Deja-vu all over again

Here's the thing, to quote our sitting president, "...Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

Remember the last time our congress was urged to act -- quickly and decisively? Remember how we were rushed and coerced and bullied? Remember how we're still paying the price heftily?

So here were are again. It is the same administration going to the well. This time it is Hank Paulson asking us to had over $700 Billion dollars. (I don't know if the word billion should be capitalized but I think maybe it should just because of the immense nature of the word. I don't think I can keep the concept of "billion" in my head without it blowing up.) If Hank has his way, we'll be signing over $700 Billion by Friday. With NO oversight. With NO transparency.

Seriously?

Guess what, Hank. You can talk all you want about how you welcome oversight and transparency. If your proposed bill you're pressuring Congress to pass by Friday didn't have that phrase in there, I might have believed you. Were you hoping that we wouldn't notice? I bet you were. Shoot, the American public has pretty much proved that we can be victimized over and over and not really ever notice.

Not no, but hell no. Let's say we bail out these banks and insurance companies. But let's say that we put conditions for the bail out. Let's say we have complete transparency and oversight. Can we say regulation? Yeah, de-regulation has worked just so well. I'm kind of thinking we could use a dose of old fashioned regulation, administered just like the nuns used to in parochial school -- with a firm ruler snap to the knuckles if you step out of line. Make the $700 Billion a loan that they must pay back with interest. Make a moratorium on home foreclosures. After all, there was a lot of predatory lending that happened. We also have an opportunity here to raise some revenue for the United States Government. Housing prices tank much more, we'll have further shrinkage of the dollar, further loss of confidence, further loss of GDP.

This administration is totally against oversight and holding people accountable. Unless you're a teacher. Then by all means, hold them accountable.

Oh man, more rants to come.