This last week I was struck by the stunning similarities which exist between what, I will shortly argue, may well be the first two “plagues” visited upon a post-Constitutional, post-Biblical Babylon –er, Amerika.
I saw a transcript of some of the whoppers that Fed Chairman ‘Helicopter Ben’ Bernake was spouting before Congress, and then a set of comments by BP Chairman Tony Hayward. The latter was somehow linked to an article describing how Obama has said that “if he worked for me” the man would have been fired (to put it charitably). The fact that the Decider in Chief picked on Hayward for his lies, but hasn’t expressed similar sentiment over those told by the Fed (and the related assortment of liars, charlatans, and Goldman-Sachs execs — or do I repeat myself ?) is telling. The irony that most of the Amerikan public may well think the same thing about the whole mess of ’em is obviously beyond their ken as well.
The “Bumbler from BP”, as the press refers to Hayward in some cases, has been criticized for denying the severity of the oil ‘volcano’ spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, minimizing some of the important statistics, and worrying more about the price of his stock than the collateral damage.
Funny: it occurs to me that ‘Bumbler Bernake’ can justifiably be accused of exactly the same thing! In his case, of course, the “stock price” is the value of the “almighty” dollar, and the interest rate on its bonds.
Both are salesmen, and both are obviously willing to distort the truth in order to sell the same story: Not to worry, we have EVERYTHING under control. The worst is behind us. Trust us.
Whether it’s “green shoots” or “blue water”, the jargon may be different, but the attitude and actions are virtually the same.
Eventually, I concluded that the comparisons were so dramatic that some type of a chart was required…even if I intended to initially discuss the concept on the radio.
Let’s start with a couple of the things that so clearly apply to both disasters…the economic meltdown, and the oil eruption:
- Both chairmen, and their underlings, seem to consider themselves Masters of the Universe.
- Neither are in fact God – although they like to play Him on TV
- But both are directly involved with disasters of literally “Biblical” proportions!
- Both seem to be far more concerned with their respective ‘stock prices’ than any ‘collateral damage’ (since most of their TV ‘face time’ seems dedicated to this task, it bears repeating!)
- It seems all but obvious that the same victims (take just one guess) will ultimately pay the costs of both
There are more fascinating similarities, too.
Most dramatically, the multiple “cracks and fissures” that thwart efforts to cap, plug, or curtail the respective plagues have much in common. BP’s well blew out the safety systems with physical pressures that boggle the mind. Where other deep-water wells in the region have reportedly involved pressures of perhaps 1500 psi, estimates on this one range from at least 20,000 pounds per square inch to over 70,000! Such pressures are so high that cracks and fissures develop along the ‘path of least resistance’ and result in multiple vents…some perhaps miles away, to the point that there may by now be significant undermining of the seabed floor in the area. Likewise, pressure built up through multiple financial bubbles also results in obvious “cracks and fissures” in the economy. Bailouts, of course, don’t manage to “cap” the problem, but merely to produce cracks in other economic areas — some separated not only by miles, but entire continents.
BP’s well is spewing out toxic chemical byproducts, from hydrogen sulfide and methane to benzene — known as “volatile organic compounds”, or VOCs. The Fed’s plague spews out toxic assets.
Even the jargon has a familiar parallel-sounding familiarity by now. Deep-water wells have BOPs, or “Blow-out preventers”, while manipulated markets have “circuit breakers”. Both seem to fail at the worst possible times.
Finally, look at the bottom line.
The Deepwater Horizon oil volcano in the Gulf of Mexico may represent the biggest failed hole in the ground in history. The Federal Reserve, not to be outdone, has presided over — without doubt — the biggest debt hole in all of human history.
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For some time, I have speculated about what form the coming “plagues” that will be visited upon the whore of Babylon would take. Given the parallels with Mitzraim, or ancient Egypt before the Exodus, it seemed logical to me that YHVH might once again use ten of them.
An examination of both the Bible and the history of ancient pagan Egyptian ‘gods’ seems to show that the God of Abraham, Yitzak, and Yaakov literally humiliated those things – from the river Nile to lice, locusts, and frogs and so on – that they worshiped. It’s as if He said, over and over again, “you think THIS is a god? I’ll show you what Almighty means!”
It did not seem to be a stretch to me to recognize that the so-called “almighty dollar” — especially given that He repeatedly calls such a “dishonest weight” an abomination — would therefore be the first such false god to be destroyed by His jealousy.
So it looks like the second plague may be oil. Funny how much some of the photos reminded us of a blood-colored Nile, isn’t it?
