With what is left

[wonatthewire1]

Of the 3 liebruls left for Prez which one will ruin the country the least?

[dutchboy]

Does not matter who is the next President. There are 32 security levels above the President. The most powerful people in the country are the non-elected members of the Federal Reserve Board.

[PaceAdvantage]

Excellent point Dutch....but then, what would we do with ourselves here on off-topic?

[Gibbon]

The next pres will appoint at least two Supreme Court Justices.
Four, possibly five Justices within the next eight years depending on how many die in office.

Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are relatively young. The rest are older than Alan Turing's machine.






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In youth we learn; in age we understand. ~ Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach

[Tom]

This is what is scary - the whole idea of the court is flawed. 9 people, unlected, accountable to no one, in for life. The word absurd comes to mind.
We need an ammendment to limit the terms to 10 years max, rotating, so that the make continullay changes. This is almonst as absurd as the senate, which give equal representatin to California and Rhode Island. Bull shot.

[PaceAdvantage]

There's a reason some of the oldies are holding on for dear life....they thought they'd be able to retire when "Kerry won....:lol: "

[Tom]

Four of them have been "retired" for years. :eek:

[Grits]

Every position in Washington should have term limits. Congress, as well as the Supreme Court. ......That, or mandatory retirement at 65 years of age.

There is nothing on earth as tiresome as a doddering old man telling me what to do; whether its writing court decisions or enacting legislation....doesn't matter. Gone..........go back from whenceforth you came.

Were I a resident of the state of South Carolina, I would, quite possibly, have paid someone to shoot Strom Thurmond long before his old and sorry self croaked.

[Gibbon]

Were I a resident of the state of South Carolina, I would, quite possibly, have paid someone to shoot Strom Thurmond long before his old and sorry self croaked. Everyone’s democratic hero, Mr. KKK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd#Participation_in_the_Ku_Klux_Klan) Senator Robert C. Byrd turns 91 years young in Nov.

[Investorater]

People probably don't know or even think much about our Federal Reserve System but a few things should be noted about it.*Although it is called "Federal" it is privately owned.*It has never recieved a meaningful audit from an independent source.*It makes its own policies and is not subject to the President or the Congress.Private banks within the system select the directors of the 12 federal reserve banks.*The federal reserve board members are appointed by the president and approved by the senate,but,once in office,they serve 14 year terms.......Read-Louis T. McFaddens speech,given on June 10th 1932 in the midst of the great depression.

[Gibbon]

Investorater,

So what? Are you inferring a conspiracy theory in there somewhere? Since the inception of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 the “Fed” has made some atrocious policy mishaps. Most notably, withdrawing credits in late 1920’s creating conditions for a Great Depression. More recently the Maestro, Alan Greenspan, shouting at a fiscally irresponsible congress and President to adopt financial sensibility on “pay as you go (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAYGO)” road to economic soundness.

Unfortunately, the Maestro overreacted creating conditions for our weak dollar and current credit crunch. Today conditions have nothing to do with current economic fads. {e.g., subprime mortgages; a mere hiccup.} Everything to with derivatives (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/derivative.asp) trading in commodities, energy and yes, derivatives in low quality mortgages.

Every human institution makes mistakes. If congress were to manage our monies, America would have double the current 9 trillion total federal debts and possibly triple monthly deficits under current administration. In other words, our congress and senate would have bankrupted US long ago.

Subsequently, under the leadership of “Obe One” Ben Bernanke, the “private (http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/faq/faqfrs.htm#5)” Fed has shown great poise, maturity and wisdom. Attributes today’s politicos are severely deficient in....

[Gibbon]

Conspiracy theory debunked:
Who “owns” the Fed.
http://www.usagold.com/federalreserve.html





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The popularity of conspiracy theories is explained by people's desire to believe that there is - some group of folks who know what they're doing. ~ Damon Knight

[Investorater]

MY POINT,MONEY CAN BE AT THE ROOT OF SOME EVIL.....ENOUGH SAID!!!

[ljb]

Of the 3 liebruls left for Prez which one will ruin the country the least?
Actually we have two moderate Republicans and one Progressive still in the race. The neocons faded early. A good sign for the future of the good ol U.S. of A.

[wonatthewire1]

Looks like McCan't is the least repugnant of the bunch for the forum - unless you want to keep Bushco around (seems like those Bushco guys are tired and want to get outta town though)

[IBCNU]

Does not matter who is the next President. There are 32 security levels above the President. The most powerful people in the country are the non-elected members of the Federal Reserve Board.

Excellent point. I have heard and read much about this. But what I am still hazy on is this. Is the FED a "private central bank"? From all outward appearances it looks like it is. Which would imply some very odd circumstances.

1) It prints our money. Does this mean it "lends" it to the us and charges interest?
2) If the above is true, then, like all banks, it practices "fractional reserve lending". Which means it loans/prints more money out than it actually has on reserve.
3) This would mean that money is essentially created out of thin air (fiat) and interest is in turned charged. Lowering interest rates only prints more of this fiat currency.
4) Again, if any of this is accurate, then shouldn't a nation print its own paper currency, even if it is not backed by anything (promissary note) as long as its population accepts this money instead of delegating this to a private bank who performes this same function and then charges interest.
5) When we speak of our national debt, who exactly are we in debt to? Foreign bond holders? Or our private central bank?
6) And lastly, if the Fed is a private entity where we only elect one member of its 12 member board, then the IRS is a private collection agent?
Sorry, didn't mean to drone on. I'm just curious as to the feedback on this from some savier members on this board.

[IBCNU]

Ahhhhh. just saw Gibbon's post. Answered my questions. Thanks Gib.