Let’s see -- First, of course, Christopher Dodd’s name was tossed out as the single biggest recipient of political donations from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So here comes the “fix” for this situation -- and behold, it’s from the very man who has cashed the most checks. He has his name across the top of the page where he is going to lead the effort to correct the problem? That affects me in much the same way as fingernails across the blackboard. Or to use a seasonal image, it seems like we are putting Dracula in charge of restructuring the blood bank! The only thing I know for certain is that I am not getting any hard news reporting on any substance of what has happened in this scandal and is continuing to happen. But no matter how they try to spin it, I think this quick-fix mentality is probably wrong, wrong, wrong!

Then, the second biggest recipient of money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is some fellow named Barack Obama. Oh yea, we have heard that name elsewhere, haven’t we? He’s the guy that has raised nearly a half a Billion dollars (with a B, folks!) from outside the country in donations to his Presidential campaign. His campaign staff has not disclosed exactly where that money has been coming in from, since they know perfectly well that there isn’t time for the Federal Election Commission to investigate before the election.

But the depressing part is that it all really doesn’t matter. No one cares if the law has been trampled. No one cares if I think these folks need to be tossed in jail. Sure, we tossed the executives from Enron and WorldCom in the slammer, and sure, these scandals are even bigger than those were. But I don’t see anyone calling for investigations - just a quick-fix, a bail-out, so we can pull the tablecloth down over the whole pile of rubbish and get back to business as usual. You may recall that we have a severe shortage of Republican prosecutors, thanks in large part to George Bush’s attempt to make-nice with these Stalinists. They haven’t said a polite word about him as a result of his “New Tone.” They haven’t stopped talking horrible about him. They haven’t stopped calling for his impeachment, or pushing to prosecute him and his administration once they leave the White House.  If the hate speech towards George Bush has moderated in any slight degree as a result of his overtures towards the Democrats, it doesn’t show anywhere where I can see it. But we are without a Federal prosecutor with any inclination to investigate or pursue the scandals of Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac or the obscene amount of money that appears to be illegally flowing into the Obama Presidential campaign.

The Democrats certainly haven’t been willing to follow George Bush into this war. The Democrats have been willing, even eager to abandon the fight in Iraq and surrender the flag.  I think the only thing the matter with this war is that a Republican started it. No one objected when Bill Clinton led us into Bosnia. There, we were on the wrong side of the hostilities. Then, the mission has been pushed off onto NATO, so we don’t actually have to follow through on that war. But that was OK. There was a Democrat in the White House.

Then there is the lovely and charming Gwen Ifill. She never bothered to tell the committee that she was writing a book about Senator Obama -- in which she calls him a savior some fourteen times, and still counting. I can only suppose she didn’t mention it because they might have chosen someone else for this position. Then she wouldn’t be there to make sure the debate comes out the way she wants it to. She wouldn’t be able to do a hatchet job on Sarah or make excuses and apologies for Joe Biden. As Greta observed, if this were a court of law, Gwen would be expected to recuse herself and step aside. But there is no shame. There is no way to demand that basic rules of fair play should be observed, especially not if Ms. Ifill is going to be adamant about her position. The latest television news coverage I heard about this point suggested that we should all “wait and see” whether or not Ms. Ifill will be professional about this. Huh? If she intended to be professional about this, she wouldn’t be going forward with her plan to moderate this so-called debate.

So it just goes on. The Republicans will resign at the first sign of scandal or criminal charges, while the Democrats keep right on rolling. Both claim that they are doing it “for the good of the country.” When impeachment proceedings were brought, Richard Nixon resigned "for the good of the country." But when impeachment proceedings were brought against Bill Clinton, he decided to tough it out "for the good of the country." This is the underlying difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. It appears that it is only good for the country if Republicans, like Tom DeLay, quit their positions to answer charges (which were later dropped). On the other side of the aisle, it is good for the country for Democrats, like William Jefferson, to keep his position despite questions about wads of money wrapped up in his freezer.

And all the while, the news people keep twisting and spinning and lying to me. I am yearning for someone who can yell “STOP” to all this. But then, like Sarah, they would instantly be attacked by the entire wolf pack. I believe in the innate goodness of Americans, but someone is doing the work of these Stalinists. Someone is voting to elect, and keep electing these crooks. Someone is looking the other way as there is one outrage after another. There is no end -- and no remedy -- in sight.