In the meantime, back at the barn.......

Although it may be early to write the History chapter related to the George Bush presidency, it is now time to ask Reagan's famous question: "Are you better off than 8 years ago?"
The answer borders on the cruel...Both wars are faltering. After thousands of death and trillions of wasted dollars, we are paying off the enemy in Irak and about to hand over power to the Talibans in Afghanistan. The economy is in a free fall. Our car companies about to disappear. Detroit will be just as abandonned as New Orleans. The loss of two major cities and part of New York. I won't mention the Constitution nor America's status abroad.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aerth, the Chinese are doing well, thank you. Oh, they slowed down to "only 9% annual growth. But they build more Chryslers and Buicks than the US. Their "taikonauts" had a successful spacewalk, a rehearsal before their planned moonwalk. And, their leaders just met the leaders of 27 European and 20 Asian countries, to decide what to do with their wayward American friends. No American was invited.

Lessons from the bank crisis.

Who would have thought that a Republican Administration would have nationalized US banks? After the absolute shambles caused by the buying of politicians in order to get rid of regulations, our Masters of the Universe have to eat humble pie. Hank Paulson himself told his counterparts that it was "humbling" to represent the US at this time.
This worldwide disaster is one more scalp on GWB's belt. You did a heck of a job Bushie!
The French, the Europeans and the US treasury all had their solution, which means that nothing would work. After long discussions, for which I was the proverbial "fly on the wall", our leaders promptly adopted Gordon Brown's solution, the radical takeover of most large private banks.
This is not socialism, it is merely a shot in the arm to repair a virus sown by greed and a political system gone wild. The constant campaign US politicians are caught in , force them to raise funds 24/7. Lobbyists use it to exchange funds for easier rules. The result is a worldwide recessiom an increase in world poverty (+ 100 million people in only 1 month), the wiping out of our savings, retirement funds and housing stock, and one more grudge the World will bear against the US.

We are lucky Globalization worked in the guise of the IMF annual meetings.
I, was lucky enough to be present at these meetings and witness some of these discussions.
There is a direct link between Reganomics {dubbed voodoo economics by Bush pere), Enron, the Newt Gingrich revolution, the ruthless culture wars of the christian right, the organized plunder of the State by the likes of Abramof, the disregard for the Constitution by the neocons, and the catastrophic wars of preemption : hubris, lack of any sense of reality, greed, power craze, and a profound lack of respect for their fellow human beings. All this is linked.
It will take the effort of the entire world and generations of US citizens to repair the damage caused by this handful of political thugs.
"Ill gotten gains never last"!
How different the world would be today if the 2000 election had been free of fraud!