Thanks for all your excellent work over the last few days/weeks. I deeply appreciate the view of reason and sanity that you are providing into this mess. I depend on your clear explanations to get some clue of what's going on.

Keep it up!

Andrew, will you explain why it is that the American taxpayers now have to bail out the rest of the world too?

We created this nice crap sandwich. We sold it on the open market to whoever was stupid enough to buy it. A lot of institutions around the world did buy it. We bought a fair amount of it ourselves. Now it's revealed to be exactly what it is, a crap sandwich of the highest order.

And this is OUR problem? I know global financial markets are interconnected and all that.

My question is, who rated this crap sandwich to be anything other than what it is (a crap sandwich)? Why in all this various blather over the last week is no one pointing big fingers at ratings agencies? Who are they, how do they work, and how did they NOT know this would happen?

Thanks.

Sign me, a confused taxpayer with a crap sandwich on the menu.

I suppose you could define me as a soccer mom. I live in the burbs, I have kids, one plays soccer. You can usually find me on a Saturday morning in the fall parked in a folding chair at some playing field, watching fifth graders play soccer. Hoping it won't rain.

Excuse me, but that does not even begin to define who I am. Nor who the other parents out there are.

Try... citizen, writer, wife, parent, working mom, Democrat, ex Catholic, Monty Python fan, violin mom, small business owner who likes Margaritas on the rocks with salt. And that's just the surface. Anyone who wants to lump parents (or anyone else) into buckets based on their children's activities is going to get a pretty diverse crowd.

Sheesh.

... does that mean they SHOULDN'T get loans? Just wondering. If a little accountability imposed (reluctantly) by bankers isn't such a bad idea?

At my house, we have some bills to pay at the moment, and some credit card debt I'm not proud of. We drive two older cars. I don't care if we qualified for a loan or not, we're not getting a new car until we pay down a good portion of our existing debt. Why is this a bad thing?

If one of the cars died, we'd buy a junker we could afford, again until the debt is paid down.

Is $250,000 middle class???

I'm just askin'.

... you need to figure out how to support yourself while you do your art. Wanting to be an artist is a very different thing from actually making your living as an artist. And I define "artist" loosely, as in fine arts, music, writing, and so on. While its a fantastic goal to have, between here and there is a long hard slog, with bills to be paid along the way if you want to live indoors and eat.

I know less than nothing about the world of professional singing, but you probably a know a lot. What are your goals specifically? Where can you live to pursue professional singing? What kind of singing? Who pays and how much do they pay? What can you do in the interim to keep eating while you get there?

The boredom, the pursuing any (inappropriate) relationship, the moving here and there... it's all about keeping your focus. If you know with absolute certainty what you are aiming for, then you can more clearly decide if the latest shiny thing in your life will either help you or hinder you from that focus.

A very talented pianist friend of mine made a decision in college, that he couldn't support himself with piano. He became a software engineer instead, which while it was a second choice career, he enjoys it, and it allows him to have a family, a house, and eat regularly. He is a very active pianist, volunteering with several community theatre groups, accompanying choirs, and performing with a jazz band. He's a great musician, and for some very valid reasons chose not to make his living that way. That might not be the way for you, but it might. Think through all your options.

... I seem to remember Jesus and Mary and Joseph and their flight into Egypt away from the evil King Herod, who wanted to kill all the baby boys.

Did that make Jesus and his parents illegal aliens?

Oh the horrors.

Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

And something about not seeking riches in this world.

I don't recall, actually, the asterisk there in the King James that says "Do whatever you want to the little Spanish-speaking brown people, for they don't actually count."