News Dump Wednesday: Too-Big-To-Fail Edition

Submitted by gjohnsit on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 6:15pm

But the most egregious thing about the bill isn’t even the specifics of its content; it’s how one-sided — and unnecessarily so — it is.
Consider:
Right now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lacks a Senate-confirmed director and is instead being overseen by White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, who is on a mission to destroy the agency.
Right now the Federal Reserve Board of Governors contains one Democrat, two Republicans, and four unfilled vacancies.
Right now there is no undersecretary of Treasury for domestic finance.
Right now two of the five seats on the Commodities Futures Trading Commission are vacant.
...
The dozen moderates voting for the legislation aren’t striking a deal with the GOP to get something done. They’re giving away the store.
And while it’s nice that the party leadership is formally opposed to the legislation, it’s clear enough that you wouldn’t see defections on this scale — including critical ones from senators representing blue states — if leaders really wanted to block it. It’s an abdication of responsibility, and it’s appalling.

Dodd-Frank still sucked

Even as Congress and the Trump administration move to ease post-crisis banking rules they say have gone too far, there’s still evidence a central problem of the last crisis hasn’t been fixed.
Despite the slew of regulations that were supposed to eliminate the need for government bailouts of the largest financial institutions, investors don’t seem to believe they will work come next crisis, according to a new study released this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The study found that the spread between the borrowing costs of the parent companies and their banking subsidiaries hasn’t widened as they should have since new regulations put the creditors to the parent on the hook for the failure of a big bank. The same held true when looking at default insurance, the New York Fed found. The authors looked at the bond yields and credit default swaps of the four largest banks.

Turkey's jihadist buddies are not nice guys

Syrian rebels who have joined Turkey’s cross-border offensive against a Kurdish enclave say they see the assault as a way to settle personal scores, and reports are mounting of looting and summary executions carried out by the Syrian fighters.
...But for the Syrian rebels, who are mostly Arabs, participation in the Turkish offensive is personal.
“This is about revenge,” said Waleed al-Mahal, a former rebel fighter who says he has sent dozens of his relatives to Turkish recruitment offices to join the offensive and hopes to be called up soon himself. “We’re taking our land back.”
His rhetoric echoes a video circulated online this week, apparently showing rebel fighters discussing plans to loot houses in Afrin. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” says a fighter who is apparently in charge.

Lovin' me some Obrador

Mexican left-wing presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador extended his lead to 14 points in an opinion poll completed last week, with a fight between his opponents over accusations of financial wrongdoing weighing on their support.
...Lopez Obrador appeared to benefit from a tussle for second place between his opponents, who have spent the last couple of weeks accusing each other of corruption, with the former Mexico City mayor sitting comfortably above the fray.
“The fight for second place is damaging them both,” Parametria founder Francisco Abundis said. “For citizens, these disputes are very tiring.”

Nafta

It is interesting to note that Trump’s incessant, disrespectful and inflammatory talk about a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border has made the NAFTA situation more complicated than it needed to be. Indeed, Trump’s deep unpopularity in Mexico has made it exceedingly difficult for Mexico’s politicians to look soft on NAFTA, subservient to Trump, or be in agreement with anything that he says.
Trump’s ignorant and counter-productive approach to Mexico could also have additional political ramifications. There is a very real possibility that leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) could win the July 1 general election in Mexico. That is significant because AMLO has intimated that he might prefer a renegotiated NAFTA that overwhelmingly favours Mexico — or no NAFTA at all.
In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me that AMLO is secretly hoping that the NAFTA negotiations collapse altogether. On many occasions in the past he has spoken critically about NAFTA as a key driver of economic inequality in Mexico.

Colombia election coming soon

Pre-election polls in Colombia show that Ivan Duque, a center-right candidate, and Gustavo Petro, a leftist, are in a virtual tie three months ahead of the presidential elections.

Tags:

Open Thread

Vote

Comments

Submitted by ggersh on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 6:24pm

The D's are a corporation of, by, for corporations

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2018/03/democrats-corrupt-congressional-...

How the Democrat’s Corrupt Congressional Pay-to-Play Machine Sabotages Progressives and the Popular Will

Under the new rules for the 2008 election cycle, the DCCC [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] asked rank-and-file members to contribute $125,000 in dues and to raise an additional $75,000 for the party. Subcommittee chairpersons must contribute $150,000 in dues and raise an additional $100,000. Members who sit on the most powerful committees … must contribute $200,000 and raise an additional $250,000. Subcommittee chairs on power committees and committee chairs of non-power committees must contribute $250,000 and raise $250,000. The five chairs of the power committees must contribute $500,000 and raise an additional $1 million. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn, and Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel must contribute $800,000 and raise $2.5 million. The four Democrats who serve as part of the extended leadership must contribute $450,000 and raise $500,000, and the nine Chief Deputy Whips must contribute $300,000 and raise $500,000. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must contribute a staggering $800,000 and raise an additional $25 million.

—

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Submitted by snoopydawg on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 10:24pm

There's no way we can vote our way out of this mess

@ggersh

Not as long as congress is not even in charge of itself. On top of this, there's the CFR, TLC and every damn think tank that runs the government. Nope, no way, no how. The party is over, turn out the lights.

The whole adds up to something far more sinister than the parts. Big interest groups (think finance or oil or utilities or health care) can control the membership of the committees that write the legislation that regulates them. Outside investors and interest groups also become decisive in resolving leadership struggles within the parties in Congress. You want your man or woman in the leadership? Just send money. Lots of it….

—

The message echoes from Gaza back to the US. “Starving people is fine.”

Submitted by ggersh on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 7:24am

They warned us long ago, what ever Lola wants

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg she gets.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kjQmgm0r4g]

EDIT:spelling

—

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Wed, 03/07/2018 - 8:37pm

Poetic Justice for GamerGate...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWcDxJ434nM]

....And the New Atheist Moral Majority and American Enterprise Institute who spent years poking the bear when it came to the reactionary bullshit. You get what you vote for, assholes.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by CB on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 8:48am

Interesting letter from Texas to all Americans....

LETTER TO AMERICA - AN OPPORTUNITY AND A WARNING. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

To My Family and Friends, and All Good People of the USA,

You may not know it yet, but the world changed on March 1st, 2018, an old era was ended, and a new era begun. In very great part, the meaning of this new era is up to you.

On that historic day, Vladimir Putin revealed to the world that the US military is now obsolete, and no longer capable of "projecting power", committing war crimes, or intimidating and destroying smaller nations around the world. That day has ended forever, one way or another. The US military is still completely capable of the mission it needs and deserves to do, which is to defend the territory and people of the United States of America. You are safe. There is no threat. But the days of your government threatening and destroying other countries is over. I hope you understand this.
...
Russia's new weapons present no threat to the American People, unless you allow the people who own and control your government to to start a world war and force the Russians to use them. But if you do allow that to happen, the American people will get exactly what the "good Germans" got in 1945. And you will deserve it, just as much as they did. For the exact same reasons.

Russia is not your enemy. We seek only cooperation for the mutual benefit of all Mankind. But since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, 28 years ago, the USA, NATO and the EU have sought to plunder and rule the world. They have been the enemies, the enslavers, the destroyers of the world. No reality based person can dispute that fact. There is no place that the US or NATO has gone into in the last 4 decades that is better off. Not one. In fact, there is no place that NATO or the US have intervened, (usually against international law) that hasn't become a failed state, hell on Earth for the citizens, and a genuine danger to the surrounding regions and the world. It is the US government and NATO, and the people who own and control them, who are the threats and the enemies to the future of Humanity. But their days of disregarding international law and destroying weaker nations with impunity are now over, as of March 1st, 2018.
...
America, that time has now come for you. The choice is stark and clear, and you must make it soon.
Either bring your rulers to heel, stop the war they are bent on starting, and reap the benefits of stopping the most egregious and wasteful scam in history, or do nothing, allow your parasites to consume you, and let them lead you and your children and your nation to Armageddon and a fiery death in a war that you now know you can never win. The choice is yours. And so is the responsibility.

Submitted by CB on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 9:04am

While everyone one's attention has been Russia! Russia! Russia!

The Chinese slipped in the back door.

CIA warns of extensive Chinese infiltration of American institutions
American intelligence is now paranoid that China is spreading Communist propaganda and spying on US

The CIA has issued a classified report detailing China’s far-reaching foreign influence operations campaign in the United States, which imparts financial incentives as leverage to permeate American institutions.

This is the fault of the DNC. By keeping the focus on Russia, the Red Menace has infiltrated and infected our institutions, our schools and even our places of worship. There must be a purge to protect the homeland! Heads must roll!

Submitted by lotlizard on Fri, 03/09/2018 - 1:14am

Chinese food is polluting our precious Western bodily fluids

@CB
Meanwhile, right now on Phoenix TV, one of the government-backed TV channels in Germany, there is an extended ~~puff piece~~ “documentary” on the wonderful progress women are making in Saudi Arabia.

Submitted by Meteor Man on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 11:38am

Gun Control & The 2nd Amendment

A short article that makes an excellent point:

I argue that understanding the purpose of the Second Amendment is key to understanding the gun culture of the United States, and possibly the key to a new consciousness about the lingering effects of settler-colonialism and white nationalism. I explore various ways in which a dangerous gun culture has accelerated in the United States since the 1970s. My book is a history of the Second Amendment’s connection to that culture, and a reflection on how the violence it has spawned has deeply influenced the character of the United States.

The historical purpose of the second amendment:

We have a gun culture not because of the sanctity of the 2nd Amendment, but because killing, looting, burning, raping, and terrorizing Indians were an American tradition and militias helped carry out these horrors.

Enlightening people about the purpose of the 2nd amendment, which is rarely or never discussed in the media or anywhere else, strikes me as a more powerful argument than whether it is an individual or collective right.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/03/sides-getting-gun-debate-wrong/

—

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Submitted by Meteor Man on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 11:58am

More News Dump

Kind of a slow day, so:

A Texas Judge Used a Barbaric Courtroom Punishment on a Defendant Who Pleaded the Fifth
Electric shocks are common practice in Tarrant County courts.

This is the first time I heard about this and California used them until 2002.

https://www.alternet.org/texas-judge-used-barbaric-courtroom-punishment-...

—

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Submitted by Meteor Man on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 12:10pm

Mass Extinction of Democracy

This case is pretty much a settled here, but it's from a good author:

Is Donald Trump Fueling a Mass Extinction of Democracy Across the Planet?:
The warning signs are there, cautions "How Democracies Die" co-author Steven Levitsky.

JS: Given the scope of America's wealth and influence, does Trump pose an existential threat to global democracy?

SL: Because the United States has completely abandoned even the pretense of promoting democracy abroad, Trump's presidency could end up expediting a democratic recession, yes. We're already seeing some signs of it. Duterte in the Philippines faces no external pressure, despite massive human rights violation, while Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández recently held an election whose results have been widely disputed. Autocrats are learning that they can get away with more than they have in a decade.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/could-donald-trump-trigger-gl...

—

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Submitted by edg on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 3:22pm

Hmm.

@Meteor Man

Duterte was elected in June, 2016. Golly, I wonder who was president then?

Hernández was first elected in January, 2014. Gee, I wonder who was president then?

Submitted by Meteor Man on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 4:12pm

Let Me Guess

@edg
Starts with an"O" and ends with "a"?

Yep. Bush tilled the soil, Obama planted the seeds and Trump is providing the fertilizer so American and global fascism can thrive.

—

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Submitted by Meteor Man on Thu, 03/08/2018 - 12:38pm

Democratic losers:

The good news. Dem Centrists going down in flames:

Five Senate Democrats trail their GOP challengers and would lose their bids for reelection were the 2018 midterms held today, according to polls from SurveyMonkey. New polls published Thursday morning in Axios show Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) would all lose reelection to GOP challengers if voters were heading to the polls this week.

The bad news:

The two least-vulnerable Democrats in the poll were Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who both enjoy at least a 10-point gap between them and their announced challengers.

I guess that whole Third Way/New Dem thingie is going bust.

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/377345-polls-five-senate-dems...

Progressive Dems can win if the DCCC lets them:

http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/377350-democrats-must-stop-sabotagin...

—

"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn