L'Aquila is Good for the Soul

President Obama has apparently discovered that recovery is 'a long way off.' Doubtless he'll admit at any moment that the stimulus is just not working. 'President Obama said Friday that leaders of the industrialized nations have agreed to continue fueling economic growth while strengthening regulatory measures but they also realize that full recovery is "still a ways off."'

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, the 'Blue Dog' Democrat coalition is putting its foot down on the health care bill:

'As the Democratic leaders worked feverishly to finalize details of the legislation for a planned Friday rollout, the Blue Dog Coalition sent a letter late Thursday night saying the bill "lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken." ... Pelosi repeated her pledge earlier Thursday that a government run health care plan would be included in the House bill. Ross said conservative Democrats have major reservations about how a public option would work. In the letter and in the meeting, the conservative Democrats stressed they did not want a "Medicare-like" structure for a public option.'

Maybe something in the air of Italy is good for the soul, or at least the debate, in America.

Fluidity: The Ever Changing Bailout Plan

Henry Paulson defended himself before Congress today, arguing that the original concept of the bailout plan (excuse me, economic recovery plan), which largely involved buying up 'toxic securities' (tied to unknown amounts of bad mortgages), is no longer the best solution to the credit and financial crises. Paulson now argues that $700 billion in tax dollars should be used to buy partial ownership stakes in the banks themselves. Nationalization of banks in the good 'ole USA? The idea boggles the mind. Perhaps it'll mean better management; at least AIG won't use any more of the loan to take its Exec's on nice spa trips; but I can't help thinking that this trip down socialism's memory lane it just going to keep getting darker.

In the meanwhile, AIG is getting another $40B, while American Express convinced the Fed. to allow them to become a real bank in record time, which may now use that status to request a share of the pie. And to top it all off, the Dynamic Duo of Henry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, backed by that happy socialist, Barney Franks, is demanding to bailout the auto industry, mortgage-holders, and just about anything not nailed down, while increasing spending at an enormous pace, deficit-be-damned.

Most of us are sensible enough to cut back on spending when times get tough - to be a little more thrifty. Not the Congress. They seem to think that increasing spending, increasing taxes, and taking over private industry is just the ticket to fix the economy. Now where have we heard this before?

Another great video

Frankly, I think this and others like it should be running as ads everywhere.

Bailout redux