Like a Rolling Stone

The other day, I read an article that simultaneously depressed and enraged me.  "Why isn't Wall Street in Jail?" seems to me to be a rare clear indictment of the financial industry.   In a nutshell, what the article says is this:  It is clear that many, many people in the financial world are as criminal as a bank robber, but none of them have been arrested.  Well, almost none, as there's Bernie Madoff, but is he unique? No, he's just the sacrificial lamb whose conviction and media frenzy distracted us from the rest of the criminals out there.  The reason why is clear - Madoff stole from the rich and influential.  But don't take my word for it, read the article, and fume for yourself.  With the distribution of wealth more concentrated among such a small group than it has been since the age of Robber Barons, this should be a matter of serious concern.  The rich are increasingly above the law, corporations are given the same rights of free speech as a regular citizen, and it seems we're becoming less of a real democracy and more of an oligarchy.  Both parties are infected, as we can see from Obama's engagement with corporate interests (read the article), and regulatory corruption in the most vulnerable of places (like the SEC).  Working for almost 5 years in the financial world in the midst of the sub-prime mortgage disaster, I can assure you that it was far, far worse, and more overtly, consciously criminal than anything the major news outlets have reported.

The justification of our wars is also a matter for some concern.  In another piece of excellent investigative reporting, we read that a 3 star general in Afghanistan ordered a psy-ops unit to work on manipulating visiting senators and congressman to steer them towards his own opinions.  This, by the way, is illegal.  The article was written by the same guy whose article cast a rather poor light on General McChrystal talking smack about his civilian leadership (which ultimately got him fired).

Now I have a question for you, gentle readers.  Why the hell are we reading these amazing pieces of journalism, which challenge corruption and abuse among those in power, in a Rock & Roll magazine?  Yes, both the articles I'm talking about here are from Rolling Stone magazine. 

I read a lot of news, and I try to read different sources to try to keep balanced.  Pretty much every day I read the NY Times and the Washington Post.  When there's something interesting happening, I might throw in Al Jazeera (especially lately), and even Fox News (just to see how things are being twisted for the ignorant).  Yet all these media sources (with the notable exception of Al Jazeera), have been rather light on these issues, especially the financial crisis.  They publish sound bites, but there seems to be very little investigation.  It feels like the media has abdicated its role, and for some reason Rolling Stone seems to be one of the rare places that is picking up the slack.  Yes, there are others, but without major, national media shouting the truth about corruption and regulatory negligence (at best), there will be little reaction from the public.  And the result has already happened - the financial criminals have walked.  Hell, most of them are already back on their feet, and likely laughing all the way to the bank.