Banking Crisis Gallows Humor

Mussolini and friends, hanging out

Democrat Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee gets a sweetheart deal from the now defunct Country Wide and then bemoans that home mortgages are the lynch pin that caused the current banking crisis.

While up on the Hill, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake have been hanging around Congress trying to persuade our leaders to act quickly to soften the impact of the coming big drop, but they're still arguing about the type and length of the rope.

What's all the fuss about? Well, there's this really big number twisting in the breeze out there. Something like 700 billion. No one seems willing to say that it's really going to be a lot bigger. This number-what ever it ends up being- will have a whole lot of zeros behind it. It represents the cash that America doesn't have that will be spent in an attempt to fix a system that our leadership helped break.

And who gets to be strangled with the debt cause by these ginormous bail-outs? Yep, the taxpayer. In case you weren't sure who this is, it's you and me and your children and their children.

If you listen to people like Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton -who's millions in debt from her inability to balance her failed campaign's checkbook- this all started back in 1999 when Republican Senator Gramm co-sponsored the Gramm, Leach, Bliley Act that then President Bill Clinton signed. Apparently it's all Gramm's fault and according to some and should be sent to the gallows.

David Blane in Central Park

Meanwhile in Central Park, illusionist, escape artist and flagrant self-promoter David Blane is hanging upside down for 60 hours. Why? Just to prove that he can, I guess. The old saying goes that hangins' too good fer 'em. Blane's out to prove it's not.

So if hanging upside down is not too good for the likes of David Blane or Benito Mussolini, then I say kick the stool out from under those who caused this mess. I've got a long list of CEOs, CFOs, Congressmen, Senators and maybe a President of two that should swing from the rafters by their ankles.

Right at the moment I'd just keep my eye of Senator Gramm. He may not be taking the long walk right now but he is a Senator, so you never know.

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