Why did I just learn about the Keating Five yesterday?

Surgo · Post by **Surgo** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:00 am

Seriously. The first time I heard about this scandal was yesterday, from a fellow student (not a news outlet). How has this gone unmentioned when John McCain is talking economic crisis?

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:01 am

Haven't we discussed how IOKIYAR? And how the press loves McCain more than they love Obama?

Also, didn't you take any current events as a youngster?

-Crissa

Surgo · Post by **Surgo** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:40 am

The economic crisis of the 80s wasn't exactly a current event when I was in school (started Kindergarten in 1992, and I wouldn't exactly have understood economics until at least 1997).

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:15 am

Shhh.

Don't bring it up until we need to draw an ace in the hole.

The Keating Five stuff is going to be saved if they try to pull ast minute Jeremiah Wright bullshit again.

ckafrica · Post by **ckafrica** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:16 am

I don't know if it would be much good. They bring it up and McCain says "yes I fucked up i've already admitted it in writing, we learn from our mistakes you know"

Remember that Obama has connects to ADM which might not be so shinny either.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:28 am

ADM?

What about the fact that he once lived in a city with a former terrorist? 9-9

-Crissa

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:59 am

Crissa wrote: What about the fact that he once lived in a city with a former terrorist? 9-9

There was a terrorist living in the same city as him? I doubt anyone cares about that: I possibly live in a city with a terrorist/former terrorist in it, I can't really tell. I'm sure there are many murderers, thieves and rapists living in this city, though, but that wouldn't alter my chances of election if I was running for PM.

Or did I read that wrong?

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:11 am

It is a Republican talking point that Obama worked with William Ayers on the same non-profit organization board from 1999 until 2002. William Ayers was one of the founding members of the Weather Underground, an anti-Vietnam War group that bombed many installations but didn't kill anyone back in the 1960s.

How this is in any way similar to being given tens of thousands of dollars in cash by a corrupt firm that you are in the process of investigating I have no idea.

-Username17

ckafrica · Post by **ckafrica** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 11:00 am

Archer Daniel Midland, large ethanol company from Illinois. Obama has been pushing ethanol big time, for which some have eluded to a collusion. (Ethanol is really not a very good environmental alternative at this point)

Cynic · Post by **Cynic** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:39 pm

Crissa wrote:
Also, didn't you take any current events as a youngster?

-Crissa

To be honest, I've been speaking to several people who were born in the late '70s and up, Reagan+ current events aren't covered in their current event syllabus. I knew about the Keating Five because I read an enormous amount of non-fiction.

My wife who grew up in Texas didn't even know about the '80s S&L scandal. She keeps wondering if the current financial crisis is even that major because it's being compared to the S&L scandal which she had never heard about.

I mean, I knew of the S&L scandal and that was through my education in India. Granted, it was a footnote in world studies but that piqued my interest and i picked up a book but I figured, hey, a footnote in india means a fuckload of information for the fucking country it happened in. But, no.

I've talked to about 15-20 friends across the country who don't remember taught anything from the '80s up until their college years.

Absentminded_Wizard · Post by **Absentminded_Wizard** » Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:03 pm

It sounds like some districts are still using those textbooks that stop at the Korean War. I knew about the Keating Five scandal because I was in my upper teens at the time and because one of my state's senators was involved in it.

Frank: I think the Weather Underground did accidentally kill a couple of people (janitors in a building they bombed at night, thinking nobody would be there). Still, it's a huge stretch to compare them to people who fly planes into office buildings during business hours to maximize their body count.

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:14 am

I was very young when it happened, and at no point did any of my schools teach it to me. I only know because my mom made DAMN sure I know about shit like this.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:25 am

The Weather Underground had a falling out where a couple of them wanted to blow up a building full of people and the rest of them didn't, and the resulting fight took out one of their own bomb factories and killed three of their own people. Bu the organization never killed anyone with their attacks.

-Username17

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 7:28 am

I heard about the Keating Five on local radio but figured it was nothing relevant.

Thanks guys. This info is a gold mine.

... but not like I wasn't deadset on keeping the philandering "maverick" out of power in the first place.

Absentminded_Wizard · Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:40 am

It looks like the Obama campaign is going to take the gloves off on this issue. Here's a preview of a mini-documentary the campaign intends to release on the subject.