semitism for exposing the investment bank giant Goldman’s Sachs and their shady financial dealings over the years.

For Goldman’s stock, it’s like the crash never happened

Goldman Sachs Group’s record second-quarter earnings report this week just generated more enmity toward the Wall Street titan, if more is even possible at this point.

Video: Matt Taibbi – Has Goldman Sachs taken over the economy of the U.S.?

Matt Taibbi on the Thom Hartmann program. Matt wrote the piece in Rolling Stone, “The Great American Bubble Machine”.