Here is an example of how powerful a blog can become and how the power has shifted to the individual with a public purpose from corporate interest with a private purpose.
When Goldman Sachs - a big Obama bailout recipient, considers a lowly blogger dangerous enough to issue a cease and desist letter, something has to be up. The claim against the blogger by Goldman Sachs' lawyers seem to be that his posts "violate several intellectual property rights" and "imply" he has "a relationship with the bank."
The blogger apparently has an explicit disclaimer on the site saying he is in no way associated nor sanctioned by Goldman Sachs. So there goes one claim. As for intellectual property of GS one can only imagine what they might be talking about. Could the intellectual property this blogger is abusing the intellectual honesty Goldman Sachs had shown through their involvement in AIG and the sub-prime fiasco?
I don't htink they are merely bullying this blogger. I htink they are genuinely afraid of what he may say that is informative and helpful to the public about what went on and how GS participated.
Goldman Sachs is another of many newly minted corporate welfare cases they are living and surviving on taxpayers hard earned money through bailout bucks. This is happening while American workers and investors have been sold out due to the self-interested decisions in such corporations and banks. A touch of humility is called for - not just continuing hubris.
I am rooting for the blogger and anyone else who wants to take on these Bastards of the Universe. The mess we are in today is due largely to the personal and corporate greed and the breathtaking indifference they showed to the common good. These are values they shared with the Bush White House. Together they have put the economies of the world in this mess.
GS may as well throw in the towel. This threat merely catalyzes the blogworld to start up a defense fund and force GS to either put up or shut up.
ReplyDeleteThe public is fed up and a few hundred thousand could be raised in a matter of weeks.
GS has just opened Pandora's Box.
Kevin Aschim
Linking Corporate bailout to Bush is disingenuous. As you well know, the genesis of this whole mess was the Clinton administration, and the proponents of the bailouts, aside from Bush, was Nancy Pelosi, and continued on and enhanced to an breathtaking degree to this day by the Obama Administration.
ReplyDeleteSorry Ken. Blaming this mess on Bush does not pass the smell test.
YOU are right Graham the deregulation of the US financial sector started with Clinton and then was turned into an art form under Bush.
ReplyDeleteI agree there is enough blame to go around on this but Bush made it so much worse and extended the get government out of the way of big money so it could take over the market, the governance and even strip away democracy and citizenship rights.
Even the Fiscal God Greenspan said he was astonished that greed and deceit would trump integrity and transparency in the "free" market that was controlled by a few folks without adult supervision.
Now we see the Rush Limbsaughs calling bailouts socialism as the normal American citizen was sold out by their governments and the so-called "smartest people in the room" titans of free enterprise (a.k.a. corrupt corporations)
BTW that smartest test would be a pretty low bar if Bush were in the same room.
Even lower with Obama in the room.
ReplyDeleteLimbaugh is right - the bailouts are socialist and should be stopped completely.
What is the Limbaugh alternative? Raise taxes on the poor and reduce them on the rich? Why are all the self-righeous right commenters always anonymous? No courage of your covictions?
ReplyDeleteMaybe simply let the companies fail instead of having all of us hard working taxpayers give them corporate social assistance?
ReplyDelete