The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is supposed to insure deposits and regulate banks, but the agency has helped the banksters avoid trial for their crimes since the 2008 financial meltdown. The LA Times reports that the very agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting bank procedures that crashed our economy has been quietly settling charges out of court – and out of the view of the American public.

Since 2007, the agency has settled numerous charges of bankster wrongdoing, but agreed to a “no press release” clause in the settlement agreements, so the big banks have avoided public scrutiny. A spokesman for the FDIC said they only announce the settlements “when damage payments are large and media interest [is] intense.” However, the FDIC didn't announce a $54 million settlement with Deutsche Bank for causing the collapse of of The Independent National Mortgage Corporation, known as IndyMac.

And that settlement is just part of the $787 million the FDIC has recovered since 2008. The “no-disclosure” clause may have allowed the FDIC to avoid the expense of taking on the big banks in court, but the practice also allowed banksters to get away with alleged crimes, like money laundering, foreclosure fraud, and mortgage fraud. The settlements simply become a cost of doing business for the banks.

It's time to hold the banksters accountable. If too-big-to-fail means too-big-to-jail, then break up the banks and charge the banksters for their crimes.

-Thom

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Monday's Daily Stack

Article: "‘Argo’ helps Iran’s dictatorship, harms democracy " by Abolhassan Bani-Sadr.

Clip: "The Man from Abilene" - Eisenhower (you need to select it).

Article: "Republican Party Platform of 1956", August 20, 1956.

Clip: Phone conversation between President Lyndon Johnson and Sen. Everett Dirksen (R) Illinois, November 2, 1968.

Article: "Study of Disputed Florida Ballots Finds Justices Did Not Cast the Deciding Vote" by Ford Fessenden and John M. Broder, November 12, 2001.

Book: "October Surprise" by Barbara Honegger.

Book: "October Surprise" by Gary Sick.

Movie: "Argo".

Article: "John Cornyn Applauds Violence Against Women Act Becoming Law, Even Though He Voted Against It" by Jennifer Bendery.

Law: "Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002" (McCain-Feingold).

Book: "The Thom Hartmann Reader" by Thom Hartmann.

Hour Two: Hartmann vs. Ferrara - Keynesian Economics
- Peter Ferrara, The Carleson Center for Public Policy.

Article: "The Coming Sequester Lies" by Peter Ferrara.

Transcript: "The Third Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Debate", October 13, 1960.

Bill: "H.R. 900: Cancel the Sequester Act of 2013" by Rep. John Conyers Jr. [D-MI13].

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Victoria Jones

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "Hagel Orders Review of Sex Assault Case, Convening Authority" by Jim Garamone.

Article: "United States Air Force Basic Training scandal" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Senate committee to talk sexual assault" by UPI.

Article: "House Democrats demand Obama release ‘full legal basis’ for drone strikes" by Eric W. Dolan.

Article: "Judge skeptical of Larry Craig's campaign cash use" by AP.

Article: "Judge Cans Soda Ban" by Michael Howard Saul.

Hour Three: Saving our social safety net from Wall Street hustlers
- Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR, 4th District)

Article: "Sanders, Reid, DeFazio Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Social Security" by Senator Bernie Sanders.

Article: "The Balancing Act" by Congressional Professice Caucus.

Book: "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Henry Morgenthau, Jr." by Wikipedia.

Book: "Back Door to War: The Roosevelt Foreign Policy, 1933-1941" by Charles Callan Tansill.

Article: "United States Unemployment Rate".

Graph: "Estimated U.S. Unemployment rate from 1890–2011".

The good: "Paul Krugman Accuses Republican Senator Ron Johnson Of Using 'Non-Facts' In Social Security Debate".

The bad: "Ark. House rejects 'Thomas Paine Day' proposal" by Michael Stratford.

The very, very ugly: The Right Wing Twittersphere: "Fox News guest receives rape, death threats following gun segment" by Joy-Ann Reid.

Article: Tax Cuts: The B.S. and the Facts by Larry Beinhart. Large income tax cuts are followed by a bubble and then a crash.

Article: "VIDEO: Reagan Called For An End To ‘Crazy’ Tax Loopholes That Let Millionaires Pay Less Than Bus Drivers" (June 6, 1985) by Pat Garofalo.

Article: "House Republicans Can’t Explain How Obama’s Policies Got Into Paul Ryan’s Budget" by Jason Easley.

Article: "Sequester forces Border Protection cuts" by UPI.

Article: "Bill Targets Companies Who Take Public Funds, Lock Workers Out" by John Michaelson.

Article: "200,000 take part in Taiwan's anti-nuclear protest" by Lilian Wu.

Article: "Survey: U.S. gun ownership has declined" by UPI.

Article: "World Naked Bike Ride 2013 Takes Over San Francisco (NSFW PHOTOS)".

Hour One: Why do you support big government demanding mandatory gun ownership?
- Edith Portillo, City Council Member-Nelson, GA.

Hour Two: Time for an internet sales tax?
- J.D. Tuccille, Reason 24/7

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