“When the final report on the risks of the US financial system is released in 2010 — and it is likely to cause a stir internationally — only one of the people in positions of responsibility today will still be in office: Ben Bernanke.”

I have to watch the election from a distance, the Potemkin village that is our political system is no longer funny or charming. Who the next President is, is largely irrelevant. Why such a negative disposition?

Because the IMF is going to subject the databases of major financial institutions in the USA to a stress test. Yeah, oh shit is right.  Read more 

I’ve got a lot to do today, so rapid posting now with return later in commments, go read this tale of what I’m going to start calling “predatory government.” Here’s a sample:

federal appeals court has revived California’s request for at least $1 billion in refunds to electricity customers, saying federal regulators who denied the repayments had ignored tapes in which Enron traders joked about gouging customers during the energy crisis of 2000-2001.

The ruling was issued Friday by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which repeatedly has found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission abused its authority or violated its own rules in considering the state’s claims of multibillion-dollar overcharges during the energy crisis.  Read more 

Molly Ivins dings another one out of the park. Via Chicago Tribune:

I’m not attempting to make this a partisan deal—only 73 percent of Enron’s political donations went to Republicans. But I’ll be damned if Enron’s No. 1 show-pony politician, George W. Bush, should be allowed to walk away from this. Ken Lay gave $139,500 to Bush over the years. He chipped in $100,000 to the Bush-Cheney Inaugural Fund in 2000 and $10,000 to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund. [snip] Until January 2004, Enron was Bush’s top contributor.  Read more 

Tom Skilling of WGN-TV Chicago is the best TV weatherman in America, all classes and probably all-time. He has the misfortune to be the brother of Jeff Skilling, of Enron infamy, who has just been convicted of everything but aggravated sidewalk-spitting and a count or two of insider trading. It’s an interesting morality play of two brothers, products of the same genetics and environment and all that, both very talented guys, one of whom used his abilities for Good and the other…not so much. Story, breaking, here at the Chicago Tribune. Who also own WGN TV, the Cubs, and a lot of other things, but that’s a rant for another time.  Read more