By Douglas J. Hagmann
Was the timing merely serendipitous, or is something else at play? Yesterday was the “birthday” of the United States Bill of Rights, which our forefathers ratified exactly 220 years ago. The same people who believe the constitution is a living, breathing document just put it on a respirator, metaphorically speaking, by passing the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA). Obama has declared his intention to sign the legislation, despite initial indications from the White House of a veto (more on that dog-and-pony show later in this writing).
Every year, a new version of the defense authorization bill is crafted and ultimately enacted into law. It is an extensive piece of legislation that appropriates funds for defense projects. The current bill provides for a $662 billion defense budget and places the chief of the National Guard Bureau on the Joint Chiefs of Staff despite strong opposition from some military leaders. The massive budget allocation and the creation of a cabinet position for the chief of the U.S. National Guard are not at issue, however. The somewhat muted public frenzy over this bill stems from controversial and seemingly contradictory language that will have an impact on all United States citizens.
The language of the bill is readily available on numerous open-source government sites, so it will not be included here. It was detailed in my previous article titled Connecting the dots of the National Defense Authorization Act, and its implications were discussed in Judi McLeod’s article “Disappearing dissenters in Obama’s new Amerika.” Yet, there seems to be a full frontal assault by Democrats and Republicans alike to whitewash the bill’s actual ability and intent.
While one section of the bill seems to exclude U.S. citizens from all aspects of this legislation, the key lies in the placement of discretion of exactly who fits the broad definition of a “terrorist” or, broader still, someone who has engaged in a “belligerent act.” The bottom line is that the NDAA bill contains language that will codify, or make into law, the much-debated act of defining U.S. citizens as enemy combatants. It will leave that discretionary power to the executive branch.
While many readers have contended that nothing in this bill applies to U.S. citizens, Senator Carl Levin, the bill’s sponsor, explicitly disagrees. Even more alarming, it was Senator Levin who announced in Senate chambers that it was Barack Obama himself who demanded the verbiage that includes U.S. citizens as fair game by our own military on U.S. soil. This followed Senator Lindsey Graham’s gleeful announcement that through the passage of this draconian legislation, the whole of America is now a battlefield and a venue in which the U.S. military may operate against its own.
Even in the face of such official pronouncements, there are many legislators who insist that this bit of lawyer-speak does not apply to citizens, and to think it does is just plain silly. Republican Congressman Tim Griffin, for example, has dedicated a Face Book site to decry the myths of the NDAA, showing readers in that venue where he is correct and others are not. Griffin is just one of many attempting to convince an unsuspecting public to relax, continue shopping and allow the government to handle such matters.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that what is taking place in Washington is without purpose. The contradictory language, the circular arguments, and the much-publicized threats of veto by this administration are intended as smokescreens as the collective attention of a nation is diverted as America prepares to “shut down” for the Christmas holiday. The bipartisan support for this bill adds to this confusion by convincing the American people that their Tea Party Republicans or their civil rights watchdogs would never betray the trust of the people. Unfortunately, they have. But few are asking the most important question of them all: why?
Within the last five weeks, I’ve been in contact with highly placed sources, their staffers, and associates who work inside the beltway. I’ve also engaged in dialogue with top security officials, all who state that this legislation is not about the security of our nation but the ultimate control of the American people. According to these sources, the administration and congress are anticipating an apocalyptic scenario in the not-too-distant future.
While all eyes are on some type of unspeakable nuclear, biological or chemical event at the hands of “homegrown terrorists,” the real event is already in progress, although America has not yet experienced the full fallout from what is taking place. The terrorists are indeed homegrown actors, and they are engaged in actively destroying the United States, but not with bullets or bombs. Bullets and bombs are effective but do not have the long-term capacity to affect every citizen from shore to shore. Additionally, such non-state terrorists don’t have the capacity to so effectively infiltrate the administration, the majority of congress, as well as the various regulatory agencies that exist in the U.S.
Driven not by a third-world theology, the true terrorists are those whose god is greed, power, and control, and who have effectively destroyed our monetary and economic system. For years they have been facilitated by all three branches of the American government, although they have been empowered by this administration in particular. Perhaps that’s why we have a man in the Oval Office who lacks the bona-fides of his predecessors and why those in power refuse to address the lack of due diligence in that venue.
After all, it is Obama and his closest political supporters who have been the largest financial benefactor of the incestuous Goldman Sachs-Federal Reserve-U.S. Treasury-IMF-World Bank Ponzi scheme, and it is Eric Holder, as attorney general, who has declined to prosecute the criminal behavior of the money changers. One has to look no further than the MF Global rape of American citizens, where upwards of $1.2 billion turned up “missing” from customer accounts under the leadership of Obama administration confidant and Goldman Sachs alumni Jon Corzine. Testifying before congress, Corzine was stricken with a case of idiocy when questioned about where the money went.
The most telling part of those hearings was not Corzine’s display of hubris through amnesia but statements made by the panel charged with the inquiry. Instead of ordering Corzine into custody to allow his memory to revive, the congressional panel spoke of “learning from mistakes” and “moving forward.” That’s akin to asking a masked bank robber about the location of stolen money, and when he fails to tell his questioners, they look at the bank to determine what steps could have been taken to prevent the robbery.
The MF Global and the Jon Corzines of the world are the mere tips of the iceberg. Money is being systematically stolen from each and every American at wholesale levels while this administration and this congress sit by, themselves as the benefactors of the actions of the global banking takeover of our country and the world.
As the majority of American people are told by the nightly news that things are improving in Camelot and consequently continue their needless shopping at big box stores for items they don’t need and can’t afford, they are oblivious to what is coming. When the inevitable happens, they will be surprised, shocked, and outraged.
Of course, that’s all hyperbole, according to the very people who created and perpetuated this madness. And if it were true, wouldn’t the GOP nominees be talking about this in their debates? Oh, wait, considering who’s asking and answering the carefully scripted questions, why would they?
As watchmen begin to expose the people, companies, and even lawmakers behind this money and power grab, they could be considered dangers to the “security” of the United States or engage in “belligerent acts.” So too, could the people who will protest in anger about the bank holidays, the overnight evaporation of their retirement accounts, and even the fire sale of national assets to manage the unmanageable and unsustainable debt. Their anger must be controlled in the name of national security.
To be certain, their warnings will not be heard, nor will protests be allowed from a detention facility.
You know, the facilities that don’t exist?
By Douglas J. Hagmann
Following the American Civil War, Jesse James earned the reputation of being a notorious bank robber and criminal gang member in the United States. It is also important to note that the public opinion of Jesse James was swayed by the print media of the day, which turned Jesse James the outlaw into a symbol of confederacy defiance of the reconstruction of the South. His innocence was proclaimed and his reputation romanticized by the founding editor of the Kansas City Times, John Newman Edwards, who wrote prolifically about James for a political cause.
Nearly a century-and-a-half later, the looting of people’s money is no longer done with a gun and a scarf. It is accomplished openly by individuals given the means and opportunity by virtue of their position in the financial sector. Additionally, the looters appear to be well above the law, as those who regulate and prosecute have been co-opted by the merger of state and corporate powers. And the media, much like John Newman Edwards composites, are facilitating the financial terrorism of today through their selective reporting and protection of political and corporate interests.
One has to look no further than MF Global and Jon Corzine to understand what is taking place, en masse, in the U.S. and globally.
Based on my experience as an investigator in the private sector for the last 26 years and my research and investigation into the MF Global debacle, MF Global and Jon Corzine could serve as textbook examples of the financial terrorism that is taking place today on wholesale levels, openly, and without shame. It is the looting of the so-called “99 percent,” except it is done through complex transactions that could keep teams of forensic accountants and an unsullied justice department, if we had one, busy for a long time. It is this type of financial terrorism, obfuscated by an unnecessarily complex lexicon of financial terms, that is at the core of a global monetary takeover by the “one percent.” It is this type of financial terrorism that will propel our justice department and the Department of Homeland Security to impose financial martial law on the citizens of the United States. It is a globalist’s dream and an American nightmare, and the nightmare will not end until the masses are awakened from their slumber.
MF Global was a large financial derivative broker that had its origins in eighteenth-century England. After multiple corporate splits and changes, MF Global became autonomous in 2007. They achieved the much coveted “primary dealer” status while under the leadership of former Goldman Sachs CEO, former New Jersey Governor, and United States Senator Jon Corzine. The status of primary dealer allowed the company to trade directly with the Federal Reserve and underwrite and distribute financial instruments of the U.S. Treasury.
After failing to be reelected as New Jersey governor, Jon Corzine was appointed as Chairman and CEO of MF Global on March 23, 2010. In that capacity, Corzine reportedly invested heavily in the European derivatives market, leveraging investors’ money at a ratio of 40-to-1. In other words, Corzine allegedly invested forty dollars for every one dollar of investors’ money in what could be described as a global casino.
It is both relevant and important to point out that this activity was done under the watchful eye of the agency that is supposed to regulate MF Global and other such companies, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC is headed by Gary Gensler, a former partner at Goldman Sachs during Corzine’s leadership, a former Undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury, and a former senior advisor to both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama. Gensler was appointed to his position at the CFTC by Obama in May 2009. Gensler also contributed to Jon Corzine’s campaign and was a senate aide during Corzine’s tenure as a senator.
As the European markets descended into chaos, so did the investments made by Corzine at MF Global. As a result, MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month. It was then discovered that $630 million of investors’ money was “missing.”
It is alleged by some that at some point, at least $600 million in investors’ money was illegally co-mingled with MF Global funds at the direction of Corzine to “hedge” his bets and subsequent losses. The disposition of over $600 million of money belonging to others remains a “mystery” and is being investigated by none other than Gary Gensler, of course.
It should be noted that before the dust settled on the MF Global implosion, Corzine resigned as CEO on November 4, 2011, but only after having retained the services of the high-profile, white-collar crime defense attorney Andrew J. Levander.
While the above is an admittedly simplified illustration of the events surrounding MF Global and Jon Corzine, it is an essentially accurate illustration.
While it might be premature to call for the “head” of Jon Corzine, it is not unreasonable to demand an immediate and public investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and other pertinent federal regulatory agencies. Of course, Gensler should recuse himself based on his close relationship with Corzine, and a suitable replacement should be appointed.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, through their FinCEN unit, should immediately begin independent investigations of not only MF Global and Corzine but members of congress who have profited from numerous financial transactions over the last three years with all Wall Street agencies.
So far, the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have been MIA in investigating any financial crimes on Wall Street. Obviously, it would not likely be in Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner’s best interests to do so, considering his incestuous involvement with Goldman Sachs and other corporate houses of perceived corruption.
It is not just unfortunate but reprehensible that the American media has been silent about the financial terrorism that has taken place on Wall Street. It is understandable, though, as any serious investigation would most certainly identify the most elite of the elite, including the bosses and owners of the half-dozen media conglomerates that control the entire U.S. news industry.
Postscript: In a remarkable display of the selective administration of justice, the state of New York proudly announced today the indictment of former Soprano’s actor John Marinacci for his role in an alleged gambling ring. A distinction without a difference, perhaps?
