(no subject)

Apparently John McCain is suspending his political campaign to work on the financial crisis. That's big of him, considering he helped create it in the first place. Because deregulation is always the answer! The market knows all! The market will take care of things! until the big investors look like losing their shirts and go crying to the government to kiss it better with taxpayers' money, anyway.

This seems like an excellent time to revisit an old favourite!

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Explained by Stick Figures

I'll shut up now.

à la lanterne!

Wait! I'm not done yet!

In Bailout Furor, Wall Street Pay Becomes a Target

No kidding. Check the nifty graph that goes with it.

But Wall Street, its lobbyists and trade groups are waging a feverish lobbying campaign to try to fight compensation curbs. Pay restrictions, they say, would sap incentives to hard work and innovation, and hurt the financial sector and the American economy.

Wait, you mean, like the hard work and innovation that have been so good for the financial sector and the American economy this past year? I just... I... I cannot get my head around the sheer unmitigated gall of everyone involved in this mess.

in happier news...

Kate Story and I were in a writing class together lo these many years ago (like, more than 10 years). I just heard (from our teacher via my mother) that she has published the book she was working on at the time, Blasted.

It was terrific in the early drafts, so I'm really looking forward to reading the final version! I've emailed to congratulate her too -- no idea if she'll remember me, but hey.