Comment from Clout Flowers
Time: September 30, 2008, 4:50 am

Actually, there is a definite start date to yesterday afternoon’s collapse and a specific person to blame.

Genuine blame for the reason a deal was needed, and fell apart can be traced to a tense night in December, 2000. The Supreme Court had just elected George Bush president by one vote. Congress was locked in a budget showdown with the outgoing Clinton administration. And a balding, bespectacled Phil Gramm strode onto the floor of the United States Senate the chilly evening of the 15th.

As Congress and the White House were hurriedly hammering out a $384-billion spending bill, Gramm quietly slipped in a 262-page amendment called the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. He boasted to the gathered solons that his measure ensures that neither the SEC nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission – soon to be chaired by Gramm’s wife – would regulate an incredibly complicated new financial product called swaps, Gramm all but said he saved Wall Street by “protecting financial institutions from overregulation” and “position our financial services industries to be world leaders into the new century.”

Even Nazi Germany’s Third Reich lasted a few years a longer than it took Wall St. to collapse under the weight of its own greed, hauling the global economy down with it in the bargain.

Phil Gramm - Dumbya’s friend and McCorpse’s chum, yep that Phil Gramm … If Obama is as clever as we give him “credit” for, now there is a word (credit) you won’t see too often in the near future, he’d tell Old Droopy-Eyed John - ” This entire fecking mess is all yours …” , and walk away.
Better yet, let’s make Obama president and insist these bastards from Washington and Wall Street be punished and bring justice back to our lost democracy.

Comment from timr
Time: September 30, 2008, 11:22 am

Well, since my pension is totally dependent on the viability of the US govt.-I was Civil Service for 28.9 years-then as long as the US govt continues to keep its obligations then I am OK. Then again I am also drawing a 100% disability pension from the VA, so I guess that even if we do have a depression the govt will still pay its obligations. If not, well I have some family members who are farmers and who live in a 100 year old farm house, so I guess we could become gathers/hunters again.

Comment from New Reader
Time: September 30, 2008, 12:31 pm

Timr,
If you are 100% disabled, how could you work for the government? Definition of disabled is “unable to work”. Same as McCain?

Comment from Leftcoast
Time: September 30, 2008, 11:06 pm

Business sucks in part because of the literal stampede to panic, but it’s sucked for most of this year before all the drama. My stocks and 401K are actually up and I don’t know why. Dumb luck. Dumb, for sure.

Comment from timr
Time: October 1, 2008, 11:22 am

New reader. Having a VA 100% disability does not mean that you are unable to work. The VA disability ratings system is very difficult to fully explain. John McCain is 100% VA disabled. Remember the former Sen from Ga. The one with only 1 arm and no legs? He had a 100% disability. A friend of mine has very difficult to treat type 1 diabetes, he got it while in the Navy he has 100% disability, he works in the Post Office. Several of my friends-who are active in the DAV-Disabled American Veterans-have worked or are working even tho they also have 100% disability. My 100% rating was received in 1980 when I seperated from the US Army. This disability rating gave me extra points on the Civil Service exam and helped me get into the job that I held from 1981 to 1998. I would guess that at least 80% of the people who worked in the same office that I did were more than 30% disabled-that being the minimum to get the extra points for the CS exam. One friend, who is left handed, lost most of his left hand- 60 operations over 3 years saved a bit of it-and he got a 100% rating because of that. I was injured in a “training” accident” in Korea in 1978. After several operations and almost 18 months rehab I was able to walk with out support but did not reenlist. Today people are getting a 100% disability rating if they have had their dominant hand/arm blown off or if they have lost both legs, yet they can still work and the federal govt wants them to work so as to not lose their knowledge. rating remained the same. I had to retire in 1998 due to the abrupt worsening of medical problems connected with my disability rating, but I had worked 18 years after being declared 100% disabled. In fact my boss wanted me to return after my forced medical retirement as a consultant, but I was unable to do very much as I spent many days in either Dr waiting rooms or in the hospital. A large number of people who work for the VA have disabilities that range from 10% all the way up to 100%+(which means confined to a wheelchair, or 2/3 limbs missing, or blind. Etc Etc.

Comment from New Reader
Time: October 1, 2008, 11:48 am

Then why is it called 100%? I looked up the definition in the Navy documentation available on-line and it said that 100% disabled means unable to work.
Also, disability is tax free is it not?
It is impossible to get any disability payment through Social Security for a friend who has inoperable, fatal in 2 years brain cancer even though she had contributed to SS since for 42 years and will die before she’s eligible social security
As you can imagine I’m not too happy about those who double dip at the taxpayers expense.