Faith in the Media Lost: Bailout Another Example of Favoritism

Many people have always associated Wall Street with the Republican Party. This has happened for the most part because Republicans have always sought a free market system and always have placed business as a focal point to the Party platform, but if Wall Street is as connected to the GOP as people would like to believe than the Media is certainly as connected to the Democrats.

Its times like this financial crisis, many Americans are looking to the media to provide unbiased information or a sense of direction as to how to navigate the waters. During these times, not unlike 9/11, Americans put their politics on the shelf and focus on whats best not only for themselves but also the country. Why can't the media in this nation do the same?

Simple. They have a vested interest not unlike our politicians in Washington.

There is this notion that the mortgage companies are whom we should be directing the blame for the crisis and the mainstream media has taken up the torch of that bandwagon instead of attempting to analyze the crisis from the basis of cause and effect. While many Americans simply want to know whether their money and retirement money is safe and how the bailouts are going to impact them and their families, there are also those of us who understand that we are being outright lied to by the pundits and the media.

If this crisis has made us understand one undeniable prospect its that we should have zero faith in our media. The media has become nothing more that organizations "shilling" for political agendas. There is little desire on behalf of the media to actually review records and hold accountable those politicians they invite to appear on their programs who outright lie to the American people. There is littel desire for truth, but simply truths through peferred lenses.

Case in point. That this whole crisis in mortgage-backed securities has somehow been an apparent surprise to those who sat on the very committees whose function it is to perform oversight and that it is George Bush policy which is the culprit.

It baffles me how the media can interview the head of the Banking Committee and not even challenge him, in this case Sen. Christopher Dodd, with regard to the function of the committee and what it knew and when it knew it. Dodd has continually misled the American people as to his own situation regarding preffered loans and further what Congress knew for the better part of a week and is simply allowed to voice talking points that provide him and his associates cover in the calm before the storm regarding the bailout agenda.

If there are two leaders that should be called to resign from office for breaking the trust of the American people it is Christopher Dodd and Barney Frank. Now I realize both these men are Democrats and this call is not meant to be partisan and would be called for had the Republicans been the majority, but the fact remains the Congress is controlled by the Democrats since 2006 and they control the committees and there is an issue of accountability that must be exercised here. Congress has been party to this crisis as much as the private/public sector and eeds to be held accountable.

For these men to go on television and attempt to deflect responsibility to the GOP or John McCain in some form of another crys of a lack of not only transparency of the facts but also follow-up by the media. These gentleman have sat on these committees for years and have known exactly the issues befronting both the investment banks and the mortgage giants in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Could it be that all the money and contributions made by the folks on Wall Street, from Deleware's credit card industry, and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to Dodd , Frank, and others may have at some point called their integrity and objectivity into question?

Why is it left to the GOP to raise such issues and not the media which is supposed to be objective? Why has the media outlets provided both Party's an outlet not to hold to task but to promote talking points? Why has the media refused to look at the Congressional record? Why does MSNBC refuse to acknowledge both Mccain attempts in 2005 for oversight and George Bush's as well his first term. I can see how MSNBC might have missed it given Bush sought such measures some 17 times from Congress.

Are there no more Tim Russerts left? Has the loss of Tim Russert taken our media into a rhelm of marginalism? Has it left the NBC news division with little remnants of its former self as it allows its MSNBC unit to usurb its historical journalistic integrity?

No idea this crisis could happen?

Well, in 2000 it was LA Rep. Richard Baker on the bankinhg subcommittee that challenged the likes of Franklin Raines and the mortgage behemouths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Baker called for increased oversight Baker even went as far as to say it was his belief that Raines misled Congress in his testimony before Congress and Baker also pushed for the resignations for the regulators who job it was to oversee the government service enterprises.

Bakers objections and call to arms was ignored by the Chairman. In fact, Barney Franks stated that the speculation of an impending crisis was "overblown".

"OVERBLOWN"!!! really ?

Franks later would say that in terms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, "there would be no Federal liability whatsoever" and Franks also said he did not "regard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as problematic".

"PROBLEMATIC!"!! really?

In 2005, by the way one federal regulator in Armando Falcon Jr. resigned and another stated that these companies should be "scaled back".

Instead of focusing on the facts and history as a means of addressing this crisis and how it came about, the media simply is out to shift blame to of all people Sen. John Mccain. They would like America to believe that this crisis is merely the offspring of poor economic policy of the GOP according to Obama and not the work of long standing politicians from both Parties whom have personally benefited from the lobbying groups representing these companies.

By now we all are aware that Christopher Dodd and Barack Obama sit 1, 2 on the list for contributions made from Fannie and Freddie. We know that Obama has within his advisors those who benefited directly from this crisis or argueably were to cause of it and one actually ran Obama's VP search committee. And yet, Obama goes on the offensive against McCain thathe somehow is the problem.

Ugh? Okay. You make that leap than you might want to look to your VP Obama. Biden supported the legislation that Bill Clinton passed in the 90's that was the true deregulation mechanism that the media keeps trying to pin on Bush. Bush tried numorous times in his first term to get Fannie and Freddie checked. Lest we forget these mortgage companies are not exactly bastions of GOP-friendly people, but rather ex-partisans from the Clinton adminstration and those supporting Al Gore in 2000 over Bush. Bush would have no interest in propping them up as MSNBC likes to project routinely in its rhetoric.

The Congressional record points to the fact that it was Republicans in the House like Baker that routinely spoke out against this and forshadowed this crisis and it was "Barney's Rubble" in Congress that lock step shut those voicing opposition down.

Was this crisis truly a "deregulation" issue?

While I am sure that more will be falling out to address this point, I feel that the information we have now points more to poor lending practices and poor borrowing than anyhting else.

Exactly who was it who promoted the easing of credit standards and loan practices? Ugh? Well it was not Republicans but Barney Frank. It was a political attempt to drive up home ownership through easing the underlying qualifing at the same time have more capital and liquidity brought into the market to make the loans happen.

Are we to believe that from the time Bill Clinton passed his legislation that no one running the Banking and Commerce Committees in Washington were aware of ANY potential issues with this agenda?

Instead, Dodd and Frank seek to pass the buck of accountability to Wall Street and others and shift any blame from themselves and the media simply just goes right along with it.

I would hope that when this is said and done we get some real Congressional oversight not on Wall Street but on Congress itself. Obama claims he was the proponent of Ethics reform? Well lets see him hold to task his fellow Democrats in Congress who are cutting and running before the American people.

If Barack Obama cannot do that than he has no business being President of this great nation.

If he wants to convince independents that he is a serious candidate then he needs to take a stand on this on behalf of the American people.

Democrats had beter hope Obama wins in November because should McCain win the election I would expect him to "make so people famous" in Washington.

Starting with the nice loans Christopher Dodd got and the Congressional malpractice by "Barney's Rubble".

How stupid is the American electorate? Watch these folks will get elected by their constituents again and will still back and wonder why Washington is broken.

Term limits folks. Term limits is the only thing that can challenge such insidership.