Guten Tag. What happened? How about first you stop funding education so no one can think for themselves or analyze anything more complicated than Angelina vs Jennifer. Then you feed the population a load of Jesus is King or some other insipid message that says, don’t think, just believe. So now that the majority of the population is dumbed-down (most newspapers write at a 7th grade reading level) and on social Prozac, you start monkeying with the system (gotta have a monkey reference in every post).
Oh, and as you pointed out, any one that is smart enough to question the validity of this fraudulent bullshit–or who has the balls to speak up, let’s silence them with some corporate browbeating and a night of lapdancing. C’mon!
Yes, we need to be responsible for our own decisions and we, as Americans, need to shut up or put up. But there are a lot of secretaries and plumbers out there–no offense to them–who really aren’t equipped (through some or little fault of their own) to figure out what trading in derivative securites is all about. They watch tv though, and some guy who is supposed to be an expert says XYZ is doing great–can’t go wrong buying there! Or they go see a “professional” at WaMu or Wachovia about how to invest their nest egg. They get sold a ticking time bomb second on their house. Or they sink part of their life savings in the stock market and then it tanks. The “big thinkers” and masters of the universe have to take the brunt of the responsibility for this. Most Americans put their money in an IRA or 401(k) cause they don’t have the time or the resources to investigate and validate but are told that they must invest since social security will be no more by the time the 40-somethings or 30-somethings retire. What are they supposed to do? I have no real sympathy for the seasoned investors or the institutions–they have an army of people who’s full-time job it is/was to know better and they played along with everyone else. Shame on them.
Thank you Stewart (John, not Martha) for calling these assholes out on the mat and making them answer some tough questions. Where is the MSM even now? They are just reporting on the prizefighting–still lobbing meatballs at the orchestrators of this mess.[/quote]
Excellent post, Shadowfax. I think this is exactly what Jon Stewart was tryint to point out — that CNBC is used as a tool by the “nefarious PTB” who control money flows and simply won’t stop until they bankrupt Joe Sixpack, (the guy who’s too busy working to be able to study up on every aspect of the financial world…while the PTB/Big Boys’ Club have teams of experts working on their side).
IMHO, the “investment” game is the most rigged game in town. It is designed specifically to take money from the least informed (those not in the financial industry) and give it to those who are best informed and who really control all the levers (those who are at the top of the financial/political industry).
What Jon Stewart appeard to be saying is that CNBC could do some actual investigating, and expose areas that are rife with fraud and abuse. I agree, but unfortunately, those who control the media would never allow something like that to exist. Besides, CNBC would have a heck of a time getting “experts” or “insiders” to talk to them if the network were known for exposing fraud and abuse. So…they do what they are told, and are rewarded with friendly, soft-ball interviews with leading “experts” and “insiders”, which makes them look like a legitimate business news network.
Tools of the trade…
