Wade Rathke’s Startling Admission: ‘Economic Terrorism’ Engineer Stephen Lerner Is Still on SEIU Payroll

On Sunday morning, The Blaze posted a story about the “return” of ACORN on the world-wide scene.  While reading through some of the background material on that story, I noticed something significant.

ACORN founder Wade Rathke has been busy mocking the story that broke on The Blaze earlier this week about a multi-front plot to target JP Morgan Chase in an attempt to crash the stock market.  We’ll look at his criticisms in a second.  No need to bury the lede here. Rathke seems to answer the question we’ve been asking all week — does bank plotter Stephen Lerner still work for SEIU?  Rathke says Lerner is still very much on the SEIU payroll:

Lerner has not been “fired” by SEIU as they report.  He was placed on paid leave last fall to think through his contribution to the union, but was certainly present at the recent international executive board meeting.

This is important for several reasons — not the least of which is that this ties the plot to destroy the American economy much more closely within the ranks of the organization that time and time again President Obama has declared to be most important to him strategically and politically.

If you are not familiar with our original report — click here.

From the beginning, we have speculated about Lerner’s work status.  We knew early on that a blog critical of SEIU had reported on the “apparent firing” of Lerner last fall.  But we also knew that Lerner was introduced at the Left Forum conference as “SEIU.”  And we soon learned that Lerner had an active voicemail account on his phone line at SEIU.  Glenn Beck speculated numerous times on radio and TV about Lerner’s work status and noted that repeated calls to SEIU had not been returned.

I’d wondered all along what it would really take to get fired from SEIU.  Is there a union of workers at the union?  Maybe Lerner filed a grievance!

Rathke’s post not only claims that Lerner is on “paid leave,” he affirms Lerner’s status as a revered strategist in the labor movement:

Lerner has written a number of well circulated papers over the last year expanding on his analysis of the impact of the recession and the need to frame larger campaigns around accountability of banks and the financial system for working Americans.  He is an avowed advocate of developing campaigns to finally bring them to account.

Rathke seems to find a logical contradiction in our connections between some of Lerner’s key assertions:

While labeling Lerner an ex-SEIU official who was signaling that unions and community organizations were “dead,” also reported hook-line-and-sinker that in May, according to Lerner, there would be days of rage in ten cities around JP Morgan Chase signally the beginning of the anti-banking jihad.  Hmmm.  An ex-official issuing the call to “dead” troops to storm the barricades?  Does something not add up here?

Does it add up? He doesn‘t really deal with a counter argument to Lerner’s contention about unions and community organizations being “dead,” but it seems to me that a desperate official, dealing with desperate forces, backed by astounding fiscal resources, might be able to reasonably storm a barricade or two.

While Lerner’s articulation of a well-orchestrated plot to bring down the stock market may sound a little hyperbolic, Rathke is intent on convincing us that Lerner is actually known for his reasoned understatement:

I’ve known and worked with Lerner for decades and his long experience with union lawyers and what used to be called “corporate campaigns,” has made him one of the more careful commentators on his work that I know.  The rest of us are verifiable flap jawed loose lips compared to Steve!

Yikes.

Lerner, meantime, has given his first comments about our story.  He talked to MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan on his podcast.  On Saturday we posted a side-by-side comparison of Lerner’s current comments compared with the comments in our original report:

Blaze assistant editor Meredith Jessup prepared this text summary of the Ratigan podcast:

Is SEIU’s Stephen Lerner a terrorist… or a hero?

This is the question MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan pondered Thursday when he invited the controversial labor organizer onto his radio broadcast to defend his plans to purposefully crash the United States economy.

As we reported this week, Lerner — a hero among progressives — was caught on tape discussing a planned “mortgage strike” against the country’s largest banking institutions, specifically including JP Morgan Chase. In a recording uncovered from a leftist conference last weekend in New York, Lerner describes how homeowners “strategically defaulting” on home loans would force banks to negotiate in a redistribution of wealth scheme with far-reaching economic consequences.

Conservative radio host Glenn Beck labeled Lerner’s plan “economic terrorism” and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the potential threat.

“I interviewed Lerner, to get his side of the story — his first interview since being attacked by Beck,” Ratigan wrote Friday. “Lerner talked about the mortgage strike idea, the big banks, the Tea Party and Glenn Beck’s attack, and being accused of terrorism.”

Here are some highlights — bold emphases mine (click here for .mp3 audio):

—In opposing his plan, Lerner claims both Beck and tea partiers are “shilling for Wall Street.”

I mean, their kneejerk response seems to be to defend the super elite, and I don’t how you have an economy that functions. I think it’s up to 40% of corporate profits are generated by the casino on Wall Street, and unless you somehow reduce the power of Wall Street, or their economic or power, I don’t know how we have a productive economy where there’s a future for our kids and where things work if everything’s based – it’s ironic, I think it’s Warren Buffett who referred to derivatives as financial weapons of mass destruction. These are the guys that destroyed the economy. And I think the thing that is really sticking in people’s goat more and more is they’re now using the disaster that they created to say we should get rid of the minor laws that were passed to try to contain their behavior. It’s like they haven’t learned a lesson – actually, I take that back. They did learn a lesson. They learned that they could crash the economy, get bailed out, and then become even bigger and more powerful. That’s the lesson they learned, and that’s what they’re going to do unless we have a plan to reduce their power.

—According to Lerner, an organized mortgage strike specifically designed to crash the market is “exactly how business[es] operate”:

It really shows that something is off when people talking about doing something that’s completely legal that mirrors exactly how business operate that people start throwing out words like terrorism and trying to intimidate people into not speaking. The only thing I can figure on this, you know you started off by talking about how much money the banks have and their influence and their relationship with government is that there is a whole set of people that just seem to say I have to defend the banks and Wall St. no matter what happens. It’s an attempt to sort of scare people and scare regular people and scare homeowners and scare people who are trying to figure out how to put their economic lives back together, to scare them out of standing up. I don’t think it would work but it’s really a disappointment that people go into that kind of sensationalism instead of saying let’s really fix the problem here and keep people in their homes and get the economy working and lets really say we need to address Too Big to Fail instead of trying to intimidate folks that think the economy is a mess because of the banks.

—Ratigan and Lerner use the recent bank bailouts — an act opposed by the majority of Americans — as justification to attack the banking industry:

[Lerner] is the former director of the SEIU’s Banking and Finance Campaign. He created the website WheresTheNote.com, and has been so insane as to suggest that the banks themselves who have been funded with your tax money, who have collected 100 cents on the dollar and in no-strings-attached bank bailout that the Tea Party purports to object to from a few years ago, and yet continued to collect mortgage payments in full from folks whose houses frequently are worth far less than the mortgage that exists.

—Lerner says his plans for mass mortgage strike just makes good business sense and homeowners should be able to walk away from their mortgage responsibilities:

Well, I would say it’s not even organizing. It’s an early discussion of saying, “What if a bunch of people all agreed to say to the banks –”. Maybe what people would say is, “We’re going to put our money escrow, even.” But we’re saying we want you to negotiate with us on principle, and we think a lot of us are all going to say at the same time, “Listen, we’re going to sign up, we’re going to say, “You should negotiate with us.” And when we get enough people who are signed on to saying the banks should negotiate, we’d say, “Well now we’ve evened the score a little bit. You’re the biggest, richest guys in the world, but a lot of us have signed up and said we’re ready to potentially walk away. Why don’t you negotiate on reducing the principle?” So what we’re talking about is people making a commitment to each other saying if enough other people agree to it, we’ll demand the banks negotiate and then if they’re not willing to negotiate, then people can take appropriate action and walk away if that’s what makes sense.

But even more than that, what we’re really talking about is encouraging people to make a good business decision because more and more business writers and other people have written, and they’ve written time and time again, that if a business was in the situation of most homeowners, they would walk away. And so what – we’re saying two things. One, we want the banks to negotiate and we want to fix it. But second, we’re saying people should be rational about their financial life. And as you said, the amount of money that people wasting on a home that they’re not going to be able to stay in because they’re stuck in a bad mortgage versus that it may be a good business decision to say, “I’m leaving and I’m going to rent an apartment.” So we’re trying to do two things: help people make a good financial decision for themselves; and second, do it in a way that’s together that maybe we can start fixing the housing problem. And I’d take it a step farther; I don’t know how we fix the economy unless we stabilize the housing market. And we’re not going to stabilize the housing market if we don’t write down principle.

—Ratigan slams free-market capitalism as “false rhetoric” and outlines five key areas of “madness” that need overhaul — energy, health care, international trade, military and banks:

We see this over and over and over again, whether it’s in American finance, American healthcare, American energy, American trading, meaning with China and elsewhere, or the military. An unholy alliance forms between those who make the most money from that business, whether it’s the bank or the energy company or whoever, and the politicians who they fund. In the process, ironically, these people, like Glenn Beck and others, hide behind the false rhetoric of the free market while desperately trying to avoid paying the actual consequences of living in a free market, let alone being forced to exhibit the adaptability and innovative spirit required of all of us at this point in time, so that we can adapt to the marketplace, a marketplace in which energy is actually very expensive, a marketplace in which lending can be made very cheap, were it not controlled by the special interests that run it. Same could be said for healthcare.

So the more we can all focus our attention on the unholy alliance in this country that exists between business and state, reward the businesses and encourage the businesses that compete for your dollars through good service and real value, and punish the politicians who cater to the weak and pathetic in the business world who cannot adapt or innovate and so use their dollars to try to legislatively manipulate the environment so that they can survive only to come back out barking and claiming free markets. The sooner we can put an end of the madness that is the trillion dollar problems that plague this country of energy, healthcare, the multi-national trading pirates, military, and the bank system. Those five problems, all in the trillions. You deal with those, and suddenly your million and billion dollar problems seem much more approachable.

Lerner insists it was the banking industry which “crashed the economy” and is keeping it from recovering:

I think a lot of people have been stunned, not just that the banks crashed the economy, not just that they got rich doing it, but how at this moment after we bailed them out, they’re using the very crisis that they created to continue squeezing regular Americans. And it’s just maddening I think to a lot of us to see them really holding the country hostage saying, “Well, if you don’t give us tax breaks, we’ll move our jobs abroad; if you don’t do what we want, then we’re going to continue to put the screws to you.” So we started – we keep thinking about these guys got trillions in bailouts, they got a new and better deal, and the whole country is stuck in recession because they won’t write down principle so folks can stay in their homes and we can fix the mortgage market. They have cities trapped in exotic things like interest-rate swaps so public services that cuts, they can create excess interest in it. It’s really the big bang’s Wall Street that is stopping the economy from recovering.

Ratigan asks Lerner — Isn‘t what you’re doing technically illegal?

RATIGAN: The one thing that strikes me that you could run into in trying to organize a larger group of people around this, is very explicit banking law, unique law that applies explicitly only to banks that effectively makes it illegal to do any form of organizing or work that could directly result, for instance, in a run on the banks. And is there not a risk that a large collection of mortgage holders refusing to pay could run a foul of that law?

LERNER: It would be a terrific irony because since nobody’s been prosecuted in the massive run of the banks and all the hedge funds and all the deals where people bet against and tripled down on different bets, it would sure be ironic if people interpreted homeowners exerting their right to be causing a run on the bank; that’s not the goal at all. In fact, but going backwards, I think it would be great if people investigated and prosecuted for all the things the banks did that most normal people would consider a form of the run on the bank. I’m not worried about that because what we’re talking about is perfectly legal, it’s perfectly lawful.

In the end, Rathke is not worried about Lerner and his future as a legendary labor organizer:

The right wingers need to leave Lerner alone rather than erecting yet another statute in their wax gallery of threats to America.  Knowing Stephen, he’s having a hearty laugh at all of this.

Wade Rathke’s Startling Admission: ‘Economic Terrorism’ Engineer Stephen Lerner Is Still on SEIU Payroll

Comments (184)

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  • Mack truck
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:57am

    If they are not stopped, they will have us living back in the STONE AGE!!!

    Report Post » Mack truck  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:56am

    @PSYCHOSIS~~~

    Good Morning to you. I think you are correct on the time table and their thought processes. Had they gone with hillarybillary in 2008, most of us would be upset with her or still asleep; same if McCain had won. HOWEVER, thanks be to GOD they got g-r-e-e-d-y and jumped the gun with obamamama. There were still enough of us out here, hidden from sight as we were and waaaay asleep, that their plan hasn’t worked ~~~ yet.

    Our salvation (as a nation, too, interestingly enough is Biblical….there are so many passages about our changing our ways, repenting (old fashioned word and concept), turning again to GOD, and HE WILL DELIVER us and our nation. But it is going to take a spiritual transformation of AMERICA for GOD to deliver us. HE will send HIS armies to fight for us as well as use our abilities IF our hearts are HIS. We cannot lie to HIM….HE knows our hearts and minds. If we are willing, HE WILL DO IT. The rest, as HE says, will fall into place.

    I’m in. How about you?

    Report Post »  
  • Infidel and Proud
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:54am

    Looks like this P O S needs a home delivered newspaper…..

    (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/explosive-device-in-newspaper-injures-california-man/)

    Report Post » Infidel and Proud  
  • streetrodder
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:52am

    Does anybody know what country Soros calls his home or does he have US cititizenship?

    Report Post »  
  • justice
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:52am

    It sounds like Unionizing ! Are rational People thinking they can actually going on Strike with the banks on a loan they signed for. All these people will do is bring the rest of us down with them. It was a 2 way street, when you sign a Contract it is Binding. SEIU members are pure Evil! God will take his judgement on them.

    Report Post »  
  • dsm
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:41am

    The collapse of the economy was due to the housing collapse. Barney Frank should be jailed. He was the one that testified in fron of congress and said Freddie and Fannie were fine. The people that lost their homes should not have been in them in the first place.

    Report Post »  
    • Igno Ramus
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:43pm

      Barney and friends should have to pay back every dollar of the bank bailout. Whatever the cost. Wherever the money went. They caused the bank failures and should have to make restitution to the US taxpayer. Whoever agreed with them idiots should be included as well in the payback.
      That’s what I call REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH.

      Report Post »  
  • dcart888
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:29am

    Please: corporations don’t scheme to crash the stockmarket given their own stock/equity would be effected. Dylan is not dumb I‘m surprised he’s not going after democrats in Congress who are to blame for forcing banks to make bad loans. Wall St. was forced to ‘spread the risk’ by spreading out the bad loans in different tranches. My guess MSDNC won‘t keep Dylan on with is new show if he doesn’t bash the banks instead of putting the blame where it belongs. Let‘s remember our Community Organizer in Chief was ACORN’s attorney on south side Chicago who sued Citigroup forcing them to make loans to people with no visable means of support!

    Report Post » dcart888  
  • BehindBlueEyes
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:19am

    I think your right. They are imploding but it will get real nasty before its all over. I’m sure there is planning going on at all levels for the push to complete the fundamental transformation of America.
    If we survive, it will take years for us to recover from the damage that’s been done.
    Lets hope America never gets fooled again.

    Report Post » BehindBlueEyes  
  • bprov92
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 5:53am

    Help support up and coming young Conservatives through a blog called “The Truth
    Behind a Conservative Mind.” ( http://conservatism101-thetruth.blogspot.com/ ) Feel free to comment and post topics which will be answered by college students!

    Report Post »  
  • awall1231
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 5:02am

    these people must truly hate Glenn and the Blaze.

    Report Post » awall1231  
  • Marylou7
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:58am

    The more these communist idiots talk the more they increminate themselves in my opinion. They apparently don’t know how the “working” mind operates because these self-righteous elitest have never worked a day in their lives.

    Report Post » Marylou7  
  • SilentReader
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:57am

    As all con artists do, when they are caught they obfuscate and rationalize their way out of it.

    This Stephen Lerner guy knew exactly what he was doing. He was suggesting that his “sheep” default on their mortgages so as to bring the banks and the stock market down, and he specifically targeted JP Morgan.

    I would call that economic terrorism.

    For Stephen Lerner, though, it’s just a game, because there’s no skin off his back. He gets his check from the SEIU regardless, which ultimately comes from the American taxpayer. In other words, he’s a parasite and he lives off our hard-earned money, so it’s easy for him to play games with our money.

    I hope they throw him in jail where he belongs.

    Fat chance though because we have corrupt Eric Holder in charge and he has his favorites, and chooses which laws he wants to uphold and which ones he doesn’t, while calling us a nation of cowards.

    Report Post » SilentReader  
  • Diane TX
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:38am

    Real people in the USA are just living their lives. They are not following if the Federal Government will be shut down or not, if the Democrats and Republicans can not compromise. Most people in the USA do not follow what is going on in the politics of the Nation. Most people in the USA do not realize that Barack Obama is a Totalitarian. They do not even know what a Totalitarian is. It is best described as “it’s my way or the highway”. Totalitarians believe that ONLY they know what is the best way to govern a Country. They also believe that us “dumb peoples” have to be guided by them. Guided into systems of failed Communism and Socialism. They don’t “get” that these systems always fail. It’s unworkable to have a class of people who are dependent on others for their survival. Capitalism is the only workable system, because individuals take “risks” to see their dreams come true.

    Report Post »  
    • Marylou7
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:53am

      Capitalism is the only workable system, because individuals take “risks” to see their dreams come true.
      _______________

      So true Diane. My mother always said “Anything worth having is worth working for.” Amen to that.

      Report Post » Marylou7  
    • lillianrose
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:11am

      I would love to hear from the republican representatives in DC- I sometimes wonder if they really know ALL that is going on- and not referring to just this.

      Report Post »  
    • Zeb
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 5:03pm

      Its time hat we them an unmistakable message.
      A message for You Mr. President
      From ‘ We The People ‘

      http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=JVAhr4hZDJE&vq=medium#t=19

      Report Post » Zeb  
  • dcwu
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:31am

    Obama is behind all of this. Impeach Obama.

    Report Post »  
    • BehindBlueEyes
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:29am

      I believe Soros is pulling the strings and the anointed one is just his mouthpiece and Trojan horse.

      Report Post » BehindBlueEyes  
    • kickagrandma
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 7:35am

      @DCWU ~~~~ Obama is a shill, nothing more. The man is a cardboard cut out—-no mind, no heart, no soul.

      Report Post »  
    • swigs
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 8:59am

      Impeachment is for legitimate office holders.
      Illegitimate ineligible usurpers simply get removed.

      Report Post » swigs  
  • TreeTrimmerJim
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:58am

    Unions, mortgage forfeits, community organizers and such depend on others having successful business skills. Then by organizing disruptions get a percentage of what successful businesses pay to pay off the demonstrators.

    The demonstrators must believe they are being abused by the business so they will followed the demonstration plans.

    Unionizing government is the perfect solution for organizers in this parasite/host relationship. Union management funds the election of politician who then create legislation that funds unions. Union management takes a percentage of this government funding as their wages and uses a percentage to fund more politicians. More politicians results in more government funding which means more wages for union management.

    All government funds come from tax payers who sell products that contribute to the gross nation product. Government workers do not contribute to the gross national product, therefore do not actually pay taxes. Government workers wages are overhead cost for operating our nation. Their government worker “income tax” is overhead costs recycled within the government and does not contribute to the wealth of the nation.

    Report Post » TreeTrimmerJim  
  • cocofournier
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:24am

    I hope you are right and it is sooner than later! I hope he is forced to send troops in to somewhere to defend civilians,…it would be nice if it was a Mid East Oil Non Christian Anti Semetic type country, and OBozo had to bail out a rich Oil guy! And then the extreme leftys would try to impeach him…LOL

    Report Post »  
  • Derius
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:17am

    The real question is why are people not outright demanding that investigations be done, that people be held accountable, fired, charged? They have it on tape. He can wiggle and worm all he wants but they said what they said. We can be outraged from our armchairs forever and it will change nothing. Now I am not advocating acting like the leftists and socialists/communists and rioting or attempting to cause chaos, or inciting violence like they are so clearly doing and helping others to do. What I am advocating is letters, calls, emails, town meetings, anyhow and anywhere we can, we firmly but above all peacefully and respectfully demand that things be brought to order.

    If the current elected officials refuse to do something, we go above their heads until we can’t go any farther. Demand the “news” air these reports, and take things as far as we can legally and peaceably, but do not give up. If we end up like the stones and can’t get no satisfaction, we make sure we vote out those who obstructed justice, either right or left, and initiate recall or impeachment proceedings on those we cannot vote out.

    Until real patriots, armed with truth, peacefully but firmly assert our power and demand action, they will continue to eat away at this country until there is nothing left to save. An Article V Convention would go a long way towards getting rid of these treasonous and seditious rats and setting things back on track. Thoughts please?

    Report Post » Derius  
    • sissykatz
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 7:21am

      Can we not just go straight to the DOJ by sending the emails and letters? Work our way down.Make as much noise as we can at least others will have to find out what the noise is about and there will be a lot of
      ‘splaining to do. I am really lost in this situation, I know some people are crooked and I have known crooked people. But I am unfamilar with crooks of this magnitude.I guess you could call me ignorant and naive because I never really thought about people actually wanting to collapse Governments and financial systems. This sounds more like a bad novel than the USA I have grown up in. God help our Country and protect the good people and keep them from harm.

      Report Post »  
    • UPSETVET
      Posted on March 29, 2011 at 6:52am

      The USA Justice Department under the leadership of Attorney General Eric Holder is in bed with Obama, Obama and Holder, the “dynamic-duo“ have formed a little ”mafia” in the Whitehouse. Barack is the “Don” and Holder is the “Consiglieri”. Soon Obama’s appointee as the new FBI Director will join up and the three of them will have total power to do whatever they want.

      It‘s hard for me to believe the US Congress and Senate doesn’t feel intimidated by the gangster style tactics of the current administration. Obama doesn’t even bother to consult Congress before bombing Libya, and Holder has refused to prosecute the New Black Panthers who coerced and terrorized voters at the polls during the 2008 election saying that for him to do so would be “uncontitutional”.

      Obama has no need for the US Congress and Holder, not the US Supreme Court Justices, now decides what is and what isn’t “constitutional”. The escalation of the abuse of power by these two men is frightening. Where are the legislative and judicial branches of our government ? They, in the name of the American citizens, are the ones that should put a stop to this madness in government.

      Report Post »  
  • beekeeper
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:07am

    How can organizing people to create a run on the banks NOT run afoul of the law that says you can’t organize a run on the banks? Simple, Lerner says it is legal. Oh, that explains it, thanks!

    And when the banks collapse, what then? It isn’t free houses for everyone you “jackwagon”!

    Report Post » beekeeper  
  • bit.ly/h4jk71
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:57am

    2012 is the end of the great cycle so says the Mayan calendar. I am looking forward to 2013, and I just pray my fellow countrymen do not let me down. All of these stories should help pave the way to true hope and change.

    Report Post » bit.ly/h4jk71  
    • hidden_lion
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 7:59am

      I feel it ironic that the election is the month before the end according to the mayan calender thing. The country is already lost, violence is inevitable from one side or the other. That is how the unions have always operated, even from their beginning. They intimidate employers, and workers. Just try an cross a picket line to do the work you are paid for. It seems there is another Hoffa involved in the union. See the story on the California march…

      Report Post » hidden_lion  
    • i want the truth
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 8:34am

      We probably will not get elections. With the new world order we will be under new law. We will have no more freedom. And if we do get elections there will be more voter fraud than before.
      I want to stop all this crazy marxist, socialist agenda!
      We need another 8/28!!! We need to let every friend and neighbor know what this administration is up to!! I mean this is worse than Watergate! Where are the people that inforce the law? This is getting so scary!!!

      Report Post »  
  • TheEmperorHasNoClothes
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:46am

    If you negotiate a price on a house, the bank then buys the house from another bank for that amount. Your name just happens to be on it. The economy collapses, then the home “owner” decides that they really shouldn’t have to pay the amount they agreed to because…. ? These people then lose there home, cannot get another because of foreclosure, and then they are the poor people that can’t get a loan for another house (that may or may not retain it’s value) … Then the government gets involved, decides these people need another chance, gives them loans again, and this starts all over again. I believe this is what happens when you teach a generation of people what to think instead of how to think.

    Report Post » TheEmperorHasNoClothes  
    • cocofournier
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:30am

      But then the GOVT could justify taking the properties/ houses off the books of the banks and the GOVT could be the landlord…for how many millions of us? VOTE FOR US SOCIALIST OR YOU WON”T HAVE A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD…SCARY! Think Ireland and British landlords, add a famine & MAGIC ….a revolution !

      Report Post »  
    • Lord_Frostwind
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:43am

      The problem is, these people have no idea how the system functions. So they throw all of their lofty socialist ideas into it like dumping water into an engine. All they understand is this foolish notion of “everyone deserves because _____” and the end result will be the same as all the other misbegotten attempts. The difference here is that they won’t get away with blaming the Kulaks, or the Elites because we all know who is behind it.

      Report Post » Lord_Frostwind  
  • QuietRiot
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:44am

    I wonder what kind of code speak George has for what he is doing with Mr. Lerner and others from his various orgaizations?
    What is Mr. Soros invested in for when things do collapse at his hand and how he stands to profit from them. Like they were complaininng in the artical “Warren Buffett who referred to derivatives as financial weapons of mass destruction”

    Report Post »  
  • psadie
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:43am

    I am so sick of all of this. Eric Holder is not investigating Lerner yet alone arrest him and probably won’t. Every time you turn a corner, there is another event happening. The evil in the govt. goes too deep and I wonder if it can be stopped at all. You can’t tell who is telling the truth anymore. I fear that we are headed toward the one world order sooner than you think and the USA is going to be history. We are inserting ourselves everywhere and for what? It isn’t for oil anymore. These wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are costing into the billions maybe now trillions. Why are we still there? OMG what is happening???

    Report Post »  
    • GhostOfJefferson
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:23am

      What is happening is Reality coming back to bite our asses for our past complacence. If Obama had assumed power in 1910 and pulled what he’s pulled thus far, he’d have been impeached withing weeks of assuming office. But we’ve allowed “leader” after “leader”, from both parties, to lead us by the nose away from Constitutional governance. I’m not just pointing at the Dems here, but the GOP as well. Every single un-Constitutional act that was either ignored by the masses, or worse, cheered (think – no Constitutional congressional declarations of war, for example, or the War on Drugs, or warrantless searches as normal, etc) put us closer and closer to this day, today, when “they” are not only not being impeached, but we feel powerless against them.

      I guess welcome to the world that occurs when free men do not remain vigilant.

      Report Post » GhostOfJefferson  
    • Uncle Crusty
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 9:17pm

      Holder is too busy suing school districts on behalf of muslims who want to go to mecca, and States that want to control our borders; therefore, he is an enemy of the State!

      Report Post »  
  • JUSTANOTHEROPINION
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:33am

    These people are traitors. A hundred years ago, he would have been jailed or even hung.

    Report Post »  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:22am

      Loan: The Definition for Libturd dummies
      Something lent for temporary use.
      Stealing: The Definition for Libturd dummies
      the act of taking something from someone unlawfully
      Plot to steal = conspiracy

      Report Post » RepubliCorp  
  • caprica
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:31am

    commusnit bastards ! they should be in jail ! Congess is sitting on their asses……time to investigate the terrorsts and traitor – we know who they are …all the way to White House !

    Report Post »  
  • JUSTANOTHEROPINION
    Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:17am

    Wow, really, I would have never guessed that. Wow, it’s hard to believe they lied. Tisk, tisk, you can’t trust anybody. I don‘t think I’ll ever get over this one. Schmucks!

     
    • cheezwhiz
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:22am

      Did Chukushoomer ever got investigated for his role in collapse of IndyMac ?
      The one Sore@$$ bought for peanuts ?

      Report Post » cheezwhiz  
    • cheezwhiz
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:24am

      Linky
      http://biggovernment.com/amellon/2010/04/22/indymac-attack-did-schumer-paulson-soros-and-the-crl-kill-the-bank-and-profit-from-its-collapse/

      Report Post » cheezwhiz  
    • Robert-CA
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:51am

      Stalin’s disciples @ their best .

      Report Post » Robert-CA  
    • joseph Fawcett
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:58am

      I have to agree with one point about the trouble with this country and the banks. It is true that we as a country live on a debt basis. I personally don’t. I have never had a credit card and tried not go into debt. I refuse to even go to the doctor because I have had two bankrupcies due to medical expenses. Nest time I have a major illness like cancer I will let it kill me. Because the debt will kill me and I will not go through another bankrupcy again. I see all around me people going into debt for big cars and homes. They pay so much as interest and it takes 20, 30, or more years to pay off. If we paid off our debts individually and avoided debt like the plague then we all would be better off. I don’t agree with this Lerner guy about to handle the current situation. If you enslave yourself to a committed debt then you pay it off. I pay my bills and cut every corner I can to make ends meet. I will not borrow any money unless it is for something very important and I can pay it back within a very short time. I am debt free and don’t live large in any way. I am very content and I don’t worry about getting bill collectors calling me and know that the little money I make is mine, all mine, and I can use some of it to help others. Current bills tend to take most of it, but I always find something to give away.

      The Bible says that we should not take on any debt and it warns us about loaning others money too. It is better to give it away and not worry about payback or interest. God will provide what we need and when we need it. So, I think the banks and the goverment has done this country a disservice by transforming this country into a country of debt. May God wake us up to this fact and deliever us from ourselves in this.

      http://www.josephfawcettart.com western artist

      Report Post » joseph Fawcett  
    • nptden
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:17am

      LMAO…So when will we have investigations of the UNIONS?..probably never as long as there is a Democrat in the Congress….I mean after all, who pays for their run for office?….Even the fat cat Kennedy’s knew that…How else could a ‘nobody’ like Obama become elected?.. Just a brother who played chess down in Washington Sq park with his drug buddies….Amazing, Don‘t know where he’s from. No school records. Just a Black guy that could pass for white…Amazing what money and backing can do…‘It’s Time’, ‘Change”..well it worked…And guess who the best guest’s in the White House are?…..LOL…we know….They even call every day. Or go once a week or so…Amazing what a co’incidence……Well America, time to rid ourselves of these commie bastards.

      Report Post » nptden  
    • cheezwhiz
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:56am

      Its bothering me like crazy :
      Queen Baanee and friends collapsed Fannie and Freddie
      Chukushoomer collapsed IndyMac
      SEIU is after BofA which was forced to buy Countrywide
      SEIU wants to collapse JP Morgan Chase which bought WaMu
      Is Wells Fargo next ? They ended up with Wachovia a k a Herbert and Marion Sandler’s toxins
      What exactly is the end game ?
      God I need to pray for my country…this is not going to end well

      Report Post » cheezwhiz  
    • Thatsitivehadenough
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:05am

      Don’t forget to check this out, it takes a couple of minutes to open, then download it an save the PDF. Start looking at it around p.226-228, then go back and check the index, etc. Please note the involvement of Joel Rogers, SEIU, Unions this-and-that…etc.
      http://web.mit.edu/colab/work/innovation-equity-report.pdf

      Also, I’m reading “Witness” by Whittaker Chambers. It’s a REAL EDUCATION in how the Communist party, the Russian one, operated in America (and probably still operates the same way). One of the things they did was totally separate certain people from the ‘obvious’ communist entities. They paid them to ‘blend in’ with the middle class, etc. So, keep this in mind when assessing the relationships between these union thugs, Obama, Wade Rathke, etc, etc, etc.

      Report Post » Thatsitivehadenough  
    • GETLIFE
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:28am

      Must have come up with the “makes good business sense”spin at about 4 a.m:

      …Sure! How will anyone be able to argue with that! That IS really how successful guys do it: Make a contract, break a contract. Make a contract, break a contract. Brilliant! We can all go to bed….

      No amount of word-laundering is gonna make their original plans white. Keep playing that audio.

      Report Post » GETLIFE  
    • kryptonite
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 5:22am

      Lerner, you Red rambler, the only unholy alliance we need to focus on is the one you commies have made with the Islamists.

      Report Post »  
    • avenger
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 5:48am

      and the band keeps playing on…..wow…there is nothing more evil than home grown marxists! comrade putin must be laughing all the way to the swiss bank….

      Report Post »  
    • Firefight
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 5:50am

      You are being manipulated. I have listened to Glenn for about 10 years and have just recently woken up a (partly because of the censorship on this site, Free speech huh Glenn?). He feeds you just enough truth to keep you from realizing what is actually happening. Just the other day he was talking about how JP Morgan helped start the Federal Reserve. They helped bring about this whole mess we are in for their benefit. They are crooks and are among the worst of the worst. And yet he is so quick to defend them and tell you how valuable they are to the American economy. It is classic double think. It is an attempt to keep you confused.

      I completely disagree with SEIU’s motives for bringing down JP Morgan and their tactics. However They should be bankrupted they are truly the economic terrorists. here is a quick video explaining their counterfeiting and what to do about it.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCM7rMIqxmk&feature=related

      So I am not making a blanket statement about Glenn I will back it up with another example from the same show. “Why do people feel compelled to go into crazy town when just sticking to THESE facts alone should petrify people?” he is trying to make you think that if someone brings up a topic like the Bilderberg group they must be unhinged. When in reality it is not conspiracy they don’t even deny their existence. This is a group of the most powerful people in the world that meet in secret and he, of all people, isn’t concerned about that? But again he feeds you just enough truth… George Soros.

      Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

      Firefight  
    • Fina Biscotti
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:06am

      @CheezWhiz –

      Very good information on that link…….Thanks!

      Report Post »  
    • GETLIFE
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:27am

      FIREFIGHT must not be listening that closely to Beck, who constantly and consistantly presents himself and the research done by his staff as a starting point for furthur research and confirmation.

      Great thing is, many are now inspired to do the same with ideas on both sides. Don‘t just read FIREFIGHT’s comment– go ahead and evaluate what he’s saying for yourselves. Go ahead and compare his research and resourses with Beck’s….

      Report Post » GETLIFE  
    • GETLIFE
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:32am

      FIREFIGHT is obviously not really listening to the Lerner tapes either. Lerner/SEIU’s goals go way beyond JP Morgan.

      Report Post » GETLIFE  
    • Nobamazone
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:47am

      robert ca
      did you mean satan? oh yea, both about the same I guess

      Report Post » Nobamazone  
    • mikem1969
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:56am

      Well SEIU is a criminal organization after all, so why wouldn’t they pay a terrorist for criminal actions.

      Report Post »  
    • Stuck_in_CA
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 7:16am

      Riots, anarchy, economic terrorism plots, attempts to bring down a cable network, shut down free speech, and on and on.

      This is war! These evil commies see their opening. They’re making their final push to bring the Free world down, and remake it into a repressive, socialist New World Order.

      Stuck_in_CA  
    • Firefight
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 7:25am

      GETLIFE must not be reading to closely. As I said “I completely disagree with SEIU’s motives for bringing down JP Morgan and their tactics” I listened very closely. What do you think ending the fed would do to our economy? That would cause a crash as well. What is the difference? The end game of Stephen Lerner is wealth redistribution (motive).
      oh and yes please do research what I have said.

      Report Post » Firefight  
    • Marcobob69
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 8:01am

      Everyone in this whole administration are “economic terrorists”!! In my opinion.

      Report Post »  
    • Taquoshi
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 8:29am

      Has anyone in the SEIU figured out that if they crash the banks they will be out of jobs and probably not have money to buy food? I can’t see most of the rank and file union members getting paid so well that they have extra cash on hand or have stockpiled food to last them through the upheaval that would follow. And even if they did, if the banks went down, how are they going to get their money?

      I know they are all deep thinkers, but I would like to hear the answers to these questions.

      Interesting that Lerner is on “paid leave”. Don’t know about the rest of you, but “paid leave” is something I can’t take advantage of, being self-employed and all.

      Report Post » Taquoshi  
    • lovenfl3
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 8:53am

      I don‘t know what’s worse, the plot itself, or the arrogance with which they continue to defend it. And not only do they defend it, they continue to attack conservatives for suggesting this is a problem. Check out the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myECZFA0iHI and look at the comments from lefties who support Lerner.

      Report Post » lovenfl3  
    • SavvyCowboy
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 10:28am

      Time to RENEGE on November 6, 2012.

      NOBAMA – 2012!!

      Report Post » SavvyCowboy  
    • democratgirl
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:00am

      Hey Wade: WE, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE say ” we are taking back our country, so GET OUT OF THE WAY.” I just wish Glenn Beck would run for President. Wouldn’t that scare the daisies out them?

      Report Post » ChildOfTheKing  
    • Toodumtu
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:23am

      So ACORN was instrumental in promoting the housing market by bullying banks to lend to people who couldn’t afford a mortgage in the first place. Now they’re gonna organize those same people to force the lenders to negotiate to lower the principal?? Talk about greed.

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 12:58pm

      cheezwhiz
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 3:56am
      Its bothering me like crazy :
      Queen Baanee and friends collapsed Fannie and Freddie
      Chukushoomer collapsed IndyMac
      SEIU is after BofA which was forced to buy Countrywide
      SEIU wants to collapse JP Morgan Chase which bought WaMu
      Is Wells Fargo next ? They ended up with Wachovia a k a Herbert and Marion Sandler’s toxins
      What exactly is the end game ?
      God I need to pray for my country…this is not going to end well

      __________________________________________

      @CHEEZ

      What I don’t get is what happened to the “laws” in this country? These type of activities are illegal .. rackettering to say the least ..TREASON would be more like it … when did we stop being a country of laws? … you and I would be arrested for much much much less. I just heard that Media Matters is a “charity organization” .. are you kidding me .. they are trying to take down private enterprise (FOX News) and they are TAX EXEMPT! The World is inside out and upside down!

      Report Post »  
    • Fatheroftwo
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 2:10pm

      Did anybody catch the fact that none of these people talked about the FEDs roll in the collapse of the economy, after all it is the biggest bank in America!!!

      Report Post »  
    • Doc_Slammin
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 6:21pm

      @FIREFIGHT Mr. Beck has not sung the praises of JP Morgan. JP Morgan just happened to be one of the banking entities mentioned by Lerner. To insinuate otherwise is to falsely characterize Mr. Beck’s assertions about the situation.

      Lerner is so concerned about banks and what they are doing to the economy that he misses, as do most media outlets, the tyranny of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s QE program. I am sickened by the devaluation of the U.S. dollar and the world wide turmoil it has caused… and the scandal to cover it all up by stating that “the middle-east is simply seeking democracy”.

      Why don’t you do some research into the macroeconomic effects of the quantitative easing process and get back to us.

      Report Post » Doc_Slammin  
    • GETLIFE
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 7:07pm

      Sorry FIREFIGHT, you’re right, I did not read your comment too closely. You‘ll note that’s “too” not “to.”

      Report Post » GETLIFE  
    • Uncle Crusty
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 8:47pm

      Hi Wade, I told William Ayers I track him down when he starts his revolution, same goes for you, and so many others, you will rot in jail my friend, for crimes against your country – people hang for treason, sonny Jim!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • Firefight
      Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:15pm

      @Getlife that’s okay we all make mistakes also I noticed my grammatical error as well. Try not to be petty it takes away from the issues at hand. that sort of behavior should be reserved for the leftist.

      @Doc_Slammin you are preaching to the choir about QE You would be hard pressed to find someone more for ending the Fed than I. you said “Lerner is so concerned about banks and what they are doing to the economy that he misses, as do most media outlets, the tyranny of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s QE program”. The banks ARE the Federal Reserve. their QE program is self supporting. you see we are in agreement here about the Fed just not Beck.
      read your email news letter from glenn on 3/22 jp morgan was the primary target not a bank that “just happened to be one of the banking entities mentioned by Lerner”. you also said “Mr. Beck has not sung the praises of JP Morgan“ again in the link from news letter he said they are one of the strongest banks out there” and are “the strongest of the bunch” on his show he said “they were the most financially sound bank” Which is a blatant lie, They are counterfeiters. He insinuates that they are invaluable to the U.S. economy. In the words of glenn, tell me where I am wrong.

      Report Post » Firefight  
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