Nancy Pelosi's first response to the financial services failure and bailout is to call for show trials. At first glance it looks like neither Lehman Brothers nor AIG did anything illegal, though in Lehman Brothers's case it wouldn't surprise me to discover disclosure failures and fuzzy accounting as things started to go pear-shaped. (The crisis at AIG probably happened too fast for that type of thing.) That was the case with Enron officials, where prosecutors could only find regulatory violations made while attempting to cover up the foundering company.

Even if it turns out these companies did nothing illegal, Democrats will do their best to blame the Bush Administration for not interfering in perfectly legal transactions. For years they championed widespread homeownership and demanded that financial institutions provide risky lending to the working class. They got exactly what they asked for, so of course a panicked search for excuses and blame must follow.

House Democrats plan to aggressively look at the administrationÂ’s role in the meltdown over the weekend and to explore further regulation and government structures that would be taken up under the new president.

[...]

"The hearing will examine the regulatory mistakes and financial excesses that led to yesterday's bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers," Waxman wrote. "The committee will also explore the impacts of the Lehman bankruptcy on financial markets and the United States economy."

SOX: the Sequel is on the horizon. Congress is never happier than when it is regulating the life out of an industry. How many millions will this "further regulation" cost the financial services industry annually? Companies on the margins will decide to move to more permissive regimes (the UK's Financial Services Authority comes to mind), just as they did after SOX.

It is worth repeating that the authority and scope of financial services regulation comes from Congress. Pelosi's transparent attempts to pin this to the Bush Administration should be met with a hail of pointed questions about her own votes to deregulate banking and her (former) approval of high-risk lending practices to benefit the working class.

Meanwhile, Barney Frank is breathing a great big sigh of relief that his part in the Frannie and Freddie debacle is going unmentioned. Thank God for Lehman Brothers, huh?

Separately, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, plans a forward-looking hearing with economists on Wednesday to "begin a conversation about where we go with the capital markets," a House aide said.

Frank plans "oversight of what happened this weekend with the Treasury and Federal Reserve," and will look at "how bad the capital markets are, and what may be needed."

What may be needed is to stop bailing out these failing companies. I understand that they're "too big to let fail", but we've now removed a key market-based incentive for financial giants. Frannie and Freddie and AIG will not be the last institutions to find themselves in trouble. The top two or three companies now appear to be backed by the government and so look to investors to be less risky and more financially sound than they actually are. Isn't that what got Frannie and Freddie into trouble in the first place?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:02 AM | Comments (29)
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Good morning.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 04:53 AM | Comments (35)
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I love you morons this much. I'd travel all effin day, get home, and post this.

1 buzzion 21
1 DaveSObscenelyNamedPicks 21

3 Dave R 20
3 Dave in Texas 20
3 Newman 20
3 Maybe Next Year 20
3 Chefclones 20
3 rudytbone20

losers at 19 mesablue, myxlplyx29, notropis04, The Slicing Hammers, D-Cup, The Core, Torque_820, Roman Legions, Super Karate Monkey Death Car

and a dozen or more of you goofballs at 18.

Combined AoSHQI and II and that other group Stashiu3 did.

Oh, and if I weren't in second place (third, whatever), I still would have done this. I swear it's true. In the interests of being up front, I should add that I'm a lifelong Republican Conservative Christian Cowboy fan. I probably make at least $140,000 a year, which was the league minimum a few years ago. I have to tell you, I'm really concerned about the NFC East race right now. I want to vote for the Giants, I really do. Except,

fuck them.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 07:13 PM | Comments (13)
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Bitterly clinging to outdated notions that we have a right to disagree with Big Brother Barry.

And this isn't just some stray language. His actions demonstrate a high comfort level with using legal and quasi-legal means to silence critics.

Thanks to CJ.

Posted by: Ace at 07:03 PM | Comments (94)
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Some of you don't seem to be taking this seriously.

Now it goes to Senate, where our gang of 20 traitors will attempt to trick the American people into thinking they're allowing drilling while in fact allowing almost none at all.

Posted by: Ace at 06:59 PM | Comments (41)
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I don't have an article for this.

I can, however, offer this: Transformers Hottie Megan Fox Had Lesbian Affair with Stripper Named "Nikita."

And I'm comfortable with that.

It's a wonder to me that Rupert Murdoch isn't offering me $200,000 per year and a signing-bonus handjob to work for him.

Okay... Maybe not the right time for a cheap gag.

Here's the article.

As Drew says, what a horrible mess.

How We Got Here: Dean Barnett explains. Good read.

Not as hot as the Megan Fox lesbian stripper thing, but good.

Posted by: Ace at 05:49 PM | Comments (68)
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Participants plot their last relationship on a graph.

I had too many of those. And by "too many," I mean one or two. Plenty.

More graphs in this thread.

Just putting things in perspective -- it's always the same. Always.

So don't think you have any great poems or songs in you. You'd just be sayin' the same damn thing as everyone else.

Thanks to steve_in_hb.

Now This Is More Like It: In, out, no one gets hurt.

Heh: More realistic, though without so much poker.

Posted by: Ace at 05:34 PM | Comments (20)
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Why?

Well, because a Media Blog reader defended Palin's purchase of a tanning bed noting that in cloudy, dark Alaska, Seasonal Affective Disorder brings a lot of people down, and the UV light of a tanner helps brighten people's moods.

Based on this -- a reader from Alaska saying "Yeah, we get SAD up here; it's dark and cold" -- Olbermann is now calling for an investigation into Palin's psychological records.

Bathtub Boy. The guy so overwhelmed with panic and depression he couldn't even come out on camera, but spent entire shows in the bathtub sobbing to himself.

This is the finger I smear people with.

Wrong: Raving Atheist, a Concerned Christian Conservative (no, really) actually says he saw the segment and we got it wrong:

As much as I dislike Olbermann, I think you're a little off-base on this one, and you could embarrass yourself if you pursue it any fruther.

I saw the clip, which was part of Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" feature. As I saw it, he was mocking the reader for suggesting that Palin should invoke seasonal affective disorder as a defense for having a tanning bed. The idea was "with friends like that, she doesn't need enemies." He was being sarcastic in calling for a probe of her depression, each time referring to it very pointedly as her "HYPOTHETICAL depression" to emphasize the recklessness of the reader's suggestion -- which was why he named the reader the "World Person in the World."

Ah. Well, it's not funny, and it's not worth pointing out a silly email from a reader, and he's further still suggesting that this may be damning ("with friends like these, who needs enemies"), but it does appear based on Raving Atheist's report I got it wrong.

Posted by: Ace at 05:25 PM | Comments (50)
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Flat. Out. Lie.

Even his fellow Democrats, asked if it were true that Obama had taken the lead in crafting the stimulus bill, answered simply, "No."

In Golden, Colo., today, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., took credit for the stimulus package that passed earlier this year.

"In January, I outlined a plan to help revive our faltering economy," Obama said, "which formed the basis for a bipartisan stimulus package that passed the Congress."

Is that true?

Democrats on Capitol Hill who support Obama say no.

Wanting Obama to win, however, none will say so on the record.

When you've done nothing at all -- except for the writing (ghostwriting?) of two memoirs telling the world how you'd done nothing at all for forty years of your life -- you're required to claim credit for things that sort of happened nearby you.

Pure Bankum: Obama claiming to have been on the Banking Committee.

Punchline? Of course he wasn't on it. He just was sort of in the vicinity of the Banking Committee at certain times, and once again, that's what Obama calls a "credential."

If Obama's so scary-qualified, why is he unable to list any real accomplishments and achievements?

Bart--

Obama told Mike Shanahan to go for the two-point conversion near the end of the game for the victory over the Chargers.

When asked about it Obama quipped, "I know it was a big risk, but I felt that the time was right for decisive action. So I called Coach Shanahan and told him to go for two."

Biden added, "Yeah, me too."

As a Concerned Christian Conservative -- much like all of you -- I have to say that while I appreciate that Sarah Palin has done remarkably well for a brain-damaged meth-addicted chillbilly snow-whore, I like Obama's gutsy "Let's go for it" attitude.

Posted by: Ace at 04:39 PM | Comments (56)
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I don't feel like leaving it up. Screw you guys.

Did I mention I'm sick?

Okay... Here's the punking. But seriously, I am loaded up on Nyquil. As previously mentioned in the sidebar.

Posted by: Ace at 04:27 PM | Comments (57)
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