After assuring us all that Cheney's advice about giving Bush's policies a good look before summarily rolling them back was "good", he...well, quickly started rolling them back without much of an evaluation. But who cares? It's change!
There's also a swift change in US policy regarding Israel and Gaza. No matter that Hamas still roils the region and vows to rearm and continue launching rockets, our new administration shows us the true meaning of hope, hope against all odds, hope against all evidence, blithe unrealistic hope: Israel should open its borders with Gaza and trust the UN to prevent Hamas from rearming. Color me incredulous. Let's hope for Israel's sake that Barak or Livini or Netanyahu or whoever winds up leading Israel after this election cycle looks askance at this pie-in-the-sky.
Thankfully, some things never change. At least we know that Republicans are still spoilsport obstructionists. That's right: Republicans just don't want change to come to America. Honestly, I tend to agree. I'd like to be assured that the government won't turn our economy upside down with change, thank you. And there's plenty of reason to be leery of the government's handling of huge wads of cash. Take the bailouts, for instance. Seems a phone call to Barney Frank is all it takes to sweep some astonishing business practices under the rug and qualify for $12 billion in TARP funds. From the Boston Business Journal:
Boston’s OneUnited Bank received $12 million in federal rescue funds last month just weeks after regulators issued a cease-and-desist order to overhaul some of its lending and executive compensation practices.
Details of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s official enforcement action against OneUnited and the bank's pending $12 million infusion were first reported Dec. 5 in a Page 1 article in the Boston Business Journal. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the tiny bank received the bailout money after gaining influential support from Massachusetts congressman and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.
The funds came from the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The FDIC’s cease-and-desist order said OneUnited must cut financial ties to a California-based limited liability company that owns a beachfront home in Santa Monica. OneUnited Chairman and CEO Kevin Cohee and his wife, Teri Williams, who also is the bank’s president, control the LLC, according to records with the California Secretary of State’s office.
The bank also pays for a Porsche for Cohee’s personal use.
Yeah, that's how we're going to let the government save the economy. Or not. Hold onto your wallets, folks, 'cause change is on the way.
