Week of February 6, 2012
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show (2/9/2012). He is co-chairing an investigation into improper foreclosures after the housing crisis. He believes attorneys general around the country can hold banks accountable for robo-signing and other corrupt practices. If you believe that, you have not been paying attention over the last 30 years.
Jimmy Carter was our last honest president, which is why he is reviled. Americans fear truth. So, when Carter told the truth, Americans became afraid and elected Ronald Reagan, who is revered for not telling the truth.
(About Iran-Contra) Speculation about the involvement of Reagan, Vice President George Bush and the administration at large ran rampant. Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh investigated the affair for the next eight years. Fourteen people were charged with either operational or “cover-up” crimes. In the end, North’s conviction was overturned on a technicality, and President Bush issued six pardons, including one to McFarlane, who had already been convicted, and one to Weinberger before he stood trial.
Although laws had been broken, and Reagan’s image suffered as a result of Iran-Contra, his popularity rebounded. In 1989 he left office with the highest approval rating of any president since Franklin Roosevelt.
Is the last sentence ironic, or does it mean Americans admire anybody who tells them this is the greatest country in the world? Americans are taught to fear truth by public school teachers who were taught to fear truth, when they were students.
We get what we deserve — the Republican primary and the general election this fall will be ugly.
If you are a home owner, write to me when you recover what you lost in the aftermath of the mortgage crisis. If you are a banker/lender or other benefactor of the corrupt practices that led to the collapse of the housing market; write to me, when you have repaid those who were taken advantage of.
I won’t hear from either home owners or lenders because we are afraid of the truth, especially the one that says America is not only not the greatest country in the world, but a country that has recently been corrupted by unchecked capitalism. Can you say oligarchy?
