Goldman ... all roads lead to Goldman

Hands down the most prestigious "investment bank" in the world. No doubt about it: they make more money than a Gulf State and have more connections than Ma Bell.

And I think possibly among the shiftiest group of money grubbers ever assembled. Of course, POTUS is also in bed with them: the Democrats are nothing if not able hypocrites and dissemblers. But the recent circus surrounding Goldman needs another look.


I have written extensively on the sheer audacity of Goldman and similar institutions to take TARP money to save their skins and then pay out record bonuses to their elite less than 365 days later.  It is enough to make you gag ... actually I was thinking something a lot more violent, involving mobs, pitchforks, torches and perhaps rope. That AIG should have been bailed out largely to the benefit of Goldman makes my vision go red -- the complicity of Geither cannot be denied. But then just look at the parade of Goldman staff to have held positions of national trust as appointees of the executive branch over the last 20 years. Only an idiot would fail to see how the fox was allowed to raid the henhouse ... 'cause the fox has the negatives of the farmer's extra-curricular activities.

Here, however, something odd just happened. Obama's SEC voted 3 to 2 to bring a civil action against Goldman, Democrats holding the 3 "yes" votes. First question: what the hell are the Republicans doing trying to protect Goldman ... or is there more at stake here than meets the eye? Goldman's PAC was the Obama administration's largest campaign donor.  They (staff and executives) also individually held fund raisers providing many times the PAC donations. Goldman is Obama's mine.

So why did two Republicans vote "no" at the SEC commission level? Why are Republicans trying to prevent regulation of the banking industry? It was Republicans in 2003 and 2005 that tried to stop this whole e-coli taco in its tracks, only to be beaten back by Barney Fwank and Co.  Just being contra whatever the Dems are doing sort of enables the Dems to set a trap for you, as may be the case here.

Why are the Dems "for" killing off the goose the lays the "Golden" eggs?  A suspicious mind might think that this is nothing but a Rahm Emanuel Chicago misdirection ... and I resemble that remark.  Do you seriously think that Goldman gives a rat's ass about what the public thinks about it? They care about stock price, vesting of their non-cash bonuses and the price of bootleg Havanas.  And a fine of a couple of billion? Chump change. That's profits from about a month's work.

So what really happened? Wait ... my blood pressure is rising and I had better take a quick break ... those greedy scumwads at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. figured out how to hoodwink the American public yet again.  Huh? Say what?  You see, this is the opening salvo of Obama the crusader for the little guy to clean up all those nasty economic imperialists (and Goldman as target #1 probably shorted their own stock on a tip).  Obama managed to blanket the internet with political adds for DNC controlled organizations, so that any Google search for Goldman or SEC had banner and column ads for these liberal fifth column groups. A fundraiser.

Just think about it ... a phony war against your private piggybank which looks good to Goober in Idaho who is pissed off at bailing out Goldman for bad bets, and which also looks good to the Cambridge Liberal Loonies as evidence that their "man" is on the job against capitalists. Net, it is a win-win for Obama and the Republicans look like idiots again.

Except for Rep ISSA who has decided to subpoena the White House, the SEC, and everyone possibly involved with this SEC suit charade. You see, the SEC is MEANT TO BE INDEPENDENT from political suasion ... and Obama running a little political scam fund raiser timed perfectly to coincide withe the announcement of a legal action (meant to be super-secret due to potential insider trading -- leading to 10(b)(5) fraud on the market suits) is ILLEGAL.  Boesky did time for this, as did Milken.

Add this to Goldman's deep doo-doo for selling securities that they then bet against (they certainly do not want to bring this in front of a jury ... you can bet that the defense will want a bench trial), and you get a lot of moving pieces that are not too easy to explain.  And now various Europeans who got screwed by Goldman's Abacus trades will want to have a word with Goldman's local representatives....