American Conspiracies: on Principles & Values
Jesse Ventura:
Patriotism means wondering if were told the truth
This book will delve into a number of things you don't see on TV or read about in the papers. The fact is, the media--the fourth branch of government that our founding fathers anticipated would speak truth to power and keep our democracy on track
--has at least since the assassination of President Kennedy systematically ignored any "conspiracy theory" that might rock the Establishment's boat.Clearly, there's something going on in our national psyche that the New York
Times and the Washington Post don't want to examine. I'm tired of being told that anybody who questions the status quo is part of the disaffected, alienated element of our society that ought to wake up and salute the flag.
Maybe being patriotic is about raising the curtain and wondering whether we've really been told the truth about things like September 11.
Source: American Conspiracies, by Jesse Ventura, p. ix-x
Mar 8, 2010
John Conyers:
2004: massive voter irregularities in Ohio gave Bush victory
Ohio was where Bush's "victory" put him over the top in the electoral college when the vote count switched dramatically to Bush's side. But what really went down? Officials there purged thousands of eligible voters from the rolls, neglected to process
registration cards generated by Democratic voter drives, shortchanged Democratic precincts when they allocated voting machines, and illegally derailed a recount that could have given Kerry the presidency.The fellow in charge of the vote-counting was
Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, who also happened to be the co-chair of Bush's reelection committee there. And nobody seemed concerned about a conflict of interest? When Congressman John Conyers looked into what took place in
Ohio, his report in January 2005 set forth "massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio, caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Blackwell."
Source: American Conspiracies, by Jesse Ventura, p.133
Mar 8, 2010
Timothy Geithner:
OpEd: presided over Fed's era of disastrous risk-taking
Obama's treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, while president of the New York Fed, suggested to Paulson and other economic bigwigs in June 2008 that the president should be given "broad power to guarantee all debt in the banking system."
Considered politically unfeasible at the time, as it potentially put taxpayers on the hook for trillions, the government has since come to largely embrace "his blue-sky prescription." During his five years as the New York Fed,
Geithner presided over "an era of unbridled and ultimately disastrous risk-taking by the financial industry," while wining-and-dining with all the titans. So are we surprised that Geithner's calendars show the top execs of Goldman Sachs,
Citigroup, and JP Morgan being the select group he's always on the phone with? (At least 80 contacts during Geithner's first seven months.)
Source: American Conspiracies, by Jesse Ventura, p.177-178
Mar 8, 2010
Page last updated: Dec 12, 2018