Countdown: The Enron Loophole, Gas Prices & McCain - MUST-VIEW

[Hissyspit]

Run time: 09:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugss-PcNomg   Posted on YouTube: June 19, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 19, 2008 By DU Member: Hissyspit Views on DU: 11035

 
MSNBC Countdown w/ KEITH OLBERMANN - June 18, 2008. "This is a great piece of journalism that clearly and effectively explains why Americans are paying thousands of dollars more per year in gas and oil costs. Mainly the Enron Loophole. Other culprits include Morgan Stanley, husband and wife Graham, UBS, lobbyists and just about everyone surrounding John McCains campaign."

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. As usual, KO hit it out of the park.....

I was so glad he made it a special report and not a special comment.

www.wearableartnow.com

[mikita]

2. thanks for posting

chock full of good stuff

[rocktivity]

3. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! YESSSSSSS!!!!!

A towel and a cigarette, please...

:smoke:
rocknation

[rusty quoin]

4. I want Keith to do more segments like this. It was terrific. K&R

[rurallib]

11. real reporting on real stories - so quaint

[BREMPRO]

5. wow, real connect-the-dots journalism, forgot what that looked like.

we need more public light on this issue. thanks KO for making sense of how we are all being screwed. I know Enron is long gone, but i don't see ANY difference in the mentality in corporate management that gave rise to Enron's tactics of market manipulation and inside political influence/payoffs. This report confirms that its still "standard operating procedure"

[Jensen]

6. This is a must see video !! K&R

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[truedelphi]

7. You typed the words right out of my keyboard!

I K and R'ed myself.

Everyone needs to know this information!!

[Flying Dream Blues]

8. Wow...I had no idea. nt

[babylonsister]

9. Thanks, Hissyspit! I just told my sister I'd send this to her when

posted; you are quick! :hug:

[rurallib]

10. Kickety - I just saw this -

how much money do these fuckers need? What is Ken Lay doing with the hundreds of millions he stole?

[Hissyspit]

12. .

[Hissyspit]

13. .

[annm4peace]

14. Call your Congress people ! Call your local media !!!!

Call your Reps and ask them about the ENRON LOOPHOLE



You have to watch this clip from Keith Olbermann on McCain Connection to the Enron Loophole.

You have to help stop us from being ripped off with Gas prices.

Call you your reps and ask them questions about this. Call all the local News stations and radio talk shows and ask them questions about the Enron Loophole.

the oil industry and the banks who are profiting for speculating are Lobbying hard with those in Congress and playing ad after ad on TV and Radio to drill.

WE are the only ones who can stop this.

[Hissyspit]

15. Good night kick. n/t

[democracy1st]

16. K & R

[ClayZ]

17. K and R

[sasquatch]

18. K&R

:kick:

[orleans]

19. this was a wonderful report. n/t (k&r)

[lazyriver]

20. My god, this report reeks...

of real journalism! KO & Countdown did more investigative journalism in this 9 minute piece than the rest of the corporate media collectively does in a week.

[NM Independent]

21. Thanks Kieth

:yourock:

[skids]

22. I regret I have but one rec (and five youtube stars)

...to give to this fantastic boiling down of all the stuff we knew about McEnron.

[MelissaB]

25. Here's mine.

I don't know why I continue to be surprised...

[skids]

26. Now there's an avatar I haven't run across in a while...

:hi:

[MelissaB]

27. I've had him for years.

I was cool before people knew I was cool with this little guy.

:hi:

[mwb970]

23. bush, mcCain, Enron...

They're all the same!

[EnviroBat]

24. This report angers me beyond words.

These people should be dead for this. We are being run into the ground by government-backed criminals who are robbing us blind. How much more of this shit can we take? I say it's time to organize, and hold our own tribunals. Find these fuckers guilty and execute each and every one of them. It's revolutionary, I know, but it's about fucking time.

[Dollface]

28. Does anyone know where I can get a transcript of this? I want to share it with some conservatives

but they will dismiss it if they know it comes from KO. Yes, I do know that is stupid but I would like them to know about it before the spin begins.

[PatSeg]

38. Here you go

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25264852/

I wanted to read the transcript myself.

[Muttocracy]

40. thanks! nt

[mdmc]

43. thanks for the link

:kick:

[Dollface]

57. Thanks!

[AlbertCat]

29. And thus....

..... we see the effects of deregulation....that Repug and Libertarian mantra.

I mean really people....we've known since Dickens' (that's Charles Dickens) time that capitalism must be baby-sat or it will rip us all off.

[flayellowdog]

30. America's Bastille Day is long overdue

Resurect the Guillotine and lay the blade to them all.....None of those who govern us, fear us. They move about with perfect indignation and line their pockets at our expense. :patriot:

[wryter2000]

31. I wish I could rec this 12 times

But, I gave it my one rec. Amazingly awesome.

[SalviaBlue]

32. EVERYONE should see this!!

Recommended!!

[Overseas]

33. K&R -- Great Summary! -- Why Phil GRAMM as econ adviser is so sickening. /nt

[LSK]

34. The Enron loophole has been closed and goes into effect on Sept 30

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3483029

Now the question is, why September 30?

[ryanmuegge]

35. Remember the sharp decline in gas prices prior to the 2006 midterms?

The question is how much do these futures traders have on the price at the pump (73% of which is determined by the cost of oil per barrel). Based on the huge drop in the price of gas prior to the 2006 midterms, it seems that these speculators have considerable control.

Isn't it amazing that all of the other people in the mainstream media spent 48 hours straight talking about that mortgage douchebag's relatively minor role in Obama's campaign, but, outside of Olbermann, they won't say A SINGLE THING about Gramm, who has a very significant role in McCain's campaign?

[redqueen]

36. K&R

[HardWorkingDem]

37. Here's the problem with this scandal...

it's just to damn complex for the American people to follow and understand. It's almost like a conspiracy novel/spy novel/mystery novel with all it's twists and turns.

Not only that, what we all learned from Bill Clinton is the American people can only understand scandals that involve things like tawdry sex scandals, bathroom stalls or young boy pages.

My head hurt after KO's report...

[Muttocracy]

39. yep, someone needs to make a little flow chart diagram to explain it. nt

[PatSeg]

41. I was thinking the same thing

I've listened to the report twice and just read the transcript and my head is spinning. He packed a lot of information into a short time and I'm still trying to digest it.

[progressoid]

44. Yeah, where's the part about flag pins or fist bumps?

That's stuff Amuricans can understand.

[HardWorkingDem]

46. And to me, this is exactly the importance of a true "representative" government..

There is a great quote out there that I can no longer find, but to goes something like "a person of integrity tells the truth, but a person of great integrity tells the truth to even those the person could easily fool."

And this is what a true representative government should be about - those we elect to watch our interests should be the ones deciphering this crazy nonsense and have clear ways to deal with it. But I guess that is a place called Fantasy Island.

[Muttocracy]

49. How about this as a first attempt at simplification - can folks edit and improve this?

I put it in roughly chronological order. Language is still complicated.

Phil and Wendy Gramm are married.

1988-1992 = George H.W. Bush admin & time when Enron growing

Ken Lay, head of Enron, wants to make money speculating on electricity futures

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under Bush adminstration, headed by Wendy Gramm, leaves Enron alone to do this, makes it CFTC policy to leave Enron alone.

After Clinton's election in 1992, Wendy Gramm joins the board of Enron

1996: John McCain and Ken Lay helped Phil Gramm's presidential campaign

2000 (during Gore/Bush election chaos), Phil Gramm helped pass the "Enron loophole", which deregulated multiple energy markets (electricity, propane, heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, crude oil, etc.)

Enron speculation disrupts California energy markets.

Enron implodes.

2002 Phil Gramm joins UBS, a company which bought some of Enron's leftover business.

2002-2003 McCain voted with Democrats' unsuccessful attempts to close the Enron loophole.

2006 Republican congressional report recommends closing the Enron loophole.

since 2006, McCain has been advised on economics by Phil Gramm, while Gramm was also lobbying the Senate to keep the loophole, as have others on the McCain campaign.

2008 recent Senate testimony says that closing the regulatory loophole will immediately help energy prices, and is also necessary to prevent corporations from cornering markets on alternative energy. At present, groups of corporations holding reserves for speculation outweigh the power of our own strategic reserves.

2008 recent farm bill passage included language to close the loophole. McCain voted against it, but says it was not due to the closing of the loophole, but due to excessive cost.

[PatSeg]

50. Well done!

Now I can thank YOU.

I just want to understand it well enough, so I can explain it to other people. I have the movie "Enron, the smartest guys in the room". Maybe I should watch that again. It might contribute to the overall picture.

[Seen the light]

53. Good job, but change the description of Gramm a bit

Make sure to include the fact that he's not just an adviser, he's one of his CHIEF economic advisers, has been mentioned as McCain's Treasury Secretary if McCain were to be elected, and is a co-chair of his presidential campaign.

[Dollface]

58. Thanks for taking the time. This is a tough to explain and a time line really helps.

This is about more than McCain. This is about the carpetbaggers taking over our country.

[RedEarth]

42. Thanks for posting... I saw it last night and was hoping someone would post it

It really should be required viewing for every person in the US....in particular those who plan on voting in November.

[RNdaSilva]

63. Agree,

watched the original and the replay. But, will 'every person' understand? It is a must that they do.

[proReality]

45. K&R n/t

[fascisthunter]

47. This STory ALONE SHould Destroy McCain's Chances

and I will do my part to email this story to everyone I know asking them to pass this on too. :patriot:

[Hutzpa]

48. GODDAMN...KO you have just open

a can of worms.... I love it... love it.... these asswipes don't
give a hoots ass about the American public but themselves.

We need to chase those crazy bald heads outta town

NOT THIS TIME ASSHOLES!!!

Thank you KO... need to keep drumming this everyday on your show
till somebody somewhere gets it, maybe a segment on your show
would educate the LIV better, give them more chance to
understand the importance of this election.

:thumbsup:

[AwakeAtLast]

51. One of the more enlightening segments of KO I have ever seen - even as a DUer

Thanks for posting this - many, many people, including DUers, need to see this.

K & R! :kick:

[ooglymoogly]

52. We have here, a clear example of what a real journalist is

and what real news should be. If we had this kind of reporting 7 years ago Hr. Boo$sh would never have become president kr.

[Seen the light]

54. I've never wanted to see a video spread around the Net like this

Most damning video of McCain I've seen. If enough people see this video, McCain will be finished.

Get to work DU!

[mcollier]

55. McCain's been caught ridin' dirty

Again and again my friends....

[Duer 157099]

56. Confused - help

The segment showing the hearings, where it's said that if the bill closing the loophole passed, price of oil would drop by 25 or 50% overnight. Didn't that bill pass? Cuz I haven't noticed the drop, if so.

:shrug:

[Muttocracy]

59. I think on another thread it said it goes into effect Sept 30? nt

[frog92969]

60. Sept 30 2009

:banghead:

[Muttocracy]

61. oh lordy I missed the 2009! nt

[Duer 157099]

64. HOOOO LEEE crap! 2009 you say? Jeez, let's see how many of us can survive that long n/t

[Willo]

62. K&R and emailed n/t

[RNdaSilva]

65. "...and just about everyone surrounding John McCain's campaign."

This needs to be pounded again and again. Is it making the rounds on youtube?

I'm now having to suffer through the 'spouse war' and McCain's accusations of an Obama flip-flop in re public financing. McCain making flip-flop accusations? Ludicrous! Obama made a correct political decision regarding campaign financing, McCain counters with lobbyist monies. MSM, please, important issues only...this is getting very boorish. The Enron loophole is of vital importance and McCain's lobbyists complicity.

More Keith Olbermann notables:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr8nrRZOpXw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDnpYDQauw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTyRdK3BWs0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Ou8yvithY&feature=related

Keep your glass no less than half-full.

[txwhitedove]

66. McCain said it himself, they "...are all tainted by Enron."

Greedy pigs.

[rambler_american]

67. Kicked and recommendede

:kick;
I am sick to death of crooks taking my money.
The red necks who vote republican because of guns flags and gays are voting against their own best interests. How do we convince them og that?

[Leo 9]

68. McCain advisors created and defend 'Enron loophole'

McCain advisors created and defend 'Enron loophole'

David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Thursday June 19, 2008




Keith Olbermann delivered a special report Wednesday on the "Enron loophole" -- a regulatory gap that is the single greatest cause of out-of-control gasoline prices -- and how McCain's leading advisors created that loophole and continue to defend it.

People who deal in oil routinely use "futures" -- agreements in advance on prices and delivery dates -- to deal with fluctuations in the market. However, deregulation has allowed commodity speculators to take over this system of futures and use it for their own profit, running up the price of oil in a speculative bubble.

According to Olbermann, the story of $4 a gallon gas begins during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, when former Enron CEO Ken Lay started speculating on energy futures. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) gave Enron free rein, and when Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, CFTC Chairwoman Wendy Gramm moved to lock in the commission's informal position on Enron as official policy. Gramm then joined Enron's board of directors, earning more than $900,000 over the next decade.

In December 2000, during the chaos following the presidential election, Enron got a law passed containing an amendment known as the "Enron loophole," deregulating not just single trades but entire markets. This made it possible for Enron to artificially create the California energy crisis -- and left Enron employees chortling over how they had fucked over "Grandma Millie."

snip

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_aides_worked_to_create_defend_0619.html

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6387074&mesg_id=6387074

[Labors of Hercules]

69. OMFG! REAL LIVE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING!!!

:wow:

[donheld]

70. Thank you keith

[Name removed]

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