Remember the scene in Casablanca when Claude Rains, as the Vichy police chief, has Rick's Cafe shut down? Humphrey Bogart looks at him and says "Why are ya shutting me down for!?" Claude Rains shouts back "There is gambling going on in here! " As the words leave his lips one of Rick's croupiers runs over to Claude Rains, hands him a pile of chips and says " Here are your winnings sir."
We have the two major candidates posturing and sloganeering for reforming Wall Street and the banking industry. Did you know that, at latest count, Obama has received over 10 million in campaign donations from those two groups, and McCain over 7 million?
Did you know that the 'crusty' and self righteous Senator Chris Dodd from CT, who rails and rants at Wall Street and big banks, received over one million in campaign donations from them?
My dear schoolmate (from grade school through high school) Sen. Chuck Schumer, he of the Senate Banking Committee... Check out what he gets from the banking industry.
Rep. Barney Frank, chair of a vital House Committee and front man for the Democratic bailout deal...check out what he got from Wall Street and the big banks.
And it goes on and on.
Fast forward to Monday's oversight hearing in the House of Representatives, with Richard Fuld, CEO of the bankrupt Lehman Bros., getting questioned. In the October 6th USA Today Money Section, they list Fuld as receiving over $186 million in take home pay from 2005- 2007. Plus, he is said to have gotten - are you ready for this - anywhere from $350,000,000 to $500,000,000 in compensation since 2000, as his company was chugging towards bankruptcy.
One of the few good guys in Congress, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, feels that this may involve some sort of criminal charge, as Fuld actually told investors - Listen to this - Days before the filing of bankruptcy, that 'Things were OK.'
Finally, how in the hell can the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, Henry Paulson, who came away with $ 500,000,000 ( that's half a billion to you hard working or recently laid off stiffs out there ) in compensation from the soon to be bailoutee (new word) , even have the nerve to stay on as - no pun intended - Treasury Secretary?
Is this Orwell revisited ? Kucinich called the vote last Friday "A Black day for Democracy" and the epitome of "Class Warfare."
Do you care?
Tune in to Pro or college football games on the boob tube. Observe the outrageous mania of many of the fans, the aggressive rooting that goes on. You see young people, 20 or 30 something, who do not have a clue to what was just written here. Not a clue!
You watch the crowds that gather around McCain and Obama and Palin and Biden, and see them cheer and applaud all the ambiguous posturing and hype. Do they go home and 'connect the dots' when they see their jobs, homes, savings (if lucky to ever have any) and their health shrink away?
Do they care that we have a political system that allows companies and lobbyists to own our Congress and our Executive branch? Do they care that the Democrats gave a 'pass' to ultra right wing ideologues like Judge John Roberts, who wrote the 1980s briefs in support of a 'Unitary Executive' principle, which allowed Bush Jr. to sign bills into law, and then make 'signing statements saying he won't enforce them? Or giving a 'pass' to an even more right wing ideologue like Judge Samuel Alito?
How about Senator Joe Biden, running now for Vice President, who told Alberto Gonzales, at his confirmation hearing for Atty. General, "I like ya... And I'll probably vote to confirm ya" ( he did ). This is after the whole world knew that Gonzales was key point man in the Bush/Cheney plan to circumvent the Geneva Accords on torture? Biden knew what Gonzales had advocated...And he knew what Gonzales felt about the right to torture virtually at will!.
So, my fellow Americans... YO, you 20 and 30 something who couldn't give a *** about current events - only what beers to guzzle and what cars are 'in', or what clubs have the 'hottest girls or guys.' Keep dancing and guzzling and partying - until you finally run out of money and a job.
To my fellow Americans who think the only civic duty we have is to vote - keep supporting these two corrupt political parties. You progressives - keep singing the tune 'Lesser of two evils is better than..." And you true conservatives - watch how all our great constitutional guarantees are dissolved away as Fascism once again becomes in vogue.
Me? Easy. I'll vote for the Greens or for Nader, then get back out on the street corners of my town and continue protesting, once this election season hypnotic dust clears.
Philip A Farruggio [send him email] is a free lance columnist, small businessman and activist. Since the 2000 elections, he has had over 90 columns posted on various websites and in many newspaper op-ed sections. To review some which have been shown, just google his name.
