Friday, December 19, 2008

"ME & MY FRIENDS NEED ANOTHER DRINK ..."

Imagine you're at a holiday gathering of close friends and family. You're suddenly brought together at the end of the night to discuss the latest escapades of a well-meaning but ne'er-do-well friend. He's brazenly arrogant, shows up at every gathering, but fails to bring anything. He eats and drinks everything in sight. Worse, while he's fun at first, he's a lousy drunk.

This time, however, your friend has brought uninvited guests, who've made a mess of the place. It's going to take a while to fix everything, and it's going to be costly. John Belushi and his Animal House gang would have been better company. As you're talking they burst into the room and shout out, "Me and my friends need another drink ..."

Well, guess what? This is Hank Paulson & Friends. After running the economy into the ground, and then using the (undeserved) bailout money recklessly, they're now bursting through the door asking for more. Paulson & Friends want a financial night-cap.

Incredible. After allowing the banks and financial institutions to recklessly blow through the first half of the $700 billion in bailout money - by paying dividends, dishing out million dollar bonuses, foreclosing on homeowners, cutting credit card limits, and failing to release money into the economy - Paulson & Friends are now bursting through the door saying "We need the other half of the $700 billion" - no strings attached, of course.

I say we let them sober up first. Assholes.

- Mark

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