... but I'm wondering if those so-called "anarchists" were actually government agents whose mission was to create an excuse for the excessive use of police force.

... or is rupert_c's sneering contempt for anything that isn't Bush-bootlicking noticeable to others?

i'm just saying glen the raids may have been conducted to get some of those rock throwers before they threw the rocks and not to scare people.

That is superficially an attractive hypothesis, but it assumes astonishing stupidity on the part of the alleged "anarchists". Who in their right mind would attempt any kind of physical violence in a city that was filled wall-to-wall with cops in riot gear? And who would be motivated enough to try it anyway but utterly fail to convey even a hint of what it was they were protesting?

Why aren't heads rolling at Freddie and Fanny?

Surely you jest. In fact, exactly the opposite is happening. For example, Freddie Mac's CEO Richard Syron managed to get a $14.1 million golden parachute added to his employment package less than two months ago. This parting bonus would increase the total compensation he receives for his tenure at Freddie Mac by over 80%.

I can't figure out how Freddie's board justified this in terms of shareholder value. The handwriting has been on the wall for a while now: The government's recent takover has been pretty much expected for months. So what do the shareholders get in return for their generosity to Mr. Syron?

They will use the money to outsource more labor.

Yes indeed. Our tax dollars will be used to cover the restructuring costs, and the American people will end up footing the bill for sending their own jobs overseas.

McCain will say this is good for the country and insist that we do more of the same.

Bloated, poorly-built tanks weak on fit and finish. I've purchased half a dozen new vehicles in my lifetime and I always look at US cars first and they ALWAYS SUCK OUT LOUD, pathetic, behind-the-times attempts which look like pale, sickly weeds compared to Japanese vehicles.

I think American auto manufacturers deliberately make the lower-end and economical models suck to encourage buyers to go for more upscale models. Unfortunately for them, the Japanese auto makers have given buyers more reasonable alternatives.

That you would defend them leads me to believe you are either a clown or a paid troll.

FYI, Elephantman is one of our resident Republican talking-points dispensers. Attempts at logical discussion with him/her are usually fruitless.

Why do you people like taxes so much?

It isn't a matter of me liking taxes, it's a matter of me preferring taxes to more distasteful alternatives.

Bush's tax cuts have saved me a few thousand dollars, but that's spit in the ocean compared to loss in value of my savings that was caused by the decline in the value of the dollar. I also don't like the fact that my income hasn't increased anywhere near as fast as the cost of living.

I would much rather have paid the extra taxes and had my dollars still be worth something.

McCain's campaign can just issue a press release and it gets nationwide coverage as a news item. People who see it reported as news tend to regard it as at least somewhat truthful.

Obama can't do that. He has to pay for an ad to get the same kind of coverage, and everyone knows it's an ad and treats it as such.

I call 'em as I see 'em. If you have an alternate explanation for McCain's standing in the polls despite his and Palin's obvious negatives, then I'd like to hear it.

As an educator I have to say I would give this a 'F', learn how to site sources, and fact check. This is ridiculous.

If you're an educator, I'd expect you to know that the proper word to use is "cite".

She's there to distract us from the real issues we should all be hammering McCain about.

People are not as dumb as John McCain hopes...

Maybe you can't fool all of the people all of the time, but McCain is betting he can fool enough of the people between now and November 4th.

But two of the highest-ranking officials who were targets of the investigations will apparently escape sanction. Both retired during the investigation, rendering them safe from any administrative punishment, and the Justice Department has declined to prosecute them on the charges suggested by the inspector general.

This is the kind of thing we've come to expect from Bush's DOJ.

I can only think of one reason why the oil companies would be giving favors to DOI: To get DOI officials to look the other way while the oil companies shorted Uncle Sam on their taxes. If this is what was going on, the U.S. government was probably cheated out of countless billions of dollars, and some serious felonies were committed along the way.

At least we know she has one qualification.

I think Alex has made a useful observation. McCain had been using "celebrity" as a perjorative description of Obama, but now McCain is riding the coattails of an artificial celebrity that his own campaign manufactured.

This is just another example of the one and only truly consistent right-wing philosophy: Everyone else's shit stinks, but theirs doesn't.

... that all of the mergers and acquisitions, and the resulting reduction in competition, might have something to do with the price increase?

You shouldn't be so arrogant. Perhaps there are people less perceptive than yourself who appreciate having things like this brought to their attention.

She (Carol Fowler) had to spoil it by apologizing. It's a shame, because it was probably the most truthful thing said by any politician for quite some time.

The reason the Republicans are so horked off about the comment is that they know it's true. Truth is perhaps the most essential ingredient of an effective insult.