This is great article — if you thought there was a single factor that caused the mess we are in, this just might be the smoking gun:

Agency’s ’04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt, and Risk

The entire article eviscerates the SEC and its pro-business, pro-deregulation chairman Christopher Cox:

The commission’s decision effectively to outsource its oversight to the firms themselves fit squarely in the broader Washington culture of the last eight years under President Bush.

A similar closeness to industry and laissez-faire philosophy has driven a push for deregulation throughout the government, from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency to worker safety and transportation agencies.

I love my conservative friends dearly, but I really will never understand the way a Republican’s brain works: they say they want government out of people’s private lives, but the party platform wants a constitutional ban on gay marriage and abortion (and I would think choosing your mate and what you want to do to your own body is about as private as you can get).

They want government out of people’s pocketbooks, but that idea of de-regulation and hoping that the markets will police themselves is the ultimate example of naivete and cluelessness.

They want to regulate what should not be regulated, and don’t want to regulate what should be. There is certainly enough criticism about liberalism, but I think I’ve framed the conservative ideology pretty succinctly.

Republicans are very suspicious of “smart” people, because “smart” = “elite” and they have successfully labeled “elites” as being out of touch with ordinary Americans

So long as people choose to live in denial, there will always be politicians to sell them whatever myth they want to believe:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/opinion/16brooks.html

Actually most Americans really in fact are quite STUPID because they don’t/can’t/won’t understand current events or affairs that are happening around them; instead they prefer to be led by the nose by people who talk down to them, as long as they believe they can have a beer or a coffee with that person.  (“Hey, he’s just like one of us!  I don’t know how the frigging economy works, and neither does he!   I’m definitely voting for him now!”)

It worked with Bush, and it’s going to work with Palin.

Speaking of Palin, she truly scares me.  Forget about 4 more years of Bush, imagine a female Dick Cheney:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html

And I’m thoroughly convinced that most Americans are stupid since I had an argument in Times Square with an average tourist from Kansas (not making this up) who swore that Jesus Christ spoke English because her BIBLE was written in English.  Yes, people, these are the salt-of-the-earth people that are the backbone of this country.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/opinion/14friedman.html

Reminds me of the scene in ‘Blazing Saddles’ when the Gene Wilder tells the sheriff (the man, the legend, Cleavon Little), “You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons.”

Fight the good fight everyone, but I fear these are PRECISELY the reasons why the Republicans will win.   I’ve been contributing $50 every month to Obama’s campaign since March of 2007 (LONG before he even gained national prominence because I knew he would be a different, more ethical and better kind of leader), but if the Dems screw this up then I will never, not ever, vote for them again.

Well, I shouldn’t say it means exactly “nothing” but the weight it carries is a lot less than people think.

Have you ever worked for a boss that was a temperamental, vindictive bully? Or perhaps he was incompetent without a clear vision for navigating the bad times, let alone the good? Was he spiteful, petty, stupid, short-sighted? How many years of “experience” did he have as a manager? Do you think it had any bearing on his management style?

The same thing goes with politicians.

Let’s talk about Bush: the inexperienced Bush and the experienced Bush.

Bush had no political experience when he campaigned against the popular and heavily-favored Ann Richards for Governor of Texas in 1995. But he won anyway. So when he announced his intent to run for President in 2000 he had FIVE years of experience as a governor (three more than Palin).

Eight years later and the record shows that he is one of the worst Presidents in American history.

Was that BECAUSE of his experience, or BECAUSE of his lack of it?

The answer is neither.

What trumps experience any day of the week is Intelligence, Wisdom and Ethics. Bush has shown for the last eight years how ill-equipped he is in any of the three areas, and the country is suffering for it.

Maybe McCain can lay some claim to ethics and wisdom (I don’t know how intelligent he is), but Palin definitely cannot say that. Everything I’ve read about her so far doesn’t give me the confidence that she is ethical, wise or intelligent.

McCain may or may not give the country four more years of Bush, but President Palin most certainly will.

So remember: Intelligence + Wisdom + Ethics = Good Judgment.

This is your choice, America. What will you fight for?

Although I’m no fan of the Republican party, I admit that I do admire John McCain. He’s not the maverick that he once was, but he is still full of challenging ideas.

One of them that I read a few weeks ago is an idea that British Prime Ministers must stand in front of Members of Parliament and answer any and all questions under oath. This is called Question Time and it’s time that it came to America. As an admitted Anglophile, the idea that this concept should take root here, in the so-called last superpower in the world, is something that I’ve longed to see.

Imagine if the leader of the free world had to swallow his pride, get off his high horse, look at Congress, the elected body that represents the people, directly in the eye, and answered any and all questions that were put to him.

No preening, no swaggering, no photo op, no sound bites. It would make C-SPAN appointment viewing.

Question Time. It’s about time for Question Time.

(And don’t get me started on the pious, condescending holier-than-thou hypocrites who claim the high ground on morality. Can we say Newt Gingrich?)

So why am I in such a happy mood? Because another of those cronies from the Grand Old Parasites, David Stockman, was indicted Monday on charges of fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The motivation? To mislead auditors and investors in the failing operations of his auto parts company, Collins & Aikman.

How the mighty have fallen. Who was Stockman? He was the boy wonder of Reagan’s administration who thought up the cocked-up idea of ‘trickle down economics’. The idea was that if wealthy individuals and corporations paid less taxes, they would NATURALLY pour that extra money into the economy, thereby stimulating economic growth and start a ‘trickle down’ effect to the lower classes. Although, as the reality turned out, the rich mostly locked up their wealth or traded it amongst themselves; and the middle and lower classes got stuck with higher taxes to make up for the lost revenue. So the Republicans fucked up the economy. Again.

Fast forward to yesterday. Looks like you done sumthin’ bad, Davey-boy. You know what means? Another trip to the “woodshed“. Good riddance on to the trash heap of history, bucko.

(P.S.: Don’t assume that I’m a liberal party lapdog, I’ve got sharp knives for them too; but under no circumstances do I subscribe to the mendacious, malicious bottom-feeding gold-grabbing Republican mentality. Period.)

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