Partisan, partisan, partisan, partisan. Jesus H. Christ! The situation we now face was not the caused exclusively by either party but rather both parties and a hell of a lot of Americans. That is a fact and NO ONE can prove or has proven otherwise. Beyond that it doesn't feckin matter. It is an American situation and a dire one at that. Partisan finger pointing is in no way going to contribute to the solution. God!

When the fit hits the shan, and IT WILL in one way or the other, it is going to involve and change the lives of all Americans. Blaming the feckin issue on one party or the other will not, cannot, mitigate the damage.

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You, you, and you, panic. The rest of you follow me.

Last book read: "The Gate House" ~ NelsonDeMille
Now reading: "Nam-A-Rama" ~ Phillip Jennings

Good point Sparky. Should the financial system meltdown you aren't going to care which stupid party you belong to because it isn't going to matter.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

Exactly...oops so they were right about that meltdown eh? Too bad I was on the wrong side of that issue! More like panic will be the response. I actually am happy to see the parties work together on doing something.

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All you need to know about the energy crisis:
ANWR Exploration Republicans: 91% Supported. Democrats: 86% Opposed.
Coal-to-liquid R's: 90% YES. D's: 78% NO.
Oil Shale Exploration R's: 90% YES. D's: 86% NO.
Outer Continental Shelf Exploration R's: 81% YES. D's: 83% NO.
Increased Refinery Capacity R's: 97% YES. D's: 96% NO

SUMMARY: 91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of America’s own oil and gas. 86% of House Democrats have historically voted against.

Yea, sign me up. press hard 5 copies. 700 billion is not a problem, put it on my Visa.

Regular guy

Why are quoting me? Look at the title of this thread and then lecture us about partisianship.Ive stated more or less what youve stated here as far as blame goes for the 'crisis'.

The issue is the delay of the bill and that unfortunately is a partisian problem.

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Only half wrong! The problem kept getting worse, so it went from "no meldown, just some minor pain" to "OK, no meltdown, but major pain", to "Oh crap, meltdown".

I'll say that when it's passed, my friend.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

This is exactly what I was talking about. When did ANYONE say $700 billion is not a problem? I don't recall hearing that. But what you fail to properly grasp is that the while $700 billion is indeed a problem it's a far better problem than what we'll get if they don't do it. Sort of like someone giving you the choice of being stabbed in the leg or shot in the back of the head. Only if you choose Option B (which you seem to be doing), your death is drawn out and quite painful.

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I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.

Well, I would like to know more! As I said before, Allan Meltzer (economist Carnegie Melon) doesn't buy the theory that the crisis is imminent. His suggestion is that the treasury give the banks a big loan. Krugman, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the emergency is overstated (he has dubbed the Hank Paulson plan, the "hanky panky plan") and the U.S. taxpayer must be rewarded an equity stake in these banks. Where is your opinion on the scale of things?

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Lumberjack Jane- Maine's answer to Sarah Palin

"...Sarah Palin could stride past the frontal cortex of every American and plant a 3 inch heel directly on that limbic circuit..." Sam Harris

Paulson's plan has one major pro in my opinion and one major con. (Both of these have been addressed by Congress.)

Pro: His plan restores public confidence in the financial markets buy assuring them that their money will not disappear.

Con: It makes the Secretary of Commerce the single most powerful man in Government. One man will be in charge of $700bn and be able to spend it at his discretion. He doesn't even have to justify his doings to any higher authority.

The balance that needs to be found is this: Government needs to find a solution to bring back confidence in the market and at the same time regulate how/if/when financial institutions can be "bailed out." One man alone cannot hold all of this power....

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"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"Give me liberty or give me death!"