They had me at the melting cow

Gawker, that is: It's The "Absurd Financial Product Some Rich Person Actually Bought" Contest!, but I stayed for the story.

Today's decision by the Bush administration to stick us with even more debt (to the tune of half a trillion US$) is just insane. Re-inventing the RTC was a semi-decent idea yesterday, but it's morphed into a massive bailout for the entire economy. These idiots are re-financing the United States. Hell, they're re-financing BAD DEBT.

Ye gods and little fishes. Why the hell didn't we impeach the Clown College when they lied and invaded Iraq?

CNN wants to know, Will it work?

Um.

Those securities were backed by home loans, many made to buyers with bad credit or without proof of income. As housing values fell and foreclosures shot to record levels in the past two years, the value of those securities plunged. That in turn caused massive losses in the financial sector.

This week it reached a crisis situation. Banks and investment firms stopped making the loans to each other as they hoarded cash to protect against any sudden liquidity crunch as well from unknown problems on their partners' balance sheets.

No.

"I'm confident this will work," said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Economy.com. "The federal government is committed to backstopping the nation's financial system and will do whatever is necessary to make sure the system does not unravel. The details are important but secondary."

The Devil's in the detail Mr. Zandi. This bailout is going to cost more the Iraq war, which has already saddled the US with a multi-trillion dollar debt.

"If this doesn't work, we're in trouble, because there's not much more the government can do," said Jaret Seiberg, a financial services analyst at the Stanford Group. "They've left very few arrows in the quiver."

Good point Ms. Seiberg.

I'm a lot less optimistic than I was yesterday.

~ ~ ~

Text of Paulson's news conference Friday

Paulson, Bernanke Expand U.S. Power to Rescue Markets

Rescue cost: Hundreds of billions

I either have to stop paying attention to the outside world

or start taking massive doses of prozac.

Bush went to the UN yesterday and lied. Huge surprise, no?

Wanna be depressed just like me? Read the UN News Centre. I imagine Mr. Annan is glad his job is over at year end, regardless of what he said at the end of his speech.

No, I will not share my drugs with you.

Gaza: The Children Killed in a War the World Doesn't Want to Know About, by Donald Macintyre.

Okay... less depressing fare ~

Thai Coup Leader Promises to Hold Elections by October 2007.

That's good. Except... there were supposed be elections in October 2006.

Tuesday night's coup was the first in 15 years and the 18th successful or attempted military takeover since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

"It's part of who we are," says Rosenbaum. "It's not enough [to feed the poor]. We have to say, 'What needs to change so they're able to feed themselves?' "

Fascinating article from the Christian Science Monitor from February entitled "The power of nun: taking a lead role in shareholder activism" by G. Jeffrey MacDonald.

Check out their list of articles on Ethical investing.

Church May Fight IRS Summons Over Anti-War Sermon:

The probe surprised Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a watchdog group that has filed 58 complaints of improper church politicking over the last decade and a half. The grievances were roughly evenly divided between liberal and conservative religious groups.

"What perplexes me about All Saints," said Barry Lynn, a group spokesman, "is that I have never heard of a church being asked to undergo such a sweeping, broad and deep investigation on the basis of a complaint about a single sermon by a guest speaker."

I'm confused. Don't politicians routinely speak in churchs and synagogues?

In any event, good luck All Saints. Fighting the IRS is apt to bankrupt your congreation. Truthdig has Reverend Bacon's sermon available for reading.

While at Truthdig, see Molly. Even when she doesn't make me laugh.