2009-12-13

Repealing Glass-Steagall; A Reminder For Conservatives; Torture Under Canada's Watch

It's wearisome to keep hearing the following:

"Obama is trying to fix up the economic mess left behind by Bush!"

That's wrong.

The repeal (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) by Republican leaders Phil Gramm (Texas) and Jim Leach (Iowa) in the Senate and House of Representatives respectively and Democratic President Bill Clinton of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 had a major impact.

Originally introduced by Democrats (signed into law by FDR) during the Great Depression, the act was enacted basically to control speculation by banks. The banking industry worked to have it repealed and succeeded in 1999 thus blurring the lines between traditional commercial banks and investment brokerage houses.This led to many, along with some government pressure, to the financial meltdown.

Blaming just Bush is simplistic.

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Conservatives have been making some interesting comments about the upcoming mid-term elections. They feel Americans, independents specifically, will rebel against Obama's policies by rewarding the Republican party (despite a distcint lack of real policies and perhaps even leadership) with the House.

They revel at the thought of this. However, I think they should remember that Ronald Reagan, a hero in the conservative movement, lost his mid-terms in 1986 further solidifying the animosity between the two national parties.

Another thing conservatives talk a lot about is the Constitution and how it's being trampled on by liberals and Obama. Well, it's not like Reagan went through Congress, as the Constitution discloses, to send cash to the Contras during the Iran-Contra Scandal.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Peter McKay is under fire for a cover up attempted by the Canadian government and military for the torture of captured Taliban soldiers consequently handed over to Afghan authorities. It's hard to believe Canada, under both the Liberals and Conservatives, was unaware this took place. To what degree and how often seems to be up in the air so it's time to come clean with all the details.

The cover up was exposed after diplomats decided to take the rare step of outing out the government.

1 comment:

  1. Nothing is black and white, except a brand of whiskey. The political game is nothing but black and white and from one administration to another things can not be reversed overnight save in a dictatorship.

    I must say it is very sad to see the games being played in Ottawa about the whole torture mess and not only about Afghan prisonners; what about guys deported to Syria or Morocco through the USAers via shaky reports from CSIS and the RCMP? Nothing to be proud of here.

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