You’ve been reading my extended blog rants for some time, perhaps. Well… maybe a few of you. Here’s a slight departure. Instead of blathering on about one issue, I’m going to just briefly rant about two or three things. (Yeah, no planning ahead here – let’s just see how far I get).
Beer at the ‘House. Like you, I saw the photo of the president and vice president sitting down with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Sgt. James Crowley. Looked friendly enough, as intended. For me, though, it doesn’t erase that disturbing image of Gates being led out of his house in handcuffs – a man who walks with a freaking cane – in obvious distress. Whoever made the decision to subject Harvard’s Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and the Director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute to this level of humiliation is, well, let’s say not a nice man. I don’t care what Gates said to the police in his own home. If he didn’t wave a gun at them or try to assault them in some way, there was no reason to arrest him. They were responding to a non-existent crime. They could have just left the scene. They chose otherwise.
Cash for Lunkheads. That the so-called “Cash for Clunkers” program has proven highly popular is not surprising. What the hell – $4,500 towards a new car? Pass the freaking potatoes! It’s a kind of stimulus, and as such is a good thing, but as someone who drives a 15 year old car that gets in excess of 20-25 miles to the gallon, I feel a bit frosted by the whole thing. I mean, we made a relatively sober decision to buy an economical car 15 years ago, while other folks (plenty of them) bought ludicrous gas guzzlers that helped drive the price of gas through the roof (through increased consumption), not to mention contributed mightily to environmental degradation. So now the gas-hog drivers get a $4,500 check towards a new ride, while I get bupkis (except further incentive to squeeze another year out of my wreck). 
Isn’t this kind of rewarding stupidity and selfishness? Again – I think they should extend the program, and I see the point of it. But w.t.f., you feds – share the love a little bit. Shouldn’t folks who bought more modest vehicles – who are just as crunched as any suburban truck-drivers – get some help too?
Bank Holes. The “too big to fail” banks are back in the business of handing out six and seven-figure bonuses to their executives, even after having been put on life support by the U.S. government (i.e. you and me). This is just a thumb in the eye, isn’t it? It’s like they’re saying, “Well… we gambled like a sailor on acid, almost brought the entire financial system down, then got billions from you losers, and we’re still on top. Suck it up!” Meanwhile, they are all inventing new ways to screw their customers until the provisions of the credit consumer protection bill kick in, like increasing minimum payments (i.e. accelerating payment schedules on low-interest debt), raising interest rates, and so on. What to do about this? Good question. How about revoking their TARP aid? How about closing the Federal Reserve lending window (through which they’ve gotten even greater infusions of cash)? How about nationalizing the fuckers? Summers? Geithner?
All right… that’s all I’ve got.
luv u,
jp
