Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression.

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.  Read more »

There are five reasons that the mainstream media is worthless. (Note: McClatchy and several other large news sources are exceptions which have reported well on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.)  Read more »

Joseph Stiglitz - former head economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a nobel-prize winner - said yesterday that the very structure of the Federal Reserve system is so fraught with conflicts that it is "corrupt" and undermines democracy.  Read more »

"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." It was a plain, no-nonsense bumper sticker, but it says it all. And, today we discover the cost of ignorance.

There are states that are demanding a "balanced budget amendment" for the federal government. I understand their frustration. Largely, however, the problem isn’t how much we are spending but rather what we are spending it on. Too bad we cannot legislate common sense.  Read more »

Abbeyville is in the middle of nowhere. At least that is how it seems when I drive past the huge regional high school on my way down to the Gulf of Mexico.

I was surprised to hear the community mentioned on the news. It seems that rural America is running out of money. To cope, Abbeyville is closing their Middle School. Sadly the TV commentator said all the middle school students would go to the elementary school, making that school a K-6 school. Perhaps the Commentator should go back there too.  Read more »

Top recipients of insurance industry money:

1. Dodd, Chris (D-CT) Senate $258,400
2. Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) Senate $195,100
3. Pomeroy, Earl (D-ND) House $157,900
4. Frank, Barney (D-MA) House $147,499
5. Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR) Senate $147,300
6. Kanjorski, Paul E (D-PA) House $144,200
7. Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) Senate $139,450
8. Cantor, Eric (R-VA) House $130,750
9. Bean, Melissa (D-IL) House $129,700
10. Burr, Richard (R-NC) Senate $127,500

Click here for a complete list!  Read more »

The biggest threat to the open internet is not Chinese government hackers or greedy anti-net-neutrality ISPs, it’s Michael McConnell, the former director of national intelligence.

McConnell’s not dangerous because he knows anything about SQL injection hacks, but because he knows about social engineering. He’s the nice-seeming guy who’s willing and able to use fear-mongering to manipulate the federal bureaucracy for his own ends, while coming off like a straight shooter to those who are not in the know.  Read more »

Profiting From the Hysteria They Stoked. In recent weeks there has been much discussion about what to do about Greece. These questions become all the more relevant as the country attempts to float a multibillion-euro bond issue later this week. The Financial Times has called this fund-raising a critical test of Greece’s credibility in financial markets as it battles with a spiraling debt crisis and strikes.  Read more »

Congressman Ron Paul spoke on the House floor for 5-minutes on US policy to assassinate US citizens at the dictate of the executive branch based on "secret evidence," US policy of torture that includes American citizens and without legal recourse, US policy of rendition to secret prisons, and unlimited detention.

He concludes with "emperor has no clothes" obvious observation that these acts are unlawful.  Read more »