For the past few days, I've only heard that Congress "must" go along with the proposed $700 billion bailout plan. This article presents the opposite view - that perhaps the house of cards should be allowed to fall down. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/a-nation-of-village-idiot_b_127340.html

I'm not educated enough to know whether the bailout is necessary or not. I do know that there are some members of Congress trying to fight, against unbelievable pressure, to make sure some protections are in any measure that's passed. These things include:

-  Limits on pay for CEOs of such failed institutions
-  Congressional oversight of the bailout execution
-  Warrants that would be held by the government and be turned into assets, once the banks/companies were profitable again - to ensure a return on taxpayers' enormous investment to bail them out

Putting the country's near-entire spending power into the hands of the Treasury Secretary - someone who is not accountable to public vote - is about as undemocratic an idea as I've ever heard. If you also have concerns, please consider writing your Congressperson and letting them know that you support their efforts to get taxpayer protections and Congressional oversight into this measure. The Role Call - Congress.org site makes it easy: https://ssl.congress.org/congressorg/home/ 

It may be the single most important decision our government makes in our lifetimes - and those who are trying to do the right thing need our support, lest they be crushed by a manufactured "pressure to act NOW." If Bush, Paulsen, or Bernanke are truly concerned about a recession, they can make compromises too.

Sorry to be such a downer, folks - one day soon I'll write something funny about food, dogs, and the like. Right now, I just don't think these are funny times.