See all in Phillipe And Jorge

A Decade after 9/11

Phillipe And Jorge

The Iquitarod

Palin, who is appearing to be as stable as Britney Spears, shocked even the GOP in her own state with the announcement, given at a press conference where she sounded like Farrah Fawcett (RIP) during her infamous Letterman appearance, rambling all over the place with occasional bits of illogical flag-waving rhetoric thrown in. Since Ms. Barracuda has obviously exposed herself as being totally clueless about national foreign and domestic affairs; pissed off anyone in the party leadership and their top advisors who has a positive IQ; has no achievements to speak of as governor in her two years; and has just abandoned her constituents midstream for personal glory, P+J are baffled that anyone thinks she could have a chance at running for president in 2012. Actually, we pray that the Republican Party will be so deep underground by that time that if she becomes the best choice to be their nominee, all that will be left to do is shovel the dirt in on top of the coffin. Oh, that's right, we are just "the media" picking on her again, a theme that she stressed during her press conference walk off the high board.

Your superior correspondents believe that she will probably just play mistress to the hard right conservatives in her party, a dwindling number of whom are beginning to be shunned by GOP pols and consultants who see that role on the national stage as suicidal. In addition, she will get millions for "writing" a book, more millions for giving incoherent speeches in her new wardrobe, and then end up a radio talk show jockette, where she will hopefully not try to take on any other conservative voice like Rush or Sean Hannity who can actually string two or three thoughts or words together.

Nuts? You betcha!

"J'ACCUSE!' GOLDMAN SACHS

Required beach reading: Matt Taibbi's "The Great American Bubble Machine" in the still-current issue of Rolling Stone (before the Michael Jackson tribute arrives; you can find it at rollingstone.com/politics/). Be prepared to wash down a few Xanax with a frozen Pernod and grapefruit when you're done.

It is the modern equivalent of an Émile Zola "J'accuse." Taibbi says that the greed merchants at the investment bank Goldman Sachs have essentially been running our economy and government for years and continue to dictate their terms — while we are told to bend over and bite the pillow with our fiscal matters. It is the United States of Goldman Sachs these days, with our government complicit and corrupted from the inside and out, and we the people are getting massively screwed while these corporate buccaneers make off with our hard-earned dollars. According to Taibbi's analysis, the financial siphoning will continue with the much-ballyhooed carbon emission cap-and-trade legislation that recently passed the House, which is already wired in advance by Goldman Sachs to deliver them maximum profit from a supposedly splendiferous environmental initiative.