VIRGINIA 004

One significant beneficiary of the global economic meltdown is McDonalds, which will now have an ample supply of available labor from the pool of former financial executives out on the street. The next person who welcomes you to the Golden Arches may be your former bank manager or a recently departed Lehman Brothers Vice President.

Legions of Baby Boomers ambling toward retirement will be forced to muddle through the work-a-day world a bit longer, as their retirement nest egg shrinks to pea size. And still I encounter those who snigger at the ”fat cats” getting theirs, totally oblivious to the fact that their own pension fund has been sliced in half, and the likelihood that their companies will continue generous retirement contributions in the near future reduced to the probability of pork taking wing.

And yes, the giddy smirks on European faces become more muted daily as they twig the word “global” in “global economic crisis” really does include them. Of course, the USA garners the lion’s share of blame for the mess. If only all the others weren’t following so closely, emulating all our horrid practices they so publically abhor.

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Cable TV in Loudoun County, VA, has 38 channels devoted to public access (and another 10 or so reserved), an amazing number considering that until recently Britain had only 3 channels total, shared equally by the BBC (an excellent source for Botswanian crop reports) and gardening shows. This is not to be confused with BBC World News aired around the world, an excellent source for Botswanian crop reports as well as daily updates on the waning influence of America on the world stage.

Most of the public access channels feature community interest material, including a public school channel whose only apparent service is to announce school lunch menus for the coming week. In my day we would simply grab a tray and get in line. Approaching the steam table we would ask “What is it?” and Bertha, white uniform festooned with gravy stains and congealed Jello would answer in her charming eastern European accent “Thirty-five cents.”

But I did learn of one positive innovation. Local schoolchildren can now have their parents pay for school lunches by credit card on the Internet. Would have saved me years of humiliation (not to mention calorie deprivation) as bullies shook me down for my lunch money.

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Joe Biden talks about “my friend, John McCain” in terms describing someone I would not want to meet in a dark alley. Adds new meaning to adage “with friends like that….”

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I spied a lone McCain/Palin sign in the neighborhood yesterday amidst a sea of Obama/Biden posters. You can actually see shudders emanating from passers-by in this “upscale” community and see noses rise a half inch or so as they scurry past. Fun to watch.

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Predatory lenders are rightfully mentioned as villains in the economic meltdown saga. And as I have previously noted, irresponsible borrowers must also take a hit. Of course blame centers (as does virtually everything these days) on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But ironically, both the Clinton and Bush Administrations tried mightily but in vain to curb the evil twins Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, condemned by many as prime architects of this tsunami.

And who, you may inquire, were the foremost champions of these out-of-control “Government Supported Enterprises”? Most of Congress as it turns out, led by the likes of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Charles Schumer, Democrats all who prattle on endlessly over the “failed policies of the Bush Administration.” Now it’s clear that there is blame aplenty assignable to all quarters of the political spectrum, but self-proclaimed white knights riding through the village in heavily soiled uniforms presents an image of egregious deceit. There are no clean hands here.

Clearly the White House and most Republicans lacked the courage and fortitude to challenge more aggressively the hypnotic notion of “homeownership for all,” but they were not the prime progenitors of this crisis. Perhaps that’s why Bush’s approval rating is way up there in the mid 30’s, while Congress lurks around 12%, headed for single digits. And yes, McCain did take about $25,000 from Freddie/Fannie over the last decade, while Obama garnered over $125,000 in less than 3 years.

…the adventure stumbles occasionally, but moves ahead…