Up the river without a paddle (and heading for a fall)

Heading for a fall, acrylic painting, 22" x 29"

Today was certainly one for the history books with the DOW dropping 777 points. I just hope it's not deja vu all over again and we're heading for another depression, but it looks grim. I can't help but get the feeling that we're being held hostage by Wall Street and being shaken down for the few remaining dollars we have left. Let's see, the defense industry and big oil has made a killing under the Bush regime, and so has the financial industry for that matter. But it's apparently never enough and they're going to grab as much as they can before the door hits them in the ass with a new administration. I can't say the Dems have handled this very well and I'm disappointed that they were willing to give Bush, once again, just about everything he asked for with a few minor changes. The Republicans are expert at playing them for fools and it happened again with them turning the tables on the Dems and defeating the bailout bill in the House and making it look as if they saved the country from the fiscal irresponsibility of Pelosi and Co. Brilliant move on Rove's part (I'm sure he had a hand in this), and, oh by the way, there's got to be some serious money being made on this meltdown for those in the know. Apparently, this administration will stoop to anything to hold onto power and enrich themselves. I'm fed up with both parties and for the first time in my life I switched parties, from Democrat to Independent. Now, if we only had a viable Independent party, perhaps we could put an end to the rampant corruption that seems to infect both sides. It would have been interesting to see how Ralph Nader would have changed the tenor of the last "debate" (such as it was). He was on Bill Maher last Friday and when he could get a word in edgewise he totally nailed our problems. Something has to change and soon. I hope it's not going to require a Depression to do it.

Another day, another bailout for the plutocrats

Digitally enhanced Collage, 9/22/08

Creativity isn't really abounding nowadays. My art room is a mess and I just can't seem to focus on getting things organized. This economy thing is depressing, to put it mildly. I feel like it's the Iraq war all over again, with Bush demanding Congress hurry up and do something before it's too late. And Congress, in their rush to leave Washington before the elections and all too worried about how it will play in the sound bite world if they don't do something, will rubber stamp, once again, another piece of crap legislation. Are we really to believe that the whole financial world was going to fall apart over the weekend if Congress didn't hand over $700B to $1 trillion dollars of our tax money to Bush--no strings attached--per his demand??? We seem to hear this BS just about every month, but it comes with a bigger and bigger price tag each time. What will it take for the lesson to sink in: This Republican administration has got to go before it's too late (although it may be already.) We cannot afford another 4/8 years of business as usual. Carolyn Baker provides a peak into the Capone-style Capitalism which our country is hostage to. Ironically, Jerry was saying today he has a sick feeling in his gut that our country is being run by the mob. I have a feeling it's going to be worse though. The mob, from what I hear, mercifully dispenses with their rivals by putting a bullet in their brain. This mob hit, however, will result in a slow and painful demise for the millions who are on the wrong side of the financial ledger as any remaining tax money left from Bush's war is shifted from critical social programs, like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, to pay off the richest and most powerful people in the world. It's shameful, disgusting and tops my worst fears of what Bush is capable of.