I said to many people (and was completely ignored) that "capitalism" won't be far behind.

No matter what the system of economics and governance, we good old garden variety human beings are always the monkey wrench in the works.

When the government refuses to take human nature into account - in it's most basic form that given the opportunity and little chance of getting caught, a surprisingly large number of people, rich, poor, or middle class; workers, CEO's, or middle management; civilians, those serving in the military, politicians, even clergy will cheat each other and the system (even their own mothers, in many cases) - the society over which that government presides will eventually go through massive crises.

Worse, I'm not convinced that this bailout will restore the banking system. The problem is not the lack of money, but the lack of faith. See, the bankers all finally figured out that every other person they were borrowing from and lending to was lying just as much as they, themselves were.

They suddenly realized that nobody could believe anything anyone else was telling them. That's why the won't lend to each other right now. That's what this crisis is. It's a crisis of TRUST... the bankers and CEO's and investors discovered they can't trust each other.

What's really needed is a massive number of carefully-controlled audits so everybody can find out where the truth lies and start from there to tell each other the truth. Pouring more money in will just keep the liars, lying and allow the bubble to reinflate until it pops again when it's gotten even bigger.

But Obama comes across as someone saying exactly what he believes and pledging things he will actually do everything in his power to accomplish. In other words, he's not posturing. He's not playing politics. He's laying out his agenda, not hiding it with weasel words and "talking points" as our Republican friends have been doing since King Ronnie. He's not saying the politically expedient thing. This has been his approach all along. What a breath of fresh air as opposed to McSame's running around in a panic and making a complete liar out of himself by continuing to campaign while his campaign is supposedly "suspended," and the Chimperor in Chief's breathless fear mongering last night! BRAVO!

McCain has been widely quoted as one who was always in favor of deregulation of the financial industry and everything else. Even the average person knows that it is that very deregulation that's gotten us into this meltdown. Not only that, but most intelligent people recognize the approach of trying to force this breathtakingly huge bailout down the collective throats of congress "before it's too late" is the same approach used by scam artists and shady dealers everywhere. Rushing back to Washington looks like he's either trying to help his scammer friends, or running away from the debate. It will not serve him well. His whole approach to this election, moving from independent "maverick" to capitulation on everything that made him a maverick and now this... just makes him look, even more, like the kind of guy who takes the easier path... who would let the enemy break him instead of risking death by torture while a P.O.W. Oh.. Wait...

Because there are still a collection of their supporters who will believe them and not freak out over what's happening. If they were honest the coming collapse would already have happened! The longer they can lie and keep things propped up, the greater the possibility that the real collapse will come after the election.

But like so many conservatives, your sense of who Jesus was and what he did seems to end the day he was baptized (at which point, he ceased to work as a carpenter). What followed was every bit community organizing - revolutionary work against the entrenched power/status/money structures of his day which were all centered around the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the Royal Palace. He traveled and preached throughout the rural areas of Judea correcting the errors in the religion of his day - the distortions of theology and the abusive practices of the temple. Unlike your heroes (and most of ours) when he finally went to the capital, Jerusalem, he was tortured to death at the behest of the rich and powerful of his day.

But if you want to domesticate Jesus as a man who just stayed at home, quietly building cabinets and storage chests, go ahead. He's much easier to deal with that way. Worshiping that Jesus requires nothing of you but belief in "The Lord," just as the current form of Republicanism requires nothing of us as Americans but a warm cozy belief in "America." Their beloved wars will be fought by other people's children and paid for by the generations that come after us. We don't have to give up a thing, contribute a thing, or even get off the couch.

Just look into the millions of case studies of abusers. Whether sent away from their homes and abused by vicious teachers in religious boarding schools, abused by vicious parents in their own homes or abused to the point of being broken by guards at the "Hanoi Hilton;" without serious and appropriate psychological help (which, having lost the ability to trust, they often refuse), those who have been abused often demonstrate sociopathic and even psychopathic behavior throughout their lives up to and including becoming abusive toward others. This should not be a surprise. It's a predictable and expected symptom often found in victims of torture and abuse. "Just sayin'".

McCain

McPalin

McBush

McSame