Dr King's courage & "saluting" the cowards

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the US where the nation honors a courageous man who wasn't afraid of adversity, difficulties or challenges; a man who spoke direct and forthright with words of conviction and sincerity.  And since Wall St. is closed today,  we decided instead we would draw comparison by focusing the areas where few to none possess Any of Dr. King's traits:  finance, investing, politics, banking and media

And we 'honor' these people a with sarcastic 'toast'--

The Sour MiLK face Salute!

A coward by definition is a person or entity which lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.; to be timid or easily intimidated.  Anyone who fits this criteria, deserves the Salute, but because we don't wish to write endlessly for hours to compile such a list, here are mere highlights...

** All Quotes below in blue font are from Dr King...

"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."

To Fitch credit rating agency -- For not having the courage or 'balls' to downgrade France's undeserved AAA credit rating until 2013 when it was obvious to anyone with open eyes that their finances are a complete mess, but were afraid of criticism and blowback from Europe.

"The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict."

To S&P credit rating agency -- For while getting credit for downgrading France when Fitch would not, you still get the 'Salute' for only downgrading one notch, allowing that lying ferret Sarkozy and other french leaders the opportunity to minimize your downgrade and thus minimize the significance of your agency.  A two-notch downgrade would have had Europe's leaders and banks in a much deserved Panic.  Instead, you punted.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'


To Goldman Sachs --  The most despicable, Evil corporation in the US, if not the world, which is really saying something when compared to all the other multinational corporations and banks such Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase 100% financially propped up by the Treasury & Fed i.e. US taxpayers.  While commonplace that corporations donate to both parties to 'hedge' their bets so in the loop no matter who is President, it still is pretty Pathetic that you were Obama's #1 financial supporter in '08 and still donate heavily to his re-election campaign and Yet are the #1 donor to Republican challenger Mitt Romney's campaign, already giving him over $300k in donations and it not even the end of January.

Double MiLK face Salute to you...

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

To President Obama -- Who seems to have forgotten that his political party affiliation is Democrat and the vast majority of those who support the Party have nothing but hate and mistrust for Wall St, and expect their leaders to represent them- the middle class & working people.  The American people also desire justice and fairness-- under your leadership, not one vile scumbag Wall St big-wig has been arrested, cuffed and humiliated like Bernie Madoff and former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn was.   Your Dept of Justice has failed or refused to indite anyone that matters in this economic criminal enterprise and that's on you Mr President as much as your Attorney General.

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

To all Republican nominees -- Who refuse to talk about the US economy in their speeches and debates unless to criticize the President.  They are either too gutless or clueless to come up with real solutions to get millions of people back to work in good paying jobs that will allow the American Dream to continue.  Cutting corporate taxes and those on the rich don't solve anything-- they simply get liars and phonies elected.

"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."

Creating jobs means taking risks- you as a business owner are hiring people and expanding your business in the hope that you will be able to sell enough product or service to make that hiring economically beneficial.  And if it doesn't work out and the economy is still in a rut, you as the owner are forced to let people go.  Cowards do not make good business owners.  They make for great politicians though. Honestly-- how can cowardly politicians seeking election, re-election or a nice Presidential library be built for them, ever have the courage and strength to risk innovative ideas to get people working when every aspect of who they are is controlled by 'handlers' who tell them everything from what to say to what color tie to wear?

Think about that..

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

To Greece's leaders -- For not having the courage to default and leave the Eurozone a long time ago.  Yes, the conversion back to the drachma would have been painful and securing foreign loans & credit even more so, but think of it this way- your beautiful nation is in such horrible circumstances now that it still will end up defaulting if not pushed out of the EU, and you experienced an additional 12-18mths of needless pain for nothing.  What you did is akin to ignoring and stalling treatment of a tooth needing root canal

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

To CNBC --  I guess I could include Bloomberg & Fox Business but CNBC is the Worst at being lying propagandists for Wall St and finance.  As an entity they are more corrupt than North Korean TV.  Here's the CNBC mantra:  When stocks go up, encourage more buying.  When stocks go down, encourage viewers to buy more.  And when market plunges, tell viewers its best to 'hold', then wait for bottom and invest Hard!  Everything is a buying opportunity.

Everything is a money making opportunity to CNBC  And yet they state at end of show segments that investing is a risk and essentially if you lose Everything, don't blame or sue them.  Everyone who appears on the network including guests all are uber-capitalists who are blindly loyal to free market and trickle-down as the Only way to preserve freedom and save the economy.  Of course its not, but that's the kool-aid they push.  No one criticizes the Fed or US economic policy itself for the depression we're in- they're all too ingrained in the System

"There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the techniques and the resources to get rid of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will."

Global Investors -- Nope, we didn't forget about them.  In some ways the most disgusting, putrid cowards of them all.  When things are going well and they're making huge profits off their investments, you will not meet a more Arrogant and Cock-sure person.  And when they start losing money and the market drops too far and too quick for their liking, they are the Biggest Babies, screaming for the Fed to enact Quantitative Easing and any other policy that will help them recoup their money at the financial expense of their countrymen and women. And when they do invest, most of the time it is not based on logic or analytical data, but rather on fear and how the masses are reacting.

Every day the investor wakes up with one singular goal- to make money; to have more at the end of the day then at the start.  They are sociopaths.. they are scum.  They are investors.

Well, like we said, we could have written for hours upon hours... Soooo many cowards in the realm of finance, banking, investing, politics and the media.

So many to MiLK face Salute... only one MLK

"We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive"