The Blackadder Says:

You have kind of gone off the deep end lately. It's hard for me to understand how someone who believes so strongly in free markets and the invisible hand could be so ready to credit conspiracy theories. If the kind of conspiracy theories proposed lately on this blog really were workable, then I would think it would be a simple matter for the oil companies to collude to fix prices.
 

I was the guy who sent Prof. Murphy the link to the Sutton book. I think I got the book for free in 1975 by joining the "Conservative Book Club" which was advertised in National Review, of Bill Buckley fame. I have always been well aware of what the response will be to something like the Sutton book. Since we know from Gabriel Kolko that it was the "robber barons" themselves that initiated the 19th century regulatory boom, and it was the big bankers who initiated the Federal Reserve, why the surprise that it was Wall Street types who pushed through the New Deal? It was simply another chance to cartelize the entire country. There is no question that these were the guys who were behind the New Deal. Why isn’t it the same today? If the way things have been going lately is due to mere innocent mistakes, offer up some evidence, but don't attack people who are suspicious of these strange happenings of having gone off the deep end.

As to why oil companies just don't fix prices, it's because people would see through that. For whatever reason, peoples' eyes glaze over when discussing the Federal Reserve or the National Recovery Administration. Which, apparently, the instigators of both programs understood in advance.
 

Blackadder,

You mean that Predator drones, Fed injections of reserves, and selection of presidential candidates are actually determined by supply and demand?
 

Romu are you serious about the CNBC pornography thing?

Cuz it's not such a special or distinct thing or event in our society today. After all our entire society today, particularly the cultural component, constantly pushes porn in some fashion.
 

Bob, I think you do a good job at looking at issues, analyzing possible distortions and outcomes, and realizing we're all really screwed.
 

Jayess,

I am serious, but I grant you there are plenty of more common theories as to why they'd be pushing porn. Still, it seems a bit much and right now I am very hesitant to say, "Huh what a coincidence" about anything.

Blackadder, I get what you're saying. Five years ago I probably would have found some of my recent posts to be absurd too. But we all know the media push big government, and I don't think it's all due to their bad theories at this point.
 

Romu,

I would share your suspicion about the CNBC porn thing if we were living in more innocent times, but our society today is so jaded that the CNBC porn special is just very tame.

it's hard to believe the power players would use a CNBC report on the porn industry to distract US citizens, when there's all kinds of porn much more explicit than the relatively tame stuff on CNBC just a few clicks on the internet.
 

The Blackadder Says:

The Scene: Lair of the World Economic Conspiracy. Various world leaders and bankers sit around a giant silver conference table, a la Austin Powers.

Bernanke: Okay, so we've worked out the details of our plan to introduce a new world currency in a few months. Bwahahaha!!!! But, er, there's a bit of a problem. See people in America aren't going to like the idea of a global currency.

Medvedev: This is not problem. We have major American financial network, CNBC, produce show on porn business, release ad for show on same day as announcement. Stupid Americans so distracted, they not even notice as we take away their freedoms.

Bernanke: With all due respect, Mr. Medvedev, I think you underestimate the American people.

Medvedev: Very well, also add interview with Sasha Grey about her new movie.

Bernanke: That'll do it. Okay, next item of business. How are we coming on that forged Obama birth certificate?

I just don't see it.
 

B.A., do you agree with me that CNBC is purposely trying to softpedal the inflation news, when it refers to a 0.7% increase in one month as "tame"? Just skim that story. You're saying that's not at all political?

Do you agree with me that the media went along with the Iraq invasion?

I'm not saying Bernanke and Geithner discussed this particular story in a submarine before the G-8 meeting. I'm saying it seemed really out of place to me and the timing is very coincidental.
 

The Blackadder Says:

The story in question was written by an unnamed Reuters reporter; the headline was presumably written by a 23 year old intern at CNBC. Do I think that this unnamed reporter and CNBC flunky were pressured by The Powers That Be to softpedal the inflation numbers? No, I don't.

You ask about Iraq. There certainly were a lot of journalists and pundits who went along with the war. To say that this was the result of some sort of conspiracy seems absurd. Journalists are slaves to conventional wisdom. One hardly need posit a conspiracy to explain why most of them misjudged the situation.