Day: September 23, 2008

Perhaps you, as I, have been carefully watching Washington as our elected officials attempt to bail us out of what seems to be a dire economic crisis. Perhaps you can’t figure out why those folks can’t pull the trigger and institute the bail out. I have a theory.

I call this the “You can fool me once” explanation. I propose that we have experienced this combination of national fear, vagueness, and urgency before. Now, as a consequence of quick and unquestioning acquiescence on this earlier ocassion, we find ourselves with thousands of dead citizens and hundreds of billions of dollars of added debt. WMD, Al-Qaeda staging area? It now appears not to be so. Those who signed on in accepting the initial flawed analysis found themselves forever limited in their ability to criticize because of their initial support. FOOLED THEM ONCE!

Now, the concern is that this may be an opportunity to demonstrate that “You can fool me twice”.

I don’t know what should be done at this point. However, in this politicized climate, I understand that despite the urgency urged by some there is a willingness to be careful and go slow. 700 billion dollars? What if we eventually learn we have not used this opportunity to fix the underlying problem and instead have added to the existing financial woes and saddled ourselves and our kids with well over a trillion dollars in debt?

I blame the administration that took advantage of circumstances to “fool us once”. Whatever the causes of the present financial crisis, this is the climate of distrust you have generated.

Michael Moore’s new movie – Slacker Uprising – is now available.

If you are unfamiliar with Moore’s present project, he is offering the movie at no cost (download) to increase the likelihood young people will vote. It may offend your sensibilities, but it is probably not aimed at you. Whatever you think of his approach or his politics, it is hard to dispute the importance of his mission.