David Cay Johnston, in a letter to Jim Romenesko on PoynterOnline (H/T Susie Madrak), faults journalists for not asking hard questions... some of which are much like those expressed by Kos. No kidding... damned right those questions should be asked.
We're contemplating spending an amount equivalent to the direct cost of the Iraq war to this point (or maybe twice that much), with few if any restrictions on who gets the money or for what, all based on testimony in closed session: where are our press and media on this? We deserve answers. The rush cannot possibly be so great that we cannot have those answers.
David Kay Johnston is very smart...and has writtten some great books on all of this...thanks to steve for mentioning him...
Great posts on this monk...can you believe this is going on? it all stinks...all of it..
( take care- hope you got some gas....there- saw it on the news tonight..)
I will check the link Steve. thanks.
E4E... thanks for stopping by and no we don't have any gas. No big deal for me right now as I don't have to travel anywhere and I actually have a full tank in my car which will take me to Whole Foods many times.
I read several of your links, but then the blood starting oozing out of my ears. I feel more stupid every damn day.. and I am not stupid. Here is a question for you. What happens if the feds do nothing? Things already stink for the middle and lower classes, can we survive if the government keeps its nastiness away from this? I understand just enough about economics to be dangerous, but this whole thing seems incredibly stupid to me.
LLL - we have already intervened in the the mortgage mess with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We have bailed out AIG and Bear Stearns and given support to the money markets. There was an earlier post about how much is already committed. The current effort is icing on the cake and in my opinion is just a give away on the backs of American taxpayers.
We are going to have to do something but I am of the opinion that we need to wait and actually see what needs doing instead of just agreeing that we will this latest bailout. No one has explained what will happen or is feared to happen and how this plan will do anything to prevent it.
I think patience is the answer now at least until after the elections in 40 some days.
I'm with you FM- this really sucks.
You can send a letter to your congressperson through an action item at:
www.votenobailout.org
I've sent mine- though with our GA representation, I don't know how much good it will do- but it's time to speak up!
Thanks for the link Becks. I will do the same.
Even more outrageous is the pretense that all of this disaster is some kind of surprise. Chris Mathews of MSNBC claimed the other night he didn't understand derivatives and it became clear in an instant that virtually no media source will tell the truth, until the entertainment 'value' of our demise reaches the desired ratings level. ---Just sick at heart-----
Good luck with the gas, Fallenmonk. I took a similar approach: I filled up just before Ike visited, and have been rationing my tank, one short trip every few days to the post office, bank, two grocers (including Whole Foods), a pharmacy and the recycling center, which are all on one fairly direct path. A lot of traffic signals are still out here, so I still get plenty of driving excitement. 
Stella, OTOH, has to drive to work almost every day; by now, she knows where to find gas... but it's still a pain to get it.
I don't know what Congress should do, because no member of the public is being told the details of the problem. My position, until someone tells me, is that Congress should do absolutely nothing. We are owed that information. It is not a military secret, so there is absolutely no basis for not allowing us all to know the depth, breadth and nature of the problem. Who knows... somebody outside of government may actually have the knowledge and capacity to offer a solution that does not involve a Hank Paulson stick-up of the taxpayer.
I agree, sucks big time.
I get the feeling this is the last heist before the Bushies are booted from the candy store.
Mandt- sick at heart is pretty accurate. I still haven't had the nerve to update my Quicken accounts for the 401K etc. My Roth is in Goldman Sachs and so is Madams. It was up yesterday but from how low? At some point retirement was five years from now...not any more.
Steve. No worries here. I just ran out to the store and passed the QuikTrip on the corner. Lines everywhere but they do have gas for now. The BP and Exxon on the opposite corners are gasless though. The EPA has just relaxed the standards so they can sell higher sulfur gas when they get it. Screw the air quality...the soccer Moms have to pickup the kiddies in spite of the fact that the school buses are on the road.
Andante. I think you are correct. One last attempt to get the last of the cookies in the jar.
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