How appropriate to have awaken to an ad for the touring company of "Les Miserables". Our current events more closely resemble the tomes of Hugo or Dickens than at any other time in our history. It truly is "the best of times, it is the worst of times" as the news media screams a tale of two Americas: Those inside the Beltway and those tightening our belts.
The robber barons who pillaged and plundered using fuzzy math to over-value real estate are in charge of the "bailout" plan -- the only bill in modern history less than several thousand pages to waft down from the ivory towers and be shoved down the throats of Congress and into the pockets of the constituency. Pretenders to the throne are posturing a plenty saying, "Help yourself to this crumb of cake while we fully empty the national cupboards."
Is it just me, or has the absurdity reach the level of total incomprehension? The Dems are aligned with Bush. House GOP reps want to protect the little guy. Clinton is defending McCain. A "suspended" campaign equals a full day of photo ops and a full court press by surrogates. Lindsay Lohan is gay. What else!?!
So let's recap: The same Wall Street and banking whiz kids responsible for "impudent real estate lending" resulting in the S & L crisis and caused the market crash of 1987 which cost (US) the tax payers $126 Billion and contributed to massive deficits...
...Are the same guys who over-valued ether to create the dot-com bust and de-regulated energy and telecom leading to the market collapse of 2001 and the plunder of billions in pensions thanks to Enron and Worldcom et.al...
...Are the same guys who got the nation drunk on easy sub-prime credit, created the "exotic mortgage backed securities" on which trillions of other lending are propped and led to the current "crisis"...
... So THIS is the braintrust on which our "leaders" are relying to wisely spend $700 Billion to "rescue" our economy?
Meanwhile late night comedians are playing Jean Valjean. What we really need is a Madame LaFarge? (And the hockey mom won't cut it -- she's about as intimidating as Mlle Baptistine.)
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