Alan Greenspan at Brave New Films

More McCain Economy Lies

2008-10-03T16:18:21Z

How many more times is this guy going to change his story?

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Markets Slammed by Lehman Collapse

2008-10-04T10:49:17Z

More at www.therealnews.com

Dow drops more than 500 points or 4.5 percent as investors panic after Lehman Brothers files for chapter 11.

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It's the "Fundamentals" of the Economy, Stupid

2008-10-07T04:11:20Z

How dare John McCain cling to the erroneous notion that the "fundamentals of our economy are strong" in a day of buyouts and bankruptcy?

Just yesterday, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the crisis with our nation's financial institutions is the worst he's ever seen. Stock markets at home and abroad are plummeting because of the Lehman Brothers brankruptcy and the Merrill Lynch takeover. And what would McCain do? He would continue President Bush's legacy by keeping tax rates low for high-income earners and cutting rates for corporations, and he wouldn't impose financial regulations because Republicans don't want them. In short, he would do nothing to fix the failing economy because he clearly favors Bush's bankrupt policies.

Andrew Romano had an insightful piece in Newsweek last Thursday, in which he explained why the gap in the polls between McCain and Obama on economic issues has lessened in recent weeks. The "convention two-step," as Romano called it, simultaneously put the media spotlight on Sarah Palin and allowed McCain to give the impression of distancing himself from Bush on the economy.

If the solution then is to hammer home the similarities between McCain and Bush, then McCain is making the job a whole lot easier for his opponents by repeatedly claiming the fundamentals of Bush's economy are strong, no matter how he defines "fundamentals."

UPDATE: Joe Biden's already hitting back at McCain.

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Greenspan's Sex Appeal According to Jill Pike

2008-08-13T22:46:05Z

Old Young Turks classic from 2002. Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com

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Moyers: The Iraq War Was About Oil All Along

2008-07-12T15:15:25Z

Cross-posted at AlterNet:

Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al-Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be ... the bottom line. It is about oil.

Alan Greenspan said so last fall. The former chairman of the Federal Reserve, safely out of office, confessed in his memoir, "Everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." He elaborated in an interview with The Washington Post's Bob Woodward, "If Saddam Hussein had been head of Iraq and there was no oil under those sands, our response to him would not have been as strong as it was in the first Gulf War."

Remember, also, that soon after the invasion, Donald Rumsfeld's deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, told the press that war was our only strategic choice. "We had virtually no economic options with Iraq," he explained, "because the country floats on a sea of oil."

Barbara Walters Reveals Affair With Greenspan

2008-10-13T08:40:05Z

Possibly the most horrific sex act known to man.

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Sunday Blathering Bobbleheads

2008-09-04T02:44:47Z

MTP: Mitt Romney (R-MA)
FTN: John Edwards (D-NC); Fred Thompson (R-TN)
This Week: John Edwards (D-NC); Alan Greenspan; roundtable of Donna Brazile, Claire Shipman, Jay Carney and George Will; Brad Pitt on "Make it Right" initiative
FNS: George Mitchell on baseball steroids report; Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) & Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) on torture; Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis
Late Edition: John Edwards (D-NC); Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE); Pat Buchanan (author, "Day of Reckoning"; Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) & Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) talk intel; roundtable of Candy Crowley, Ed Henry & Dana Bash

Via Newsie8200 of course. Video is Bill Maher on Right Wing Think Tanks.

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"The Iraq War is largely about OIL." - Alan Greenspan

2008-06-14T09:34:33Z

http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2007/09/iraq-war-is-largely-about-oil-alan.html
"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil" - Alan Greenspan

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan writes this in his new book "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World"
http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2007/09/iraq-war-is-largely-about-oil-alan.html

"At at noon press conference, on May 24, 2007, at the Cannon Terrace, on Capitol Hill, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), ripped into the Bush-Cheney Gang's legislative scheme to privatize the oil of Occupied Iraq. He charged: "Privatizing Iraq's oil is theft.""
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich: "Privatizing Iraq's Oil is Theft!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Lr17usifg

Raed Jarrar on the Iraq Oil Law
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP81wq4oNeI

On The Map with Avi Lewis: John Bolton (full interview)
"The Iraq Oil Law... a little known document at the heart of the war. A law that would put the country's most valuable resource into the hands and wallets of foreign multinationals."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJQf0BlKDI

Hand in hand with another vile agenda (the AIPAC Iraq War push was supposed to be on the down low):
This was said before the war:
"God willing, we're going to have a great victory in Iraq," said AIPAC's Steve Rosen, the moderator.

The Bush administration was somewhat ambivalent about tying itself to AIPAC and Israel. Though it sent several officials to the meeting with strong pro-Israel messages, there were efforts to keep things low-key. The White House insisted that yesterday's speech by Rice, though delivered to a room with 2,000 people, be "off the record."

"I'm not making this up!" AIPAC's Rosen said to his guests while serving as host at a later session. "All these people were part of an off-the-record discussion."

"The AIPAC meeting -- attended by about 5,000 people, including half the Senate and a third of the House -- was planned long before it became clear it would coincide with hostilities in Iraq. And organizers tried to play down the emphasis on Iraq, dedicating only one of its 12 "forums" during the conference to the war. "This is not about Iraq," said AIPAC spokesman Josh Block. "This is about going to Congress and lobbying for the Israeli aid package.""
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63578-2003Mar31?language=printer

"Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us?" Philip Zelikow explains, "I'll tell you what the real threat [is] and actually has been since 1990 -- it's the threat against Israel. And this is the threat that dares not speak its name because...the American government doesn't want to lean too hard on it rhetorically because it's not a popular sell."
http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2005/08/philip-zelikow-executive-director-for.html

" According to Nexis, parts of all of this incredibly damning passage from Zelikow have been quoted in only four different places within the English-language media archived by Nexis ... that's it. A rather embarrassing---if typical---performance by the U.S. media, I'm sure you'll agree.
"
http://representativepress.blogspot.com/2005/08/philip-zelikow-on-iraq-threat-and.html

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Happiness & The Economy

2008-06-16T03:33:23Z

In part two of a series exploring well-being, Gallup shows the connection between happiness and economic growth.

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Democracy Now: Alan Greenspan, Naomi Klein and Blackwater USA

2008-07-16T22:44:08Z

Democracy Now talks with Alan Greenspan and author Naomi Klein, and looks into why Blackwater USA is back on the streets of Baghdad despite being banned by the Iraqi government.

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Alan Greenspan and the Morality of the Iraq War

2008-06-16T15:32:30Z

Excerpt from the Young Turks interview with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Watch the entire show at www.theyoungturks.com.

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The New Economic Indicators

2008-06-16T15:36:40Z

The Gallup World Poll showcases data which Alan Greenspan says might revolutionize economic forecasting.

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Alan Greenspan - Iraq War was a Fraud

2008-09-12T20:57:18Z

Alan Greenspan, launches a harshly critical attack on President George W Bush. Watch the entire Young Turks at www.theyoungturks.com

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Greenspan hit a nerve...or 3. Can you say "bad relationship"?

2008-01-12T20:20:40Z

All the poor widdle Bushiekins didn't like what the Big Bad Greenspan said. So they tried with all their might to fire back. It didn't work. You see, boys and girls, the Bushiekins aren't very good at logic or facts.

Now! Which of these things don't fit with reality? Count out loud, kiddies! One! Two!....

...spokesman Tony Fratto told ABC News he would try to restrain himself. But he still took a pretty good shot at Greenspan: "That sounds like Georgetown cocktail party analysis. The reasons we went to Iraq are well understood and had to do with wmd (weapons of mass destruction), enforcing UN sanctions. To the extent that oil has anything to do with our engagement in Iraq today, it is the danger that al Qaeda could obtain control of oil assets and use them to threaten our interests."

Hey kids! This is what we call "a collective national Scooby Doo moment"! All together now: Whaaa?!??

Administration officials also challenge Greenspan to explain all the other places in the world with oil and where American forces are not engaged. One official added that the only other place where U.S. troops are engaged is in Afghanistan which, the official said, has no oil.

Oh, Mr. Official? There are other places where U.S. troops may end up lickety-split! Can you guess where? No? Check out my post, Part Deux, about Iran. And Cliff's. And my other one. Why? Because Iran has something verrrry special that we want! Can you spell "oil"? O-I-L! Good job!

Nor was the White House pleased with Greenspan's assertion that his "biggest frustration remained the president's unwillingness to wield his veto against out of control spending." [...] Because Congress worked with us, vetoes weren't necessary." As for the spending itself, Fratto said "We're not going to apologize for increased spending to protect our national security. That isn't just 'increased spending,' it's an investment in the safety and security of the nation."

Remember, boys and girls, when we get angry, we should always talk it over. But there are exceptions. This is one of them. In this case, just say, "@#%&*@!!!" But don't let Mom and Dad hear you! Shhhh. This will be our little secret.

Apparently, both men had been gritting their teeth all the years they worked together. Greenspan writes "..the economy was his Achilles heel, and a result we ended up with a terrible relationship."

Friendship is an important thing, kids. But so is telling the truth. And sharing. And being respectful to your friends and neighbors alike. So what did we learn today?

Vote Democratic. And always play well with others.

Nighty-night now!

Greenspan: "The Iraq war was largely about oil"

2008-01-12T20:20:30Z

Don't you just love it when a new book comes out?

“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says.

Everyone does know that. So when will the media acknowledge it? Now, maybe? Because Very Important Alan Greenspan has spoken, and when He speaks, everyone listens.

Greenspan, 81, is understood to believe that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East.
Britain and America have always insisted the war had nothing to do with oil. Bush said the aim was to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and end Saddam’s support for terrorism.

PshhWMD's are, like, soooo five minutes ago. Mr. Wise-at-81 said so, and he's kewl-and-a-half. So, okay, say it with me. Oil is, like, the new ~~black~~ WMD.

Maybe more people would have noticed if, instead of trying to speak truth to power via cable news, we had posted Greenspan's belated revelation as a bulletin on MySpace.

Welcome to our world Alan.

2008-01-12T20:20:24Z

Greenspan Blasts Bush
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan "says the Republican party to which he has belonged all his life deserved to lose power last year for forsaking its small-government principles," the Wall Street Journal reports. "Greenspan delivers the withering critique in his memoir, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World."

"In the book, scheduled for public release Monday, Greenspan writes that he advised the White House to veto some bills to curb 'out of control' spending while the Republicans controlled Congress. He says President Bush's failure to do so 'was a major mistake.' Republicans in Congress, he writes, 'swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose.'"

According to Bloomberg, Greenspan rips Bush "for pursuing an economic agenda driven by politics rather than sound policy, with little concern for future consequences."

Too little too late buddy. We needed all of you to speak about about 6 years ago.

No do-overs, no forgiveness.