Jim Cramer, tail ‘twixt hindlegs, on Jon Stewart’s show last night (three-part tape, beginning here) raises most of all the question Why do we have to go to a comedy channel to get this sort of questioning? Note that Stewart pokes no fun at all.
May the next news be “Cramer fired, indicted.”
Fallows (on a three-day trip to the States from Beijing) says getting to watch this made the travel worth-it all by itself. In fact, he headlines
It’s true: Jon Stewart has become Edward R. Murrow
Stewart mopped the floor with Cramer.
It took Jon Stewart for me to understand. Wall Street took hard working people’s money collectively and went to Vegas with it. Burned the house down with all our money and walked away richer than f***. I get it now. And we bailed these folks out?
Congress passed a bill in 1933 called the Glass-Steagall act which among other things prohibited commercial banks from owning investment banks. That portion of the bill was repealed in 1999. The commercial banks like Citibank and Bank of America, then got in the investment banking game.
Thus, when the investment banking side of the businesses collectively “went to Vegas,” it endangered our commercial banking system, and therefore the rest of our economy.
I tuned in but Stewart said Cramer would be on tomorrow (tonight).
And who wrote the repealing legistlation, Commentor, at 4?
Senator Phil Gramm (R-Texas). And who warned against it?
Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota).
John Stewart is following the one central theme that is the underpinning of the “Funny and Sad Because It’s True” part of his show – that the commercial, real news has long ago gotten in bed with those they are supposed to be investigating and are now just offering up pre-approved talking points. Investigative news is dead, Rupert Murdoch killed it.
It is very sad that a “comedian” is required to call this very obvious state of affairs out, and that same comedian has said as much. He did it to Crossfire, and he’s doing it to Mad Money and CNBC now. Kudos, John, I hope you can set the real news right again – and all of us back on track with expecting real news from organizations that tell us that’s what they’re providing. There ought to be a Nobel Prize in your future.
The great thing about J-o-n Stewart, Pedro (at 7), is that he’s so remarkably bright.
Stewart was incredible last night. I don’t want Cramer to get fired, I want him to learn his lessons, pull his head out, and start doing something useful. Maybe his rating will go up. Reasonable, Respectful, Relevant
ThirdSouth,
Linsey Graham was one of the sponsors. I don’t know about Wellstone, but the bill passed with very strong bipartisan support and Bill Clinton signed it into law.
Both parties deserve (dis)credit.
Phil Gramm WROTE it.
When the repeal was announced I was driving down thw road and flew into a complete rage and had to pull off the road. I told my wife who thought I was completely nuts, “we are so fucked, it is the end, they will collapse our economy” I have an MBA and had studied the market to get a gob offer to the street, which I declined to go to law school and make 1/100 as much money to do what I love.
I don’t really think you guys get it at all. The whole damn thing is rotten to its core and has always been. It is not a few apples its the whole damn barrel.
Start here:
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom
Next here:
The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (American Empire Project) (Hardcover)
by Andrew Bacevich (Author)
Key Phrases: national security apparatus, military crisis, United States, World War, President Bush (more…)
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Summary here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94505191
Then read these:
Bad Money and American Theocracy By Kevin Philllips
Then cry
I4A, I read this book back 1998 when it came out. I has hoping Wilkerson wasn’t our modern day Jeremiah that many say he is, but he nailed it.
http://worldchallenge.edgeboss.net/download/worldchallenge/books/americas_last_call.pdf
To read what he is saying now and prepare yourself I highly recommend his daily email/blog devotionals.
http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/