Still taking bites out of the Weiner

America can't get enough Weiner

The country has gone crazy led by the Anthony Weiner story that will not get off of the airwaves. From 24-hour news sources, the blogosphere and conservative talk radio (Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Curtis Sliwa) the news has been all Weiner all of the time!

So what did Anthony Weiner do? Did he do anything that many people don't do? Only he stepped a little over the line particularly as a public figure? Did he commit a crime? Errors in judgement ARE NOT CRIMES or else we would all be in JAIL.

The reality is that Anthony Weiner may be  suffering from the affliction now commonly known as Impulsive Flirtation Disorder or IFD. 

This affliction was first coined by  Charlie Wallsehin and Steven Schwartz, co-hosts of the radio show THE REAL DEAL AMERICA, AM 970 “The Apple”, on Saturday, June 11.

What is Impulsive Flirtation Disorder (IFD)?

This is the condition where men and even women go on social media sites and by picture alone friend and reach out to people across the country they don't know personally, may never know personally, and probably will never meet.  

Impulsive Flirtation Disorder, when it is between consenting adults, is for the most part a victimless affliction, but one that can be extremely dangerous if someone is a public figure and the affliction they suffer from becomes public.

Like many before him who have gone for treatment to address sex addiction, he may need to seek treatment for Impulsive Flirtation Disorder whether it is through analysis or with medications like Flirticillin or Putzban.

There is hope for men like Anthony Weiner suffering from IFD, but for now the country should get back to the bigger fish we have to fry like the economy, jobs and national security.

Weiner may be suffering from Impulsive Flirtation Disorder or IFD!

Weiner, sex and Impulsive Flirtation Disorder (IFD)


The country has gone crazy led by the Anthony Weiner story that will not get off of the airwaves. From 24-hour news sources, the blogosphere and conservative talk radio (Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Curtis Sliwa) the news has been all Weiner all of the time!

So what did Anthony Weiner do? Did he do anything that many people don't do only he stepped a little over the line particularly as a public figure? Did he commit a crime? If an error in judgement is a crime then maybe he did.

The reality is that Anthony Weiner may be sick, suffering from the affliction commonly known as Impulsive Flirtation Disorder or IFD

What is Impulsive Flirtation Disorder (IFD)?


This is the condition where men and even women go on social media sites and by picture alone friend and reach out to people across the country they don't know personally, may never know personally but perhaps would like too.

Impulsive Flirtation Disorder, when it is between consenting adults is for the most part a victimless affliction, but one that can be extremely dangerous if someone is a public figure and the affliction they suffer from becomes public.

Weiner may come and Weiner may go, but like many before him who have gone for treatment to address sex addiction, he may need to seek treatment for Impulsive Flirtation Disorder whether it is through analysis or with medications like Flirticillin or Putzban.


There is hope for men like Anthony Weiner suffering from IFD, but for now the country should maybe get back to the bigger fish we have to fry like the economy, jobs and national security.

Impulsive Flirtation Disorder will be discussed on The Real Deal America show today, Saturday June 11, 2011 at 970AM New York and can be streamed live here. Just click on the Listen Live button along the top.

Tuesday rant: SCREW AMERICA PART III, The Last Straw

SCREW AMERICA PART III, The Last Straw

By Charles Wallshein Esq.

All Rights Reserved, May 2011

            I think its appropriate to start out with Part 3 and work our way backwards. It’s kind of like the Star Wars series. Screw America Part I, is about how the banks got us into this mess. Screw America Part II, The Sequel is about the trillions of dollars spent on the bank bailout. Screw America Part III, The Last Straw, is about how the banks and our government is ensuring that the American middle class is destroyed once and for all, while the big banks post record profits.

            My previous blog article, Where Are We Going With This?,  directs our attention to the fact that there is a hundred billion dollar a year subsidy to the big banks. I could be wrong about the exact dollar amount, but if I am, it’s not by much. Please understand that I do not have a problem with subsidizing the banks per se. However, I do have a really big problem with what the banks are doing with OUR OWN MONEY.

            The most important fact here is that we all have to understand whose money this is. IT IS OUR MONEY. The treasury’s money belongs to the American people. It  does not belong to the banks and it will never belong to the banks. We (the treasury) lend it to the banks in amounts and at interest rates that are determined by the Federal Reserve. Over time, it is Americans’ responsibility to repay the debt. Therefore, it is our money. Right now we are losing money on every dollar we lend to the banks. Not much, a few cents on every dollar. But a trillion here and a trillion there and it starts to add up.

            The next important question to ask concerns how the banks are using our money to help us. What is their plan to make sure that while they are turning a profit by using OUR MONEY, there is some net-net benefit to America down the road? The problem is that I really don’t see the benefit. I tried. I just don’t see it. I’m as patriotic as the next guy. I love our country and I want more than anything to trust my government and our institutions. So I come to this looking for the silver lining. I just don’t see one.

            The really scary conclusion that I draw is that there is more money to be made by running the country into the ground than there is by saving it, over the short term (next 5-10 years), anyway. I wish there were someone out there to tell me that I am wrong. I have some pretty sophisticated readers and nobody has told me that I am wrong. I want to be wrong. I want someone to tell me that I am an idiot and explain to me HOW and WHY I have my facts backwards. Believe me, nothing would make me happier.

            Let’s say we used the bank subsidy for some useful purpose, like stemming the foreclosure crisis for instance. Now remember, ITS OUR MONEY. If I had a choice of how to use this money we are giving the banks at ¼ of one percent, I would suggest that some of it be used to stabilize housing prices. Instead we are financing a viscous cycle-downward spiral in housing. Well, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Call me crazy.

Let me punctuate this article by saying that the OBAMA HAMP program is a great program, in theory at least. The reason its results have fallen short of expectations is that the banks have not been co-operating and playing by the rules.

            Then the banks get a bunch of congressmen and senators to tell us that the program should be ended as wasteful because it doesn’t work. OK… let me get this straight… the banks borrow OUR MONEY, use it to subvert the system, then tell us we can’t save our homes because the system doesn’t work. Then they use more of our money to influence Congress to make sure our lawmakers never hold the banks accountable while using OUR MONEY and make them part of the solution. Its SCREW AMERICA, THE LAST STRAW,  starring The Big Banks, Treasury & the Federal Reserve, Co-Starring Congress & a few state attorney generals. 

The fact is that if the program were given a chance to work, if government imposed some really stiff penalties on the banks for wrongful foreclosure, not complying with HAMP, and disbarred foreclosure attorneys for behaving badly, we might not be in as bad a situation as we are. There might even be signs of a recovery. But that’s not what is happening. We are being forced to finance our own demise WITH OUR OWN MONEY. Hey Ben, run the credits…

Visit The Real Deal America for the article Stemming Home Foreclosures from “ChARTICLES”

WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH THIS?

WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH THIS?

By: Charles Wallshein Esq., & Steven Schwartz

All Rights Reserved May 2011

            Steve and I were doing our Monday re-cap and outlining our next show. From the e-mails we received, the listeners expressed real interest in two main topics. The first is an explanation of VULTURE SERVICERS, and the second is the BANK BAIL OUT of 2008.

            We were in my kitchen and I was explaining how and why the vultures were created and from where I think they are getting their money. As we talked it became apparent that I can’t explain the first without explaining the second.

            Contrary to what we have heard and what we are still hearing from the press, the BAILOUT isn’t over. Yes, the banks have stabilized and yes, there is a nascent beginning of a securitization market. Yes, the Banks are showing profits. Yes, they have paid back their TARP money. So the BAILOUT was a success, right? Wrong. The answer is we really wont know for a while.

            The net result from the bailout thus far is that we rescued most of the passengers from drowning. Where are we now? Well, we made it to the lifeboats and are still trying to find dry land. I say this because the only reason the banks are still in business is because they can borrow money from the Federal Reserve Bank at .25%. That’s right. One quarter of one percent. It’s almost free money. What this policy amounts to is an unqualified and arguably unnecessary government SUBSIDY to the big banks.

            Let me begin with a short lesson in BIG-BANK FINANCE. Banks borrow from the Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve borrows from the treasury. The treasury gets its money from collecting taxes and selling treasury notes. For the last 50 years the treasury collected less money than it took to meet the national budget’s requirements. To make up the gap, the treasury has to sell bonds, or T-NOTES (T-BILLS) as they are called.

A T-NOTE is nothing more than the US treasury’s promise to pay back money. The collateral for the note is the full backing of the US government and the US economy. This means that when a buyer of a government note gets his money back they can convert that note to cash and come to America, or go anywhere else in the world where they accept the US dollar as currency (which is everywhere) and spend that money.

In my lifetime (48 years) I have seen the yield (interest rate) on the T-note as high as 17%. It is now at historic lows. The rate at which the treasury has to re-pay its debts for the 5 year note, today is a little less than 2.5%. For the 10 year note it is a little less than 3.5%. So that means we, Americans are promising to repay about a trillion dollars in debt at 3.5% over the next 10 years.

However, we are giving money to the big banks at a .25 interest rate. That means that for every hundred dollars we lend to the big banks we are collecting twenty five cents, a quarter. However, we are paying $3.20 (as of May 13th’s rate) to borrow that money. That’s right, for every dollar lend to the banks, we are losing three cents. It doesn’t sound like much, but multiply that number by a trillion and it starts to add up. Multiply that number by the amount of our total outstanding debt and it really adds up. It’s HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS!

So Steve asked me the obvious question. “Where are we going with this?” My answer: “No place good.”

Link to the Federal Reserve’s published rates for all Treasury financial instruments:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/current/

The Latest Distraction

From The Real Deal America with Charlie Wallshein

I am up and at my screen every day at 6 AM to read the morning scans from across the country. In today’s Wall Street Journal and New York Times there are articles about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the new agency created by the Obama Administration to oversee and regulate the financial industry.

I really try to keep politics, at least in terms of Republicans versus Democrats, out of the show and out of this blog. I find that the political aspect of the financial crisis is nothing more than a distraction from the real issues the show and the blog illuminate. The real issues can be summed up as follows:

1-     Americans have been manipulated and abused by giant financial institutions to the point that the system is irreparably broken.

2-     As a result, Americans standard of living is declining. We are losing our jobs, our careers, our homes and our savings.

3-     The government has, up to now, failed us by continuing the status quo.

4-     The only way Americans are going to survive is to fight and to change the institutions that did this to us. We have to take away their power or dilute their power.

  … Back to the CFPB. Wall street hates the CFPB. I attach a copy of the WSJ article and I want everyone to invest three minutes to read it. The most illuminating part of the article is the quote from the GOP’s letter to the president as to why they oppose the CPFB. The letter states:

"The present structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…violates basic principles of accountability and our democratic values,"

If this statement wasn’t sad it would be funny.

The CFPB is created to be completely INDEPENDENT of congressional funding, congressional rulemaking and congressional oversight. THIS IS WHY IT WAS CREATED THIS WAY!! Some very intelligent people and incorruptible lawmakers (yes, there are still some) recognized that the system is run by people who were AT BEST too blind to forecast the crisis and take action, OR at WORST too corrupt to want to.

Back to the GOP’s letter. Really now? …violates basic principles of accountability and our democratic values. That sounds terrible, almost like fascists will have oversight and dominion over the wonderful, efficient, benevolent and responsible lending institutions and regulatory bodies that got us into this mess in the first place.

This is how the system works. The Department of the Treasury collects revenue and prints money. Treasury gives the money to congress to spend and also gives a lot to the Federal Reserve banks to distribute (loan) to banks around the country. The Federal Reserve also determines the amount of interest they charge the banks for using OUR MONEY. Right now the interest rate is ¼ of ONE PERCENT. Each federal reserve bank in its district has a board of governors. The governors meet in Washington D.C.. The Chairman of the Board is BEN BERNANKE. I do not recall ever seeing an election for FEDERAL RESERVE governors, Members of the board, or for FED Chairman. They are appointed by politicians.

Who are they accountable to? Who governs them? WHO ELECTED THEM? ….Nobody!!!

Congress is supposed to, but they don’t. They don’t because they can’t. Or maybe in theory they could, but just won’t. Our country’sdemocratic form of government is based on checks and balances between three branches, Executive, Legislative and Judicial. This is so that any one branch does not have unlimited power. Only federal judges are appointed for life. Everybody else is elected.

Our government is all about who controls the money. There is just as much competition for the money between Republicans and Democrats as there is between the President and Congress. But that is what we get to vote for every 2 and 4 years.

We got into this financial mess because there are no checks and balances when it comes to our money supply or monetary policy. The FED is supposed to keep a close eye on the banking system and make sure it is behaving in a responsible manner. Alan Greenspan’s (former FED Chairman & former nom de plume for GOD) explanation for the financial implosion happening during his watch was (I quote him very loosely) “I didn’t think they [bankers] would be so irresponsible and greedy”. Who was watching Greenspan while he was watching the banks? Apparently nobody.

As far as the CFPB is concerned… well, maybe there should be another pair of eyes looking over the shoulder of the guy who is looking over the shoulder of the guy who is looking over...

WSJ Article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704810504576305553238068870.html

NYT Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/business/06consumer.html?_r=1     

About the Federal Reserve System:            

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frseries/frseri.htm

An open letter to President Obama

A Letter to My President

Dear Mr. Obama,

            There are certain moments in a person’s life that remain memorable. One of those moments for me was sitting at my kitchen table election night 2008, to witness one of America’s defining moments, your election to the office of President.

            I voted for you. Not because you are an African-American, but rather because your election to office represented the possibility for hope and for change. I am well aware that the President has limited powers under the constitution and that after all our presidents are not dictators. On the other hand, the President has an unlimited power and ability to provide leadership. I must tell you that I am a little disappointed in your exercise of that power.

I cannot possibly fathom the political challenges you face every day. This is a very big country and there are a lot of people with conflicting interests. The peaceful process of working out deals among the thousands of different and conflicting interests is the heart of our democracy and the real source of our freedom. However, it has become apparent to me that a certain group has taken control of our country in the most insidious manner to the detriment of the nation and its future.

I refer to the bankers and the others who control our money supply. Any student of economics understands the role of a central bank. This role has been observed as having the potential to make or break nations in ways that no standing army could accomplish. These observations were initially made hundreds of years ago concerning the Bank of England and more recently about our own Federal Reserve. Even though every president and treasury was aware of the inherent dangers in having an unelected body control our money supply and fiscal policy, there was little objection. Over the years objections were heard during times of economic crisis. The crises subsided and prosperity supplanted our memories of those painful and worrisome moments in our lives.  But at what expense?

This crisis is different. This one will not go away. We as a great nation may be at the end of our line unless the structure of our economy changes. The changes I refer to concern the role of the treasury and our central bank. They have both acted irresponsibly in the name of profit for the institutions they represent. Our elected officials never banded together and stopped them, all in the name of political expedience. After all, if it’s not truly broken…

As president you will only hear what your advisors tell you. I, on the other hand, hear and see everything first hand. I see and feel the pain for every American who is suffering this crisis. I am also aware of the fact that the central bank’s plan for the economic cure will only result in a further consolidation of their already immeasurable power. I do not have to tell you what to do. I might suggest, however, that there are more than one hundred million in this country who entrusted you with their lives and the futures of their children. I am one of those people and I continue to have faith in the fact that you know what should be done. We are at a crossroads in our history. This struggle is no different than our revolution against the King, our continuing fight for equality under the law, our fight against all the tyrants who thought Americans did not have the will to fight and die for what we believe in.

We are ready to fight again. This time it is not against a foreign enemy. This fight is against the enemy within. Please take the flag and march your army of loyal and hardworking patriots into battle. We are already dying on this unhallowed battlefield, being buried with neither honor nor blessing. This is our defining moment.  Sir, we beg your leadership. We will not be stopped.

The Real Deal America Show Debut! Saturday, May 14th on AM 970 - The Apple

Once again, welcome to THE REAL DEAL AMERICA blog.

My name is Charles Wallshein, and my goal is to let every American know what is really going on in Washington and on Wall Street concerning the financial crisis we are all suffering through.

My radio show, The Real Deal America, is kicking off Saturday, May 14, on AM 970 – The Apple from 12:00 Noon - 1:00 PM EST. If you don't live in the immediate listening area do not worry! Simply go to AM 970 - The Apple here, and click on Listen Live in the toolbar at the top of the page.

If you are a homeowner or if you know any homeowners you need to tune in and listen! Your home may depend on it!


There is a major problem, and we need to be the solution

I don’t think there is anyone who hasn’t been affected by our ailing economy. Every household is feeling the bite. I built my career helping people turn their dreams into realities just to see all our hard work disappear as if it never existed.

I am heartbroken and mad as hell that the supposed “stewards” of our financial system used and abused hardworking Americans to the point that we can’t sleep at night for fear of our families’ economic ruin.

What makes me even more incensed is that the people we elect to protect us are selling us down the river wholesale in the name of political compromise with the institutions who raped us of our future and our security.

I believe that the government is failing us. I believe that Wall Street has amassed such influence in our government, to the detriment of the entire middle class, that we are truly at a crossroads in our nation’s future.

This is no ordinary recession. Government’s plan is to continue funding the same failed policies and institutions that brought us here. It has to stop and it has to stop now!

The world of finance seems terribly complex and confusing. But it isn’t as complicated as it appears. I will explain the system in plain English so it makes sense to everyone who takes the time to listen.

We are still a nation of laws not men. Now is the time to fight back.

YOU HAVE TO LISTEN IN!

This is our time, our war, our fight. We can do this together.