History Repeats Itself

Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe takes Barney Frank to task for his role in the current economic crisis that is punishing millions of Americans. Barney Frank and a host of politicians, including Republicans, are attempting to throw a smokescreen around their role in this continuing debacle. What they refuse to admit is the government's insistence that bankers and other financial institutions make high risk loans to people who were most likely to default on them.

Because while the mortgage crisis convulsing Wall Street has its share of private-sector culprits -- many of whom have been learning lately just how pitiless the private sector’s discipline can be -- they weren't the ones who "got us into this mess." Barney Frank's talking points notwithstanding, mortgage lenders didn't wake up one fine day deciding to junk long-held standards of creditworthiness in order to make ill-advised loans to unqualified borrowers. It would be closer to the truth to say they woke up to find the government twisting their arms and demanding that they do so - or else.

The roots of this crisis go back to the Carter administration. That was when government officials, egged on by left-wing activists, began accusing mortgage lenders of racism and "redlining" because urban blacks were being denied mortgages at a higher rate than suburban whites.

I remember these same kinds of allegations being directed at local banks here in Central NY. And my reaction was the same as it is now. Are you kidding? You cannot make loans to people who probably will never pay you back. A gift is one thing; a loan is another. [Also, make sure you either go to the BG article or at least follow the links that Jeff makes~sig]

The pressure to make more loans to minorities (read: to borrowers with weak credit histories) became relentless. Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, empowering regulators to punish banks that failed to "meet the credit needs" of "low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods." Lenders responded by loosening their underwriting standards and making increasingly shoddy loans. The two government-chartered mortgage finance firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, encouraged this "subprime" lending by authorizing ever more "flexible" criteria by which high-risk borrowers could be qualified for home loans, and then buying up the questionable mortgages that ensued.

With impeccable logic, Jacoby maintains that Rep. Frank's fingerprints are all over this fiasco.

Time and time again, Frank insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in good shape. Five years ago, for example, when the Bush administration proposed much tighter regulation of the two companies, Frank was adamant that "these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis." When the White House warned of "systemic risk for our financial system" unless the mortgage giants were curbed, Frank complained that the administration was more concerned about financial safety than about housing.

Comedy Channel's John Stewart,the "Daily Show", humiliated Jim Cramer, "Mad Money," for not telling his viewers about investing companies that shortly went belly up. Why isn't Stewart all over Frank and Dodd and Geithner?

Look at the massive intrusion of the federal government into our economy since last September. And all of it was panic driven. And they were wrong.

The role the media has in protecting the bumbling architects of this mess is the same role played by the 1930's German media in protecting Hitler's NDAP - the National Democratic Worker's Party. Let's look take a few of them:

Boersin Zeitung-"Stock Exchange Journal"
Similar to our "Wall Street Journal", the Nazis took over the formerly Jewish run and owned Boerson Zeitung, which carried daily information about stock trading, business and economics. Editor, Walther Funk, had been appointed by Hitler's favor: he had been Hitler's 'economic tutor.'

Frankfurter Zeitung- The Frankfurt Times
With the Jewish owners dismissed, the Zeitung was taken over as an 'International' newspaper with German news, to please the Office for Foreign Affairs, although the Propaganda office and Foreign Affairs office where often in dispute regarding what to present to the foreign press.

The Völkische Beobachter
Edited by Rosenberg, the most popular paper overall in Nazi Germany was the Volkische Beobachter, or 'People Watcher'. It was completely submitted to Nazi Philosophy and attitude and because of the approval and sponsorship of the Reich, grew to be Munich number one daily newspaper. The VB had its inceptions before the rise to power of the Third Reich, but grew in eminence and along with Der Sturmer shared a paradoxical position: the two Hitler favored and the two Goebbels did not. Goebbels main complaint with the Vokische Beobachter was 'bad editing'.

How did the Nazi's do this? Someone asked the same question at a military forum sponsored by All Experts.com:

Expert: Paul Sutton - 8/6/2007

Question

hi paul can you answwer this for me. how did the hitler and the nazis control news, media and propaganda. can i have at least 4 control methods thanks bye

This question was posed a year and a half ago. The answer is troubling because you can clearly see the same things happening as a result of political correctness in American today. Of particular notice under the last election cycle, the Obama administration's handling of the economic crisis and the recent democratic push for the Fairness Doctrine. Then consider the activities of union thug vandalism, tire slashings and shots fired at Republican headquarters during the 2004 elections. These activities received almost no media attention compared to the negative media blitzkrieg surrounding Gov. Palin's nomination as vice president.

Answer

Greetings

There were many tactics to deal with newspapers, media and other propaganda. Once Hitler had power in 1933 a law was passed called the Reich Press Law of 1933. This law ordered editors not to publish (among other things) anything which tends to weaken the strength of the German Reich . . . or offends the honor and dignity of Germany. Using this law made Nazi actions legal under German Law. The how was Fear. Before the Nazi took over if a newspaper printed an article that was deemed not supporting the Nazi movement the Brown Shirts or SA would attack the newspaper. They would breaking and destroy equipment; they would harass paper boys and beat-up reporters of Newspaper not supporting the Nazi cause. This was before the Nazis had total power. Many Businessmen supported and they would put their advertisements in Nazi newspapers or Nazi supportive newspapers. Some Nazi supporters stopped selling supplies to non Nazi supporting newspapers. Without paper and ink it is hard to publish a newspaper. Once the Nazi took over many smaller newspaper were merged with larger papers. This made it easier to monitor and control the existing paper. After 1933 any Jewish papers were either shut down by force or taken over after the old owners were forced out. Radio is even easier to control. Radio needs electricity to operate. Shut off the power you can make no money. Movies could only be made with the official Nazi okay. Hitler’s master of propaganda Goebbels used Radio and TV and moves to drive home ideals of the Nazi to the German people. Either people went along or they were killed put in camps or just fired. The Nazi appealed to the German people to join in their crusade. Many Germans believed and stopped listening to other ideas. Joseph Goebbels the Nazi propaganda minister was a very good talker or oratory. He had a way of speaking to the fears of the German people and it helped the Nazi party to gain control.

In summery the Nazi used thugs to intimate the papers before taking power. Two once the Nazi had power they shut down and merged most of the Newspapers of Germany. They would threaten to shut off power to Radio stations and had their own speakers such as Goebbels bend the will of the people. Movies were censored so that only the ideals of the Nazi party would be portrayed in a positive light.

I hope this helps and enjoy the links.

Not all of the links are still active.

There is no need to intimidate the main stream media as it is nothing but Obama's Glee Club singing praises to his glorious leadership.

Where are the camps you say? Terrorist Bill Ayers, one of Obama's political mentors and a supporter, planned exactly that. Read a political treatise written by Obama buddy Ayers and his terrorist cop killing associates; "Praire Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism." In part on the dedication page, this bit of commie filth, this socialist rant, was dedicated to the murderer of Robert F. Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan, who was viewed by Ayers as a political prisoner. None of this was properly vetted by the media before or since the 2008 presidential election. Instead, Ayers enjoys mild notoriety as a former 60's radical now turned congenial college professor. All because of favorable media attention. Again, compare this to the media treatment of Sara Palin and her family.

Go to this reproduction of a Dec. 11, 1933, Time magazine article (one of the links from Expert.com) describing how the German news services were co-opted and used to pollute other international news services such as the AP in the years leading up to WWII. German newspapers became party organs, much like today where the Democratic Party dictates what we will read through the news services used by local papers.

We can see the self censorship in movies and television that portray religious or politically conservative characters and businessmen as tyrants, perverts, and generally unpleasant and/or deluded persons. On the other hand the media portrays queers, liberals, illegal aliens, etc. as righteous victims of religious perverts, commercial interests and right wing government officials.

Public opinion is molded by the media and the battle to control the media is relentless. The liberals have for the most part won this fight. The fruits of victory include the incompetent terrorist-trained manipulator in the White House today.

The internet and talk radio are the last bastions of independence. If these are also swallowed up in government regulation and the thought police are given free rein, we have no choice but to go to underground communications networks.

Welcome to 21st Century Amerika. I am clinging like a crazy son of a bitch to my Bible and boomsticks.