American Muscle

I have always wanted to write a post about the Muscle Car era in the United States.  Big blocks, Six-Packs, 400+ horsepower, Detroit Lockers, no handling.  Here is a nice sample, although the list doesn’t include the best example.

I want to write that post someday; this isn’t it.

I will return to something from my “Clowns” post, something that struck me afterwards.  In the post, I referenced a comment from John Kerry.  His comment is in reference to the Iran nuclear agreement.  He cautions those congressmen and others as being mistaken regarding their belief of the leverage America holds over the rest of the world, those who falsely believe…

“’America is strong enough…we can just bring the hammer down and force people to do what we want to do…'"

-          John Kerry

Now, you read that comment and think “bring the hammer down.”  What immediately comes to mind?  Drone strikes?  B-52s?  Aircraft carriers?  Viruses delivered via the NSA?  Bob the Builder (just kidding, I want to see if you are paying attention)?

Now, I am playing a little game as I have excluded a key portion of his statement:

“If everybody thinks 'Oh, no, we're just tough. . . . we can force people. . . . America is strong enough, our banks are tough enough, we can just bring the hammer down and force people to do what we want to do,'"

“Our banks are tough enough”!

Our banks.  Kerry is Secretary of State; he is not Treasury Secretary (not that this should make any difference).  He is an employee of the US government; he does not himself own any of these banks (well, not to my knowledge). 

Our banks.  Not our tanks.  Our banks.

In whatever country you live, whatever currency you regularly use: imagine being blocked out of the system.  No bank deposits or withdrawals; no credit card transactions; no debit card transactions; no wire transfers.  No ability to bank.

Pretty tough, huh.

Almost every country in the world is in some manner or another dependent on the US Dollar; if this isn’t enough, they are also dependent on the transaction infrastructure (back-office, if you will) provided by US banks.

Imagine being shut out of this system.  This is the weapon that Kerry referenced.

Now, this concept of the banks as a weapon may not be a big surprise to many of you.  But have you ever heard a high-level US government official say so?  I don’t recall it.

However, Kerry is saying that this weapon – always reliable in the past – may not be as potent in the future.

Have you ever heard a high-level US government official say this?  American power – American banks – may not be omnipotent? 

I haven’t either.