[Travis McGee]

"The logic of the conspiracy theorists in this regard is, of course, impeccable: Goldman alumnus Josh Bolten runs the White House, while his former boss, Hank Paulson, runs the Treasury. They both speak regularly to former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin, now over at Citigroup, who ran Goldman before Paulson and who keeps Paulson and Bolton dangling like puppets on a string. They all supposedly touch base with the heads of the Italian and Canadian central banks—both Goldman alumni—and with Robert Zoellick, head of the World Bank, ex Goldman. What's more Paulson is now getting his advice on how to handle the crisis from Ken Wilson, the recently retired Goldman partner and financial-institutions M&A banker, who Paulson just recruited to Washington to help him out. Already at Treasury were Goldman alumni Dan Jester, Anthony Ryan, David Nason and Bob Hoyt, the department's general counsel. And—the conspiracy crowd can't help but point out—Neel Kashkari, 35, a former vice-president at Goldman who Paulson recruited as assistant secretary of international affairs in 2006, has just been appointed—by Paulson—to run, on an interim basis, the new $700 billion bailout fund."

~~William Cohan, "Does Goldman Sachs Really Rule the World?" October 2008

“Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time, and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God, I will rout you out.”

~~President Andrew Jackson, on the 2nd National Bank

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Until you started posting it, I had absolutely NO CLUE that Goldman Sachs had their tentacles so thoroughly into the US government. I knew that business and government became one and the same the way people float back and forth between the two. But that revelation of the cozy relationship between Goldman Sachs and the Bush Administration, and reaching out into worldwide institutions strikes like a solid punch in the face.

WE THE little people have no chance and never did.

[Texas Songwriter]

Travis,...were you aware that during the negotiations on Sept 15,2008, the day Lehman’s failed, prompting a sudden deal with AIG that the only people in the room for that negotiation was Hank Paulson, the CEO of AIG, Bernanke, and, oh,yes, the current CEO of Goldman Sach’s Bank. For his trouble, of the $85 billion Berhnake paid for AIG, $15 billion went immediately into the coffers of Goldman Sach’s to underwrite Goldmans derivitive risk which AIG had written. I heard Newt Gingrinch speaking of this on Hannity and Colms. There was also an article in the New York Times.