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The fine folks of Louisiana sure got themselves a winner with Bobby Jindal, the republican from India that took the name of one of the Brady Bunch kids instead of the Indian name (Piyush) he was born with. In a nutshell, that tells me everything I need to know about Jindal: he likes the ridiculous, the pretentious, and the simple minded stuff instead of the complicated ideas that are present in politics. He must think we all grew up watching that stupid ass show given how he’s been acting on the national stage.
Bobby was one of the most outspoken opponents of the stimulus plan. He called it wasneful spending and was even tempted to return the money back to the federal government. As the recession got worse, he quietly changed his mind and allowed the money to flow into Louisiana. He still spoke out against Washington and their intrusion into Louisiana with this cash booty.
As the money began to arrive, Bobby took a different tack on the stimulus. He commissioned someone to make over-sized checks with his name on them and then went around the state “awarding” those checks to different organizations to foster job growth or a public works project. Nowhere on those checks did it say that the money was coming from the federal government but that’s where the money was coming from all right. He went all over the state taking credit for something that he had spent months railing against. Isn’t this beginning to sound like a really bad Brady Bunch episode to you? It does to me.
Then, the director of the state transportation department, who was appointed by Bobby, stopped his department from making signs that indicated that the projects that were funded by the federal government’s stimulus from erecting signs that gave credit to the federal government. It’s OK for the governor to hand out bogus checks but it’s not OK for the public to know that those mean, nasty, all-powerful federals actually helped li’l ol’ Louisiana with some taxpayer money. The plot deepens on the newest episode of the Brady Bunch…
Now comes the latest chapter in this book of hypocrisy. A few days ago, Vice President Biden held a conference call with all of the nation’s governors (or their representatives) to encourage them to submit quarterly reports on how many jobs were created with the stimulus money flowing into their states. 49 out of 50 governors were represented at this conference call. The missing governor? Yep! You guessed it: Bobby Jindal.
I’d like to say that the call was mandatory and that not calling in meant you could not collect the $200 and you do not pass Go but it doesn’t quite work that way. In this Brady Bunch episode, Bobby takes credit for something he did not do or even want, keeps one of his employees from giving credit where credit is due and then doesn’t call the house when he’s supposed to call. What’s the ending? What’s the punch line you ask? There is no punch line on this sad joke, unfortunately, and Bobby gets away with it because no one calls him out on it. I hope Louisiana voters are watching and will remember his actions in the next election. That won’t happen, however, because Bobby is a republican and republicans do not believe in oversight or accountability anymore since they discovered that voters, especially republican voters, don’t care as long as they are getting the money.
Bernie Madoff is a crook. Of that, there is no question. His name is a dead giveaway to his now-exposed depraved personality: Madoff, pronounced Made Off, as in “made off with the money.” The larger question is remains, “How did he get away with it for so long?” Easy. No oversight.
I lay this at the doorstep of every free market advocate who had a hand in dismantling the structure of oversight put in place during the Great Depression and every subsequent piece of legislation that reinforced that oversight. Regulation became a bad word to the free market types who had most people fooled into believing that the market would correct itself if it got too far out of line. They also fed us that crapola about government regulations being too strict so that the market could not function to its peak and money could not be made as efficiently. Personally, I never bought into either line of bullshit because I know that greedy fuckers always want more and if no one is telling them “No” they will keep taking more until there is no more left to give.
Regulation by itself is not the solution. Enforcing regulations is the key. Every NeoCon knows this trick. Don’t bother rolling back regulations. Just don’t enforce them. Put shills in positions of authority so they can turn a blind eye to any and all problems in hopes that they will go away or be swept under the carpet. That’s what happened with Bernie Madoff.
The dimbulbs at the SEC say they lack the resources to go after crooks like Madoff. After the scandals of Enron and WorldCom, the SEC had expanded and had more money at it’s disposal than ever before so that excuse holds no water. Yet, that’s the excuse they are telling the public. It isn’t true. What they lacked was the gumption to step on anyone’s toes. They lacked the fortitude to stand up to monied interests. They had no desire to look out for the public’s interests. Why? Because they are shills for the free market players who want nothing to stand in the way of rich folks making money no matter how they do it. It’s not personal, it’s just big business with their lack of ethics.
It took Harry Markopolos five minutes to figure out that Madoff was a fraud and he testified before Congress to that end. He presented the evidence to an SEC that wanted no part in bringing down a big gun like Madoff. You see, the unwritten rule in any republican administration is if there is a conflict between business and regular people, side with the business but tell everyone it was for the good of the people. If there is a conflict between government and business, side with the business because they will reward you with a good job once you leave government service but tell everyone that you actually sided with the government. It’s the NeoCon way. Lying is just an acceptable part of the game. To do anything else makes you a Liberal or a Democrat and those are not the conservative values we have all come to experience with free market crooks running the show.
The real legacy of the Chimpster is how he changed what people think of our government. He truly did live up to that old Ronnie Ray-Gun mantra about the scariest words you can ever hear are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” He filled government posts with people who were determined to fulfill that pledge so that everything could be privatized for a profit that he and his rich buddies could make a killing on. Government became the enemy of the people, not a benevolent entity that protected them from greater harm. Hopefully, a new administration will change our attitudes. After the disasters of 9/11, Katrina, Rita, Ike, Iraq, Afghanistan, Blackwater, the economy, and now this 50 billion dollar fraud, we can only hope that the path leads up and not down. Go to jail, Bernie. Do not pass go. Give back the $200 and the rest of the money you stole.
link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100272812
Black & White and Cardinal Red All Over 