Expanding on the theme of exposing corruption, I figured enough people showed interest in the other email threads to post a little history on one aspect of how things got this bad and give some links for further learning for those who are interested.

That said, if you aren't interested, find another DT/Nevertrump or Poll thread. If you are interested, follow the links below and post any info for myself and others to research and learn from. I believe much of the history that would have been passed down through generations by word of mouth on these issues were lost to many knowledgable men dying in the first and second world wars. If you have any stories you heard from old timers about this, please post them also.


Thanks.


Federal reserve and debt money, I have some political cartoons from just before/after the Federal reserve Act of 1913 was passed. Published in newspapers that openly opposed the banks and passing of the act. You can see they mention Aldrich by name in some, the author of the bill and an agent of one or more big banks.

There is a great documentary by Bill Still on the history of the Fed and National Banks in the US and Europe called The Secret of Oz <- link for watching later on youtube, imbedded below.



The name is a reference to the stage play the Wizard of Oz was based on. The original play was about the 1896 presidential campaign, William Jennings Bryan vs. William McKinley and the effects Bryan's monetary policy could have on the US economy. Dorothy's slippers in the play were silver, not ruby, a reference to real money. It's almost 2 hours long, but well worth it to learn about important history. Take the time and watch it. If you want to read a book on it, get The Creature From Jekyll Island. Like many conspiracies, the whole truth is obscured by those involved to hide involvement, so we are left with bits and pieces and must draw a conclusion on what is left to see.

Another good resource for history of monetary policy as well as motives for US/Western foreign policy is The Corbet Report. I'm sure many will disregard his information due to his stance against US military intervention, but most if not all of what he says is true. Take it or leave it.

Now for the political cartoons, when some media outlets were still standing up to corruption (although I'm sure they had their own motives besides informing the people, at least they did)...

Here is the link to the complete album I have saved from a user on Twitter @RudyHavenstein (name of the president of Weimar Republic central bank during their crash/inflation) and a good source of current info on banking and stock manipulation.

















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EDITED: to change - exposing banking corruption - under Wizard of Oz reference to - Bryan/McKinley election and their respective monetary policies - thanks, grendelbane

At the time, gold, not silver, was real money.  The Wizard of Oz is about the 1896 presidential campaign, William Jennings Bryan vs. William McKinley.

Follow the yellow brick road, (gold bullion was in the form of brick shaped ingots).  Oz is the abbreviation for ounce.  

Yes, Dorothy's slippers were silver, and could only be used once, (ha ha!).

The Wizard of Oz was a fairy tale re-telling of William Jennings Bryan's, (the cowardly lion), campaign.

He wanted massive inflation.  That was the whole idea between the 16 to 1 ratio of silver to gold.

So, not about banking corruption, but a huge effort to inflate the money supply.

Decades later, the federal reserve did achieve this goal.  And unlike Dorothy's silver slippers, they do it over and over and over again.

Thanks, I had forgotten about the Bryan/McKinley relation. The skeptic in me thinks McKinley's assassination was his position on "hard money" and against debt/inflationary schemes, but like most everything relating to what happens behind the curtain, we'll never know.

We can agree to disagree on whether silver is money or not. While the constitution doesn't allow for either specifically, both were used as money or "coin". While gold is generally used as the store of wealth for sovereign nations and banks, most still hold silver as well, but gold is more convenient due to its value per ounce and ease of transporting larger sums in smaller freight. I guess at this point it gets into legal definitions, popular terms in use at specific times and a philosophical argument as to "what is money?", "what is currency?" and "what is the difference?".

Personally I feel money is what ever a community engaged in commerce can agree on as a medium of exchange. The best types are those that hold there value over time and cannot be manipulated or monopolized. Gold and silver are better than most, but still not immune to either of those negative effects. I think Bill Still points this out in several of his videos and documentaries, as they were being hoarded by certain banks and money men to corner the market and speculate on other commodities, as well as trying to force the adoption of a US central bank.

Have you watched any of his videos? If so what is your opinion about the accuracy of the information.

Thanks for posting.

I belong to the school that believes money is selected by an informal democratic process.  Now, in most cases, gov't issued money is selected, for the convenience factor.

There are a few exceptions, though.  In the early 1920s,   in areas of Russia, Czarist paper rubles were used as money, instead of the new Soviet issued rubles.  The main advantage was no one was printing the old Czarist rubles, while the Soviet rubles were being printed night and day, resulting in inflation.

Cigarettes have  been used as money.  Some people say this is barter, but when packs of cigarettes circulate through so many hands that the wrapper is worn through, and the cigarettes are stale, but still circulate at the same value as fresh cigarettes, it is obvious that they are money.

I like the huge stone coins of Yap.  They didn't move, but ownership could change.  The supply was limited by the labor required to craft them.  Wampum worked the same way.

Nowadays, we have bitcoin, (and possibly other digital currencies).  Not fiat money, gov't has nothing to do with it.

As the video shows, it is the quantity of the money supply which is important.  I don't trust gov't here, and I think history backs this up.

I wholly agree. My point with silver was more to the notion of the "hard money" of it being more difficult to inflate than traditional paper currency and it's use as coinage along side gold (as well as notes) during the first 175 or so years of US monetary policy.

I also think the aspect of currency or money being able to reflect the measure of wealth those who use it create is the most important aspect next to ease of use/transportation or exchangeability. Like the large stones being the value they took to craft, counterfeiting was impossible or at least impractical for its usual purpose.


I see two main problem with all agreed mediums of exchange outside direct bartering:

First, cornering the market. Whether it's gold or bitcoins still enables control over a large portion of the money in the hands of relatively few people. This becomes a vital concern when those with a corner on the supply decide they can get richer if they collude to manipulate the market as history has shown many times.

Second is counterfeiting, this is only feasible with paper money and other relatively easily counterfeited monies. This causes inflation that reduces the value of the money held by individuals.

Either are possible whether the money supply is controlled by governments or private companies. I really don't trust either as it's been shown both are open to misuse and corruption. Something like

Bitcoin may be the solution to this, but only if the mass of the money isn't held in a small percentage of people's hands and is started as open source and mined from the start by millions of users. Currently Bitcoin and other crypto currencies is being used as a speculative investment by many of the larger holders and this may prevent it's adoption or use for a medium of exchange and specifically as a store of wealth. If a crypto currency could be developed that prevents these issues it could be a possibility for widespread adoption.