LIAR

If you don’t give me what I want
Bad things are going to happen
The worst you can imagine
And if you can’t imagine well enough
I’ll do it for you - monsters under your bed
It’s an emergency
Whatever works

I need to go to war, kill your boys
Or bad things are going to happen
Deliver bad germs to your doorstep
See how easy they can do it
Send out some anthrax in the mail
It’s an emergency
Whatever works.

I need lots of police
Or bad things are going to happen
Blackwater in the states keep the peace
Get used to the guns
See these are the good guys
It’s an emergency
Whatever works.

I need lots of prisons
Or bad things are going to happen
Illegal immigrants take all your money and jobs.
Used to be Jews but that won’t fly any more
Doesn’t matter as long as they’re different from you.
It’s an emergency
Whatever works.
c.

The Times They Are a Changin’

The $700 billion bailout of financial institutions is somewhat akin to aggressive care given to a terminal cancer patient: You can make his life a bit more comfortable for a time, perhaps even induce a rally, but the patient is still going to die of his disease. It’s going to cost a fortune. Still, you’re giving him a little distance from the inevitable; time during which he and his family and friends can begin to come to terms with the dire future.

Hopefully we’ll be using this next short period, bought at tremendous expense, to prepare for the inescapable collapse of the fundamental financial structure of the U.S., possibly the world.

The times they are a changin’. Indeed.

c.

[photo from AP]