I received this today in my emails. I think it shows what's behind the current round of hypocrisy on parade in the news:
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:03:20 -0400
From: Greg Palast
Reply-to: palast@mailings.gregpalast.com
Subject: Eliot's Mess and the $200 Million Bailout
The $200 billion bail-out for predator banks and Spitzer charges are intimately linked
By Greg Palast
Reporting for Air America Radio's Clout
Listen to Palast on Clout at www.GregPalast.com
While New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was paying an 'escort' $4,300 in a hotel room in Washington, just down the road, George Bush's new Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Ben Bernanke, was secretly handing over $200 billion in a tryst with mortgage bank industry speculators.
Both acts were wanton, wicked and lewd. But there's a BIG difference. The Governor was using his own checkbook. Bush's man Bernanke was using ours.
This week, Bernanke's Fed, for the first time in its history, loaned a selected coterie of banks one-fifth of a trillion dollars to guarantee these banks' mortgage-backed junk bonds. The deluge of public loot was an eye-popping windfall to the very banking predators who have brought two million families to the brink of foreclosure.
Up until Wednesday, there was one single, lonely politician who stood in the way of this creepy little assignation at the bankers' bordello: Eliot Spitzer.
Who are they kidding? Spitzer's lynching and the bankers' enriching are intimately tied.
How? Follow the money.
The press has swallowed Wall Street's line that millions of US families are about to lose their homes because they bought homes they couldn't afford or took loans too big for their wallets. Ba-LON-ey. That's blaming the victim.
Here's what happened. Since the Bush regime came to power, a new species of loan became the norm, the 'sub-prime' mortgage and it's variants including loans with teeny "introductory" interest rates. From out of nowhere, a company called 'Countrywide' became America's top mortgage lender, accounting for one in five home loans, a large chuck of these 'sub-prime.'
Here's how it worked: The Grinning Family, with US average household income, gets a $200,000 mortgage at 4% for two years. Their $955 a month payment is 25% of their income. No problem. Their banker promises them a new mortgage, again at the cheap rate, in two years. But in two years, the promise ain't worth a can of spam and the Grinnings are told to scram - because their house is now worth less than the mortgage. Now, the mortgage hits 9% or $1,609 plus fees to recover the "discount" they had for two years. Suddenly, payments equal 42% to 50% of pre-tax income. Grinnings move into their Toyota.
Now, what kind of American is 'sub-prime.' Guess. No peeking. Here's a hint: 73% of HIGH INCOME Black and Hispanic borrowers were given sub-prime loans versus 17% of similar-income Whites. Dark-skinned borrowers aren't stupid - they had no choice. They were 'steered' as it's called in the mortgage sharking business.
'Steering,' sub-prime loans with usurious kickers, fake inducements to over-borrow, called 'fraudulent conveyance' or 'predatory lending' under US law, were almost completely forbidden in the olden days (Clinton Administration and earlier) by federal regulators and state laws as nothing more than fancy loan-sharking.
But when the Bush regime took over, Countrywide and its banking brethren were told to party hardy - it was OK now to steer'm, fake'm, charge'm and take'm.
But there was this annoying party-pooper. The Attorney General of New York, Eliot Spitzer, who sued these guys to a fare-thee-well. Or tried to.
Instead of regulating the banks that had run amok, Bush's regulators went on the warpath against Spitzer and states attempting to stop predatory practices. Making an unprecedented use of the legal power of "federal pre-emption," Bush-bots ordered the states to NOT enforce their consumer protection laws.
Indeed, the feds actually filed a lawsuit to block Spitzer's investigation of ugly racial mortgage steering. Bush's banking buddies were especially steamed that Spitzer hammered bank practices across the nation using New York State laws.
Spitzer not only took on Countrywide, he took on their predatory enablers in the investment banking community. Behind Countrywide was the Mother Shark, its funder and now owner, Bank of America. Others joined the sharkfest: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup's Citibank made mortgage usury their major profit centers. They did this through a bit of financial legerdemain called "securitization."
What that means is that they took a bunch of junk mortgages, like the Grinnings, loans about to go down the toilet and re-packaged them into "tranches" of bonds which were stamped "AAA" - top grade - by bond rating agencies. These gold-painted turds were sold as sparkling safe investments to US school district pension funds and town governments in Finland (really).
When the housing bubble burst and the paint flaked off, investors were left with the poop and the bankers were left with bonuses. Countrywide's top man, Angelo Mozilo, will 'earn' a $77 million buy-out bonus this year on top of the $656 million - over half a billion dollars - he pulled in from 1998 through 2007.
But there were rumblings that the party would soon be over. Angry regulators, burned investors and the weight of millions of homes about to be boarded up were causing the sharks to sink. Countrywide's stock was down 50%, and Citigroup was off 38%, not pleasing to the Gulf sheiks who now control its biggest share blocks.
Then, on Wednesday of this week, the unthinkable happened. Carlyle Capital went bankrupt. Who? That's Carlyle as in Carlyle Group. James Baker, Senior Counsel. Notable partners, former and past: George Bush, the Bin Laden family and more dictators, potentates, pirates and presidents than you can count.
The Fed had to act. Bernanke opened the vault and dumped $200 billion on the poor little suffering bankers. They got the public treasure - and got to keep the Grinning's house. There was no 'quid' of a foreclosure moratorium for the 'pro quo' of public bail-out. Not one family was saved - but not one banker was left behind.
Every mortgage sharking operation shot up in value. Mozilo's Countrywide stock rose 17% in one day. The Citi sheiks saw their company's stock rise $10 billion in an afternoon.
And that very same day the bail-out was decided - what a coinkydink! - the man called, 'The Sheriff of Wall Street' was cuffed. Spitzer was silenced.
Do I believe the banks called Justice and said, "Take him down today!" Naw, that's not how the system works. But the big players knew that unless Spitzer was taken out, he would create enough ruckus to spoil the party. Headlines in the financial press - one was "Wall Street Declares War on Spitzer" - made clear to Bush's enforcers at Justice who their number one target should be. And it wasn't Bin Laden.
It was the night of February 13 when Spitzer made the bone-headed choice to order take-out in his Washington Hotel room. He had just finished signing these words for the Washington Post about predatory loans:
"Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which he federal government was turning a blind eye."
Bush, said Spitzer right in the headline, was the "Predator Lenders' Partner in Crime." The President, said Spitzer, was a fugitive from justice. And Spitzer was in Washington to launch a campaign to take on the Bush regime and the biggest financial powers on the planet.
Spitzer wrote, "When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners the Bush administration will not be judged favorably."
But now, the Administration can rest assured that this love story - of Bush and his bankers - will not be told by history at all - now that the Sheriff of Wall Street has fallen on his own gun.
A note on "Prosecutorial Indiscretion."
Back in the day when I was an investigator of racketeers for government, the federal prosecutor I was assisting was deciding whether to launch a case based on his negotiations for airtime with 60 Minutes. I'm not allowed to tell you the prosecutor's name, but I want to mention he was recently seen shouting, "Florida is Rudi country! Florida is Rudi country!"
Not all crimes lead to federal bust or even public exposure. It's up to something called "prosecutorial discretion."
Funny thing, this 'discretion.' For example, Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, paid Washington DC prostitutes to put him diapers (ewww!), yet the Senator was not exposed by the US prosecutors busting the pimp-ring that pampered him.
Naming and shaming and ruining Spitzer - rarely done in these cases - was made at the 'discretion' of Bush's Justice Department.
Or maybe we should say, 'indiscretion.'
************
Greg Palast, former investigator of financial fraud, is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.
Hear The Palast Report weekly on Air America Radio's Clout.
And next Wednesday March 19, join Palast and Clout host Richard Greene on a dinner cruise on the Potomac River. For more information click here.
And this Sunday, at noon, on WABC-TV New York, catch Amy Goodman, Les Payne and Greg Palast on Like It Is with Gil Noble.
A couple of posts ago I started thinking out loud about what I would expect from a Buddhist leader. I want to make a whole new post out of the comments Kris made because I think it sums it up nicely. Also, I really really really REALLY like the idea of a "first responder." That is exactly what a leader needs to be able to know how to do. (I hope, Kris, that you don't mind me doing this but your response was so ontarget that I wanted to make a whole new post out of it.) Anyway, here is what Kris had to say:
I have to say that when I have personally thought about what makes a good Buddhist leader, it boils down to a few things:
1. Someone who has a solid working knowledge, both theoretical and empirical of basic foundational Buddhism. It doesn't have to be Ph.D. level. Otherwise, why call them a "Buddhist" leader?
2. Someone with maturity enough to know their limitations (as you noted) and with a mature enough understanding of the universe to understand that sometimes the most optimistic prayers and wishes simply don't happen, no matter how sincere a person is. It also helps if they can express this in a compassionate way that can help direct each person they work with back towards the Dharma, and buddhahood.
Ideally, this would include pastoral training, but the key point is knowing when to say, "I don't know". Perhaps there needs to be an "emergency first aid" kind of pastoral training for "first responders".... not the kind of education that yields a metaphorical full fledged emergency surgery doctor, but a first responder who knows how to not make it worse, and to keep the "patient" alive long enough to get to better help.
3. Someone who can facilitate a group is extraordinarily useful. It seems to me that every sangha is going to have at least a little friction once in a while, even the best sangha, and a good leader can help faciliate growth instead of self-destruction.
In my readings of Mahayana Buddhism I have learned that in East Asian Buddhism they actually talk of five vehicles (or goals of spiritual practice) not just three. In rereading the gosho I then saw that Nichiren also spoke of this though not as "five vehicles" as such. What are these five?
The vehicle or path to humanity is one of them. Nichiren, in line with the basic East Asian teachings on this derived from Abhidharma and the sutras, comments that those who wish to at least be reborn in the human world (as opposed to falling into hell, becoming a ghost, or an animal, or a fighting demon) would be taught to take up the five major precepts for householders: not to kill, not to steal, not to engage in sexual misconduct, not to lie, and not to take intoxicants. Basically, this is the path of enlightened self-interest and basic humaneness and ethics. In Kaimoku Sho, Nichiren associated Confucianism with this basically humanistic outlook and goal.
The vehicle or path to the heavens is another one. Nichiren, again in line with Abhidahrma and the sutras, comments that those who follow the ten courses of wholesome conduct and who cultivate generosity and refined states of meditation can be reborn in one of the many heavens. The ten courses of wholesome conduct are:
1. Not to kill
2. Not to steal
3. Not to engage in sexual misconduct
4. Not to lie
5. Not to speak maliciously (so as to sow discord)
6. Not to speak harshly
7. Not to speak irresponsibly (as in gossiping, idle chatter, etc...)
8. Not to give in to sensual craving
9. Not to give in to ill will
10. Not to uphold wrong views (such as those that deny cause and effect etc...)
Like the human path the heavenly vehicle is about enlightened self-interest - invest in common decency, generosity (esp. to the religious and saintly to support their parasitic lifestyle), and the requisite amount of naval gazing and cultivation of "good vibes." This is what will get you into heaven. Oh, and according to the ten courses of wholesome conduct, that go beyond just the externals of the five precepts, not only should you uphold basic standards of ethics and etiquette but you should also try not to be a mean spirited selfish ignoramus. In Kaimoku Sho, Nichiren associated the later forms of devotional Vedanta (i.e. the Vaishnava and Shaivite forms) with the path to heaven or heavenly vehicle.
So strangely, judging by Nichiren's Kaimoku Sho, those practices that lead to humanistic happiness and even heavenly happiness could not compare that the practices and goals of even Hinayana Buddhism.
And here we get into the three vehicles as practices and goals that are specifically Buddhist and therefore able to bring people a more reliable refuge from suffering and the short-term happiness of the human and heavenly realms.
Of the three vehicles there is the vehicle of the shravakas or "hearers" - those who hear the Buddha's teachings and put them into practrice and thus become arhats or "worthy ones." This path or vehicle is identified in the Lotus Sutra with those who, unlike those on the human or heavenly paths, at the very least come to understand that all conditioned things can't bring total permanent satisfaction, therefore they cut off selfish craving, realize the extinction of suffering, and live in a way that is wholesome and wholehearted. The problem with this path is that it can be misunderstood to mean being aloof and removed from those who are still suffering in the six lower worlds (including those in denial in humanity and heaven).
The next vehicle or path is that of the pratyekabuddhas or "private buddhas" in East Asian Buddhism are understood to be those who either attain their own freedom from suffering without the benefit of hearing the Buddha Dharma or those who hear the Dharma but then go off on their own to work out its implications for themselves through direct insight into the workings of causes and conditions. So they are also known as "cause knowers" in East Asian Buddhism. These are usually portrayed as ascetic hermits. The "fool on the hill" is basically the idea.
The third vehicle is that of the bodhisattva who aspire to attain enlightenment for the sake of themselves and others. In the course of following up on this aspiration they may take up the monastic vocation, or become hermits, or do what they can as householders among the six lower worlds from hell to heaven. The bodhisattvas have no attachment or aversion for any of the causes and conditions within the six worlds - but they do engage them all and utilize all as skillful means for helping all beings attain liberation from suffering. They might seem worldly or unworldly as needed - but always as modes or methods of bringing about liberation. Nichiren and his contemporaries seemed to understand the provisional bodhisattva vehicle as a "gradual path" for the eventual amassing of merit and sufficient insight so that someday (as in after eons and eons) in some world where a Buddha is needed the bodhisattva will be able to take up that role and start the Wheel of Dharma rolling.
The One Vehicle of the Buddhas is the one that is the actual vehicle underlying the vehicles of the arhats, pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha states that it is really the only vehicle. In other words, it is not an alternative to the three vehicles but is the underlying reality of which the three are just partial understandings. This vehicle is for those who realize not only that buddhahood is the true goal for all, but also realizes that buddhahood is not something that needs to be attained, gained, or built up. Instead it is the underlying true reality of life always and everywhere. Nichiren and his contemporaries saw this as the direct or immediate way of buddhahood - though it can manifest itself in terms of skillful means that encompass gradual practice for the sake of beings in all times and places.
A literal reading of the Lotus Sutra would seem to indicate that the One Vehicle does not necessarily encompass the human or heavenly vehicles. The Lotus Sutra asserts that all the Buddha's teachings are for the sake of the One Vehicle, but it does not say that those who don't hear those teachings at all are necessarily included. However, there are some clues that would indicate the inclusion of the vehicles of humanism and heaven. See chapters 24 and 25 where the bodhisattvas assert that they can appear as human teachers or heavenly deities for those who need such a teaching. Also see chapter 19 where it is stated that for those whose senses are purified all things can be taught in conformity with the Dharma. The mutual possession of the ten worlds doctrine of the T'ien-t'ai school also asserted that all worlds and path are interconnected.
Based on all this - I think that people can and should enter into the Dharma from wherever they are with whatever needs they may have. But it is also my conviction that through genuine engagement with the Dharma their aspirations and the scope of their understanding of "the real" will expand. Their horizons, in other words, will become as boundless as the Lotus Sutra itself. One may start off like the householder Sigalaka uninterested in anything beyond just a good way of leading a decent and rewarding life as a responsible worker and family member, but eventually the Dharma may cause one to become more "ambitious" in a good sense, in a selfless and altruistic sense. In light of this, I think we should not discourage people from chanting about the "things of this life" because the Buddha himself did not hesitate to point out good causes for worldly success or even for rebirth in the heavens, and certainly he encouraged householders to build up great merit through the good causes of praising, supporting, and upholding the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). But at the same time we should not limit Buddha Dharma to the six worlds either - as if that were the only reality. The six worlds are the partial view, and in Nichiren Buddhism they are not abandoned or left behind - but neither do they form a boundary or glass ceiling. They are rather taken up into a larger horizon - that of the Pure Land of Tranquil Light.
Many people in this world become great successes without ever hearing let alone chanting Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. Most people will attribute this to talent, education, opportunity, success, and of course maturity and drive. If someone succeeds in paying off their bills, getting a decent job, finding a way to reconcile with difficult relatives and they credit it all to Odaimoku - what does that tell people? That the Odaimoku is a crutch for those who can't do what most people are able to do without it? That it is a form of magic or a placebo for those who otherwise would not be able to get their act together? And what of the many who have chanted Odaimoku for years (in and outside of various organizations) who still don't have their act together in a way that would impress the Donald Trumps of the world? Does that mean Odaimoku is not strong enough? Or that these people lack faith? I wonder...
If someone chants for something that other people are able to get without chanting through determination, talent, and hard work, or just through dumb luck - does that demonstrate the real meaning of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo?
If someone doesn't get what they chant for, or they get it and wish they hadn't (as per the Fantasy Island Syndrome) - does that mean Odaimoku is ineffective? Or does it mean Odaimoku is like a genie who is only going to cooperate when it suits them and in their own perverse way? Or is there something else going on with Buddhism?
For my part - I think it is sticking a round peg in a square hold to insist that Odaimoku should be limited to the viewpoint of the human and heavenly vehicles when in fact it is the One Vehicle that transcends and subsumes the three vehicles let alone the human and heavenly vehicles. I think that is why it seems to function so wonkily for many people - they don't understand that Namu Myoho Renge Kyo is not a genie, or a magic word, or the Japanese Buddhist verson of The Secret. Rather - it is an expression of bodhicitta and more!!! One takes it up at the peril of the karmic self of the six worlds. It opens up horizons that are far greater and more grounded than such a karmic self can imagine. It is very much a poison drum - and who knows which way the wind is blowing?
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
What do people in the Ten Worlds chant for? Based on my own experience and reflection on the Lotus Sutra:
Hell-dwellers will chant for the destruction of what they blame for their suffering.
Hungry ghosts will chant for what they believe will satisfy their craving - the next fix.
Animals will chant to satisfy their instinctive needs for security, sex, food, shelter, territory, pack standing, pack success etc...
Fighting Demons will chant to increase their power and prestige.
Humans will chant out of enlightened self-interest.
Heaven dwellers will chant out of love and gratitude.
In summary: Those in the six worlds chant to rearrange the furniture in the burning house.
Those aiming to become arhats will chant to be free of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, cynical doubt, and false views.
Those aiming to become pratyekabuddhas will chant to realize the interdependent selfless nature of reality so as to be free of suffering.
In sum: Those in the two vehicles chant to get out of the burning house.
Those on the bodhisattva path will chant with a selfless compassionate aspiration to enable all sentient beings to attain awakening to the true nature of reality.
The Bodhisattva chants to get everyone out of the burning house.
Those on the One Vehicle to Buddhahood will chant to skillfully express the true nature of reality.
The Buddha chants because in reality there is and never was a burning house because "in reality this world of mine is peaceful." (from the verses of chapter 16)
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei