It was overcast in Manhattan yesterday, but the clouds were high, and visibility was good. This was not a case of the plane emerging from mist to find a building just ahead. The entire island of Manhattan was in plain sight. Also, from the East River, where this crash occurred, you cannot see Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The view is blocked by Manhattan.

The proles have not revolted because, thanks to the insane rationalilzations of supply side economics, the government has been borrowing, and has thus reduced the effect on those who would otherwise have taken to the streets. You can keep getting elected if you can convince everyone that you can have your cake and eat it to, i.e. "deficits don't matter." Of course this will come to a terrible end threatening our Republic and way of life, but has been able to continue a long time because of the larger the problem, the longer time it takes to become visible.

Monetary policy (the Fed) affects the volume of money in an economy. Fiscal policy (Congress) affects the distribution of money in a economy. Picture a balloon. In a perfect economy, the ballon is perfectly and evenly inflated. Within the balloon, air molecules shift around, just as people do within an economy, hopefully based on their respective merits. Now squeeze the balloon in the middle, as supply side did by imposing fiscal policy that cut taxes to the rich--suddenly both ends become hugely inflated and the middle is squeezed. This is what happened when money was shifted to the rich through fiscal policy--the financial markets began to inflate wildly, but since they are not included in the measures of inflation, no one noticed. The financial markets employ very few people from the amount of money tied up there.

The other over-inflated end of the balloon is the national debt, also inflating wildly as the squeezing in the middle continues through supply side tax cuts coupled with endless borrowing.

Now have the Fed add more money (air) to the balloon: the middle will get bigger, masking the growing mess, but if the fiscal policy remains the same, the pressure will keep pushing money to one end, and debt to the other.

This balloon is going to burst, and possibly take our country with it. There is no hope as long as well paid economists are able to "prove" that this is not happening. But no individual, no family, and certainly no country can live on borrowed money forever. The pain is going to be so much worse when the inevitable arrives. But apparently no one is going to see it coming or be able to prevent it without being shouted down.

I am a Clinton supporter, but I take no joy in what is happening to Obama. Clinton v. Obama was a fair fight. But for someone Obama trusted to come sneaking up beside him and stick a knife right in his back, inflicting what is probably a fatal wound, is dirty pool, and unbelievably sad.

I don't know what motivates that crazy old man, perhaps pique at having Obama distance himself earlier, or envy of Obama's success, but to be so incredibly short-sighted and petty as to trash a brilliant campaign and the hope of progress for millions over a personal slight displays a selfishness and egotism worthy of Ralph Nader.

I'm sorry for you Obama. You've just found out that sometimes your greatest enemy is standing right beside you, pretending to be your friend. Shame on you, "Rev." Wright.

you can cruise the road with a little Class B conversion van which gets about 16 mpg, and which, when a family stays overnight in it, uses much less energy than a hotel room: no TV, limited lights, much less water, a/c (if absolutely necessary) to cool only a few square feet instead of an entire room, cooking outdoors over an open fire instead of eating in an energy guzzling air conditioned restaurant, and the entire state and national park system as your yard. If this Class B has a diesel engine, you can convert it very cheaply to run on recycled vegetable oil, thus both recycling and creating far fewer emissions than diesel fuel. (You can even do this conversion in a gigantic diesel pusher Class A bus.)

This mess is 25 years in the making, ever since Reagan's guys persuaded the President and Congress that you could cut taxes and raise spending, get rid of regulation, and miraculous new forces unleashed by all that cash and freedom at the top would spur such tremendous (taxable) innovation that you would actually increase revenues. No matter that this calculation was almost instantly disproved as the national debt began to soar, and the theory was abandoned in terror by such people as Stockman, who was then ignored--you could have it all and never pay the piper.

We bet the Republic on an untested theory written on the back of a napkin (remember the Laffer curve?). Only, in the words of John K. Galbraith in The Great Crash, about the Depression, all that money got sluiced into the stock market and other speculation, because that is what well-rewarded people regularly do with extra money.

We should never have bailed out Fannie and Freddie. Not because it isn't necessary, but because the only thing worse than the resulting collapse in the financial markets is a default by the United States, which is where we're headed. Our money will become worthless paper, and everyone will lose everything. They moved this bubble from Wall St to Fannie and Freddie and now to the US govt, and each time it moves it gets bigger, and is about to pop, taking our beloved country with it.

RAISE TAXES where they were cut. Cut spending (by stopping the war, inter alia). Govt stimulus won't work when the govt itself is in debt.

Oh my God. What have we done?